I have the opposite problem - we always seem to run out of milk! Of course, we only buy a half gallon at a time and have it every morning on cereal...

My favorite way to use up lots of milk is to make rice pudding. 1 cup arborio rice plus 5 cups of milk simmered on very low heat until the rice is creamy is perfect. I add raisins and a cinnamon stick at the beginning and brown sugar about halfway through.

You could also make a pudding or custard or bechamel sauce or a creamy soup.

Paneer, cottage cheese, yoghurt...

Make carrot halva--great Indian dessert. You could freeze the milk into ice cube trays and thaw for cooking or crush into smoothies/blender breakfasts. Of course puddings. I've also made good lighter in fat alfredo sauces with milk, but 1% might be a little too light...eh add more butter! :-)

freeze your milk....you can defrost it and use it later

Chocolate pie; coconut cream pie; puddings galore! Jazz up your calcium intake the right way - with foods high in it! You can go sugar free and still have dessert easily with puddings, and bump your vitamin D intake at the same time that you increase your calcium. Double score! Then of course, a delicious potato soup on a cold winter day, or tomato soup, or any cream soup you make from scratch. A good bread recipe that uses milk; home-made English muffins use a cup full. Lots of milky delights are out there for the taking. Google for recipes with milk in the ingredients list.

Making homemade cheese requires A LOT of milk. I don't do it, but I hear it's good.

I would use it for things like bread pudding, custards, quiches. A cup here or there and suddenly it's gone.

And let's not forget hot chocolate. Yum.

Ice cream! I make it all the time! My kids love my homemade vanilla and it seriously only takes 25 minutes.

Course you would need an ice cream maker....

But I agree, why are you spending 10 cents extra on something you are throwing out? Doesn't follow..........

You can make a flan! It's a great way to use up milk and all you need is a couple eggs, some sugar and vanilla.

freeze it. or make biscuits and freeze them uncooked.

Make your own yogurt, it's easy and tastes so good. We make the yogurt, then turn about half into greek style by pressing out the water through a linen cloth. We marinate with yogurt, add it to soups, have a few favorite bread recipes that ask for yogurt, make yogurt salad dressing (good also over veggies). Yay yogurt!

I had the same problem. I switched to organic milk and it lasts much, much longer. You'll pay a bit more, but it's worth it in the long run.

Of course, this is assuming that you aren't already buying organic. If that's the case, I'd stick to the half gallon and not waste it!

I've been guilty of this, too, though I never wasted half the gallon. It is cheaper and more convenient to buy a gallon and have a couple cups go to waste than to buy two half-gallons. But I hate waste, and I also hate funky milk. For awhile, I made my own yogurt, but for some reason, the past few times I've tried it just. will. not. work. So I'm back to buying half gallons.

oh man. i do this exact same thing! our local grocery store has been running better deals on whole gallons than half gallons... then i end up throwing out MORE than half a gallon... freezing is a good idea but i'm paranoid with milk and expiration dates... drinking milk the day before its date even makes me wanna yack. i wouldnt be able to go about my day knowing weeks old milk is thawing in the fridge.

Uh, don't continue to purchase more than you need? Sorry. This is a dumb question.

Pancakes. Lots and lots of pancakes. :)

Paneer to use in curry dishes.

This doesn't seem like such a ridiculous question to me. It's kind of like finding a product on sale for a great price (imagine 10 cents for a worthwhile amount of anything!) and then finding a way to use it all.
My family is on WIC, and often have too much milk, because they put two gallons on one of our checks and only one quart on another. That alternates us between too much and too little milk (1 gallon at a time works perfectly for us.) Freezing works fine for us, but I love the hot chocolate idea. I should do that - right now!

this diy ricotta from lottie + doof is so simple and SOOOOO delicious.
i did the first part with the curdling, left my apartment for a few hours (it says to tend to it again in 2 hrs, but i did 3-3.5) to do some errands, and came back for the last step. i used it for pizza. it made less than i thought, because a lot of the whey is strained out (i hear that is great in yeasted bread recipes instead of water), so between the pizza and munching on it plain while making the pizza, it was pretty much gone.
best freakin pizza i ever made.

'n thing puddings and custards. There's lots of options; and they all make a wonderful treat for the end of a great meal.

I buy the 2 gallon box of non-fat milk from Costco. With 2 teen/preteen kids, it tends to go, but if we have extra, I make tapioca. YUM.

CHAI LATTES.... 1 part chai latte mix (I prefer Oregon Chai latte concentrate) and then 1 part milk...pop in microwave for 2 minutes, and yum! Sprinkle some nutmeg and/or cinnamon on top, and now you don't have to go and spend $4 at your favorite coffee shop!

When I have extra milk I made pudding or cream of tomato soup.

You know how you soak chicken in buttermilk before frying it? Well, there you go! Also, when I soak chicken breasts with buttermilk they bake up very tender. I would imagine milk has the same effect.

I recommend making chocolate or butterscotch pudding. Or you can also use it for homemade facials.

I second cottage cheese as an option. It's so simple, boil, add vinegar (1-2 tbsp.), boil another 5 minutes, cool, strain. Salt. Done.

ricotta cheese!

Another vote for freezing it! Freeze half a gallon the day you buy it and TaDa! your milk costs are cut in half!

Another vote for rice pudding. It's delicious hot or cold for breakfast with a spoonful of raspberry jam on top.

stop buying a whole gallon...

@ shantiquax - of course! You reminded me of Jamie Oliver's chicken in milk! Another good way to use up extra milk and to make incredibly tender and flavorful and MOIST roasted chicken.

saving ten cents vs. wasting a half gallon... hmm.
I'd just buy the half gallon.

you can extend the shelf life of milk by at least a week--maybe more--by adding a few drops of hydrogen peroxide to it when you open it. it won't hurt you, and it keeps the milk fresh longer. if it squicks you out, you can read about it here. (pdf file)