Vanilla Yogurt

This is actually my second attempt at making yogurt in my slow cooker. I got the idea from here. By the way, I love that site. She doesn't update nearly as much which makes me rather sad. However I love my slow cooker that much more thanks to her endeavors.

Back to the yogurt. It turned out great the first time, but was a little bit runnier than I would have liked. This time I'm getting rid of all of the whey to make it thicker.

You will need:
*8 cups or a half-gallon of skim milk (apparently you can make it with other milks, including rice milk)
*1 cup plain, store bought yogurt with active cultures (I thought all yogurt had active cultures...)
*1 packet of unflavored gelatin
*8 TBS of sweetener. ( I use generic Splenda; can't afford the real stuff and I don't like sugar)
*2 TBS vanilla extract. The fake stuff works just fine, but if you want to be fancy get real extract.
*4 qt or larger slow cooker (I have a 6 qt)
*1 bath towel
*Cheesecloth

Heat the milk in the slow cooker for 2.5 hours on low. Go work out/take a shower/think about doing homework/etc.
Turn off the heat and let cool for 3 hours or until the temp is down to about 112 F. Taking it out of the heating part helps it cool faster, just make sure not to set the stoneware on any cool surfaces. See list of to-do items above.
When the milk is cool enough, remove 2 cups and place in a mixing bowl. Whisk gelatin, sweetener, and vanilla extract (one at a time) in to the milk that is still in the slow cooker. Then whisk the yogurt into the milk in the mixing bowl. Whisk the mixing bowl milk back into the slow cooker milk. If you have taken the stoneware out, put it back in the heating element. Wrap with the towel (my professor says you don't actually have to do this, but it gives me something to do with my unmatching bath towels.) Let sit for at least 8 hours. The longer it sits the tangier it will be.
After it is done sitting, check to make sure it has solidified somewhat. If it hasn't, I'm sorry I failed you. Please hang up and try again. If it has, line a metal strainer with cheese cloth and place over a bowl. Spoon yogurt into the cheese cloth and let it do its thing. Most of the whey should drain out and you can dump cloth contents into whatever container you're going to keep it in. Put cheesecloth back into strainer (or line with new cloth) and repeat until all the yummy yummy yogurt has been strained. Stir the stuff once it's in the container(s).
Label your container with the date. If you're anything like me, you forget when you've made things and this will at least warn you that the contents may appear yucky.
Serve with fruit, granola, or plain. To me it tastes just like the light n fit stuff I used to spend too much money on.