Kettle Corn

Do you love Kettle Corn?

I recently did a post on how to make my Homemade Kettle Corn.

Yummy!

Kettlecorn.co contacted me and added my recipe to their website.

You really have to check it out.

An entire website devoted to Kettle Corn....WOW!

I know what I am making tonight.

Homemade Kettle Corn

Hi all!

I LOOOOVE Kettle Corn. I only had it for the first time a year ago. Ahhh! I was missing that amazingness this whole time! Sad face :(

Another thing you may not know about me is that I am cheep...very cheep. I learned it from my mother. A SALE shopper to the end. So I will NOT pay good money for popcorn when I know it is so easy to make. Example: As a child we NEVER purchased treats or popcorn at the movies. We brought our own. My mom had a really ugly green pleather bag that we took with us full of pre-popped popcorn, pop cans and candy from the gas station. Saved lots of money and I never knew the difference. So spending $8.00 for a bag of kettle corn at the theater is CRAZY! I will not do it!

Guess what I did. I figured out how to make it myself. GENIUS!

And I want to share it with you.

First you need an ugly pot with a fitted lid - Not to big and not to small. (he, he..Goldilocks) You will not want to use this pot for much else after you make this a few times. The bottom gets pretty scorched. The lid must fit well to avoid oil splatter.

• Pop Corn - I use the Walmart stuff
• Oil - vegetable or canola
• Salt
• Sugar

I have a gas stove so take that into consideration. An electric may take more time to heat.

In your pot dump:

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup kernels

Mix up with long wood (not metal or plastic) spoon.

Put on lid. With hot pads hold your pot on each side.

Lift and shake side to side and up and down.

Put on burner, Count to 5.

one one thousand, two one thousand...etc.

Lift and shake....blah, blah, blah

Put on burner and count to 5.

Do this over and over till the popping slows and stops for 2 seconds.

This is me in motion.

Turn off heat and dump popcorn into large bowl IMMEDIATELY. The pot is still hot and will continue to burn your corn.
Sprinkle with salt, mix and salt some more.

NOTE: Be careful of unpopped kernels. They stick to the popped kernels and you don't know it till you bite down. I will not be held responsible for broken teeth! Let your kettle corn cool down and then break it apart gently. This should help dislodge those unpopped kernels.

Done.

This is my bowl, get your own!

This Post was featured on KettleCorn.Co!

Kettle Corn Guest Blog

Guess what!

I am doing my very first guest blog over at What Allie's Making Now!

I am super nervous and excited!

I decided to show how to make my famous Kettle Corn.

Yummy! Not to sweet and not to blah.

Go check it out!

This is my bowl, get your own!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

I can't remember where I got this recipe but boy am I glad I have it!

They are not very good for you, but who cares!

Recipe, makes 50 muffins (can be halved):

4 cups sugar

1 large can pumpkin or 2 small cans (not pumpkin pie)

1 cup oil

5 cups flour

1 tsp cinnamon

4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cloves

1 bag 12 oz chocolate chips

Mix wet ingredients. Add in dry ingredients slowly. Mix well. Fill paper muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Moist, yummy, sweet and chocolaty!

She likes them. I bet you will too!

Grandpa Bread

When I was a little girl we went every summer to visit my mother's family in Utah. We would stay for the whole summer going from house to house. When we were at my grandparents house we always had the same thing for breakfast. Toast. The best toast in the world! It was homemade bread made by my Grandpa Pack. My grandmother was not well most of my life. She had several things that kept her in bed most of the day and in a lot of pain. Grandpa did most of the work both in and out of the house. His bread was soooo good. I remember sitting at the table every meal with bread. It was just what you did. Bread went with everything. To this day my parents eat bread with every meal.

I remember when I was a kid I would say, "I am hungry!" my mother would say, "Have a piece of bread and a glass of milk." Bread solved all problems.

May Grandfather's bread was even better.

So here is his recipe. It is healthy, sweet, moist and just plain yummy. Oh, and it's easy too.

When you eat it remember all the good times you had with family, sitting around the table eating a meal. Food brings us together, and bread is the glue.

Grandpa Bread

Ingredients:

3/4 cup warm water

2 TBL. Yeast

1/4 cup Oil

1/4 cup Honey

1 TBL. Salt

1 cup Applesauce

3/4 cup Hot water

3 cups Whole Wheat Flour

3 cups White Flour

• In a bowl put warm water. Warm to the touch but not hot, like a baby bottle temperature. Add your yeast and a pinch of sugar, allow to proof (get bubbly).
• In your mixer put Oil, Honey, Salt, Applesauce and Hot water (as hot as you can get it before boiling it).
• Add 3 cups of flour one cup at a time, mixing between each.
• Add your proofed yeast mix to the mixer. Mix on low.
• Add the other 3 cups flour one cup at a time, mixing between each. Knead in mixer for about 5 minutes.
• Remove dough from mixer, roll into a ball. Place it in a greased bowl rolling it around to cover in grease. Cover and let rise in a warm place. I raise my bread in the oven. Set your oven to the lowest temperature for about 5 minutes. Turn it off and put your bowl in the oven. Let it rise till double in size. This will vary depending on your climate and elevation. Check after a half hour and then every 15 minutes or so.
• When it has doubled in size remove it from your bowl to the counter. Punch down your dough. This means you are basically going to push it down to remove air from the dough. It shrinks and is very soft.
• At this point you divide it in half and form each half into a loaf. I like to press the dough into a rectangle of sorts and then roll it up like a cinnamon roll. Pinch the seam closed and the ends together. Place in a greased bread pan, roll to cover in grease. Press the dough gently into the corners of the pan. This will help it bake better.
• Place in a warm place, I do the warm oven again, and let rise till it reaches just above the top of the pan.
• While dough is in the oven turn your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. You do not need to remove the bread to preheat the oven. After done you can check to make sure they are ready by tapping on the top and bottom of the loaf. If it is hollow sounding they are ready.
• Place on wire racks to cool. Wait about a half hour to cut.

TIP 1: These can be frozen. I just leave them out to defrost over night.

TIP 2: If you make this with homemade applesauce it is even better. Even cinnamon applesauce is yummy.

Enjoy!

DUMP Cobbler

This is so easy it is almost sad.

WARNING...This is not good for you, but it sure tastes good!

Dump Cobbler

I used fresh apples. You can use any kind of fruit, canned or fresh. My favorite is fresh peaches. This is a good way to use fruit that is about to go bad or fruit that is not quite ripe enough. These apples were way to tart and turned out perfect in the cobbler. This is also perfect for camping/dutch oven.

Cut into small chunks.

Ingredients:
1 large can fruit or equivalent in fresh fruit
1 box cake mix, white or yellow
1 tsp Cinnamon
3/4 cube margarine or butter

Dump your fruit in bottom of 8x8 ish' size pan.
Dump cake mix on top.
Sprinkle Cinnamon on top.

Cut margarine into slices and spread over top.

Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes or until bubbly and brown on top. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving to allow juices to thicken a bit. Topping will be crumbly.

Eat...and prepare yourself for heaven!

Italian Parmesan Chicken Bake

This has got to be the easiest chicken recipe in the world. And it is supper yummy too!

Italian Parmesan Chicken Bake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 cup Italian dressing

Chicken breasts, skinless

non stick spray

Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl or shallow pan. Spray pan with non stick spray. Coat chicken in dressing. Coat chicken in bread crumbs. Place in pan. Bake at 400 for about 30-40 minutes.

I like to set everything up in order so that I have as little mess as possible.

Here it is before it is cooked...

and after.

Serve alone or with spaghetti and marinara sauce.

My kids love it!

I have also used this to make chicken nuggets. Same process, just use chunks of chicken. They freeze well.

Puffy Fluffy Dessert

This is THE BEST DESSERT EVER!

The real name of this is probably much more mature, but i call it Puffy fluffy Dessert.

It is puffy and fluffy so why not. {I like to use descriptive words}

This is super easy too. Takes very little time and practically no effort.

So... I forgot to take a picture before we started eating it. You understand right?

Recipe for Puffy Fluffy Dessert

Crust:

1 cube margarine, melted

1/2 cup nuts (any kind you want)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

1st Layer:

8oz cream cheese (I use the low fat kind)

1 cup powered sugar

1/2 of an 8oz tub Cool Whip (I use low fat kind)

2nd Layer:

1 3oz pkg instant chocolate pudding

1 3oz pkg instant vanilla pudding

2 1/2 cup cold milk

3rd Layer:

other half of the 8oz cool whip

Directions: Mix crust ingredients well and press into a 9x13 greased pan. Bake 350 for 12-15 minutes. Cool completely before adding any other layers.

Mix 1st Layer with beater and spread over cooled crust.

Mix 2nd Layer until dissolved. Put in fridge 10 minutes until pudding forms. Spread on top of 1st layer.

Spread 3rd Layer over top. Sprinkle with shaved chocolate, nuts or whatever you like.

Let cool in fridge about an hour [you don't have to] and EAT!!!!

The Best Bread!

So this is the best bread I have made yet. I got it from my sister Nikole.

It is super easy and you MUST try it!

My Best Bread Recipe

100% Whole Wheat/All Purpose Bread, makes about 2 loaves

1 cup warm water and 2 cups hot tap water
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tbsp instant yeast
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp Vital Wheat Gluten
4 cups AP flour and 4 cups whole wheat flour

In a small bowl add yeast to warm water. Add about 1 tsp of sugar to yeast and let sit for about 5 minutes to proof. Pour the 2 cups hot water into mixer bowl. Add 4 cups flour on top of liquid. Then add oil, honey, salt, gluten and finally the proofed yeast. Start on low them turn up to speed 2 (kitchen aid) to knead. Add other 4 cups of flour one cup at a time until dough begins to form a ball and pull away from the side of the bowl.

Dump dough onto a floured surface and knead by hand for a few minutes, adding flour if needed. Dough should NOT be sticky. To tell if it is ready poke two fingers into dough, if the dough springs back it is ready. Cover your mound of dough with mixer bowl and prepare your pans. Grease two loaf pans with margarine or shortening. Heat oven to warm or low. Divide dough into two equal portions and shape into loaves. Place in pans, rolling them to coat with grease. Place in warm oven, turn off the oven. Let rise till double in size, about 30 minutes to an hour. Remove from oven and cover with towel to keep warm. Preheat oven to bake. Bake 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top and hollow on the bottom when thumped. Remove from pans and cool on wire rack. Rub the top of the loafs with margarine. Dough can be used for pizza crust or cinnamon rolls.

Give it a try, you'll like it!

Cincinnati Chili, Easy Style

I made a new recipe last night, Cincinnati Chili, the super easy version. We have always thought it looked interesting so we decided to just try it! I was super yummy and my 9 year old even liked it! So here is the recipe you you would like to try it. Made enough for 5-6 servings. Leave a comment if you have some ideas.

1 lb ground beef

chopped onion or dry onion, whatever amount you like

1 can tomato sauce

1 tsp cinnamon

1 pkg chili seasoning

1 can kidney beans (if desired)

1 can stewed tomatoes (if desired)

water

spaghetti noodles, cooked

Brown meat and drain fat. Add all except water and mix well. Add water to desired consistency. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Serve over noodles. top with cheese, onions, sour cream, whatever you like!