Best Frozen Yogurt Recipe (Red Mango knock-off)

Yes I realize it is January in Chicago and a winter storm is headed our way - who cares.  Frozen yogurt ALWAYS tastes good.  ALWAYS.

So read on - I promise you won't regret it.  And if it is too cold for you then Pin It! for this summer.

You have probably figured out by now that I tend to have an obsessive personality perhaps addictive.  When I fall in love, I fall hard.  The latest victim - Red Mango frozen yogurt.  I could eat it for every meal.  My budget could not.  So what does any desperate girl do?  She creates her own cheap, homemade version.  Now cheap is relative considering Greek yogurt is expensive but a small fro yo from Red Mango runs between $4-$5 and a 32oz container of Dannon greek yogurt is about $6.  That same 32oz container creates a lot of yummy scoops.

Now I warn you.  If you have never had Red Mango or Pinkberry then you must know that it is tart and tangy - just how I love it but if that is not your thing then I would not suggest this recipe.  However, if this sounds yummy (and it is) then here you go.

Ingredients

32oz greek yogurt ( I use vanilla because I love the flavor and it mixes well with the fruit but others recommend plain)

1/2 c. sugar (I like mine less sweet so I use 1/2 c. but if you want it sweeter than you could add 3/4 c.)

Now I love it plain and simple but it is also yummy with some fruit.  I used frozen fruit from good ol' Trader Joes - raspberries to be exact - but any fruit would work well.  I tossed the whole bag in the food processor and added a little lemon juice.  You won't need the whole bag but I will be using the leftovers for smoothies, yogurt (non frozen), or maybe even as some breakfast topping. Oh and it is important to note that you may want to strain the seeds out.....my sis taught me that.

So once you have your ingredients you'll need your ice cream maker.  Don't have one?  You could get an arm workout by freezing a metal bowl and stirring and stirring and stirring for about 20 minutes - I don't recommend it because I don't want you to blame me when your arm falls off and all you have is really cold yogurt.  If you do have an ice cream maker then I recommend that you put the bowl in the freezer RIGHT NOW.  There is nothing worse then a fro yo craving and no bowl to make it in.

Ok, now that your bowl is in the freezer we can proceed.

So mix all the ingredients together in a separate bowl (I used the actual frozen bowl and it was fine but things were freezing to the sides before they were completely mixed in.)

Then turn that baby on and watch the magic unfold.  You will really start to smell that delicious sweet, tartness.  It's like bacon only better.

Now the above is raspberry and it is very good but like I said my favorite is good ol' plain vanilla.

I didn't take any photos of it because my sis and I were too busy eating it.  Oh and I was looking for super cute paper ice cream containers to put it in but then I realized the yogurt container is actually perfect for re-storing the fro yo.  It may not look as cute but it is super convenient.  So sorry it looks like I just took a picture of the yogurt.  Oh and you can't tell but it is already more than half gone.

So I hope you try this recipe out and fall madly in love as I did.  Love at first scoop.  I'm done.

Oh and thanks to my lovely sis for helping me with these recipes.  She is far better in the kitchen than I am - my baby sister is much better at many things.   She teaches me a lot.