Cooking With Kids Part Deux :) and Bright Pink Popcorn :)

First things first... yes, I did take French in High School.  And Jr. High mind you- so actually 5 years.  Did I take Spanish? No... do I regret it? Maybe :) I don't meet too many French people... let alone those that don't speak fluent English so... Well I can understand words, and can read it or write it fairly competantly but ask me to speak it?? Uh... no.

Now, we all have had experiences where our kids say at 8 pm... "Mom... I need (such and such) for class tomorrow!". We had one of those this weekend at our house... well kinda :) My younger daughter Michelle, bless her heart, has always been one of my biggest promoters to her friends and everyone else.   I really am grateful that she has such faith in me, and love that about her! The times she offers my services without consulting me first... well it gives me a little "Mom... I need this tomorrow" type feeling :).  She really is a sweetheart, and I am not upset, just a little well.. is frazzled the right word? :)

Well, her and the entire mutual group (young men and women ages 12-18) are having a movie night tomorrow and she had the thought that what would be better than some specialty popcorn for movie night! Hey... I would much rather have caramel or peanut butter popcorn than regular old butter popcorn anyday! So we did that... we tried some new recipes, and well...  They are good, don't get me wrong, but... Well regardless, they were definitely edible :) and we had fun making 3 kinds of yummy popcorn treats tonight.

Treat #1. We made my favorite... Cinnamon Bun Popcorn (recipe here) which turned out pretty good- the last few times I have made it - it has turned out ever so slightly grainy... still delicious, but the texture (like I said, I am a texture person) really kinda bothers me.  I think it may have to do with my corn syrup... it is about 6 months old, (it has an indefinite shelf life :) don't worry!) or my microwave... I feel a little science experiment coming on :) ok... getting off topic here :)  Here is a picture.... looks nummy doesn't it?

Treat #2- a new recipe :) Peanut Butter Cup Popcorn. (recipe slightly modified from 2 Peas and Their Pod) minus the mini Reeses PB Cups. Not that I don't wish I had some :)
8 cups plain popcorn- I used just over 12... again a mix of microwave and air popped
Fine salt (I forgot this... oops)
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips, melted
1 1/2 cups Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
I also doubled everything but the popcorn, and used dark chocolate for a more intense chocolate flavor..., please feel free to make it as you see fit!

Mix honey and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat over Medium, stirring constantly and bring to a boil- simmer 2 minutes.  Pour over popcorn, and let cool. I baked it for about 10 minutes... and it overcooked rather quickly... so I don't know if I recommend it.  I know they didn't in the original recipe :) Drizzle melted chocolate over popcorn and let set :) I may just have had a different idea of what this was going to be like- but I don't know if I will keep this one... I may have to think about it.  It was good though :) 

 

 I am a big fan of peanut butter and chocolate by the way... :) 

And last but not least :) And I am sure you are wondering what the post title meant... our bright pink Jello popcorn.  It is a little sticky, just to let you know, so if you don't like that, I apologize.  It seems like no matter how long I cook it, it will not get as crispy as normal caramel corn... but it is delicious nonetheless :) It is another fave from Our Best Bites :) (have I told you today how much I love that blog????)

Fruity Candy Popcorn {AKA Jello Popcorn}

8 cups popped popcorn
1/4 C butter (that’s half a stick)
3 T light corn syrup (honey is a good substitute)
1/2 C sugar
1 3.5oz box jello, any flavor (not the sugar free kind)
I have added food coloring (matching the flavor) because it seems to lose some of  it's vibrancy for some reason... at least mine did..
Preheat oven to 300°F. Lightly grease a turkey roasting pan and set aside. Place popcorn in an extra large mixing bowl.
Place butter and syrup in a sauce pan on medium heat. Stir until butter is melted. Add sugar and Jello and stir to combine. You may notice that some Jello flavors have more powder in them than others... not sure why this is... but the mixture will be thicker or thinner based on this.  (just in case you wonder, like I did, why it isn't the same from one time to the next... it freaked me out the first time...)  Increase heat and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat so it just simmers. Continue simmering the mixture for 5 minutes.After the sugar mixture simmers for 5 minutes, immediately pour over popcorn in bowl. Be so very careful, it’s really hot!! Mix right away and keep stirring until all kernels are well coated. . Spread mixture onto prepared pan and spread out evenly.
Bake for 10 minutes- maybe a little longer depending on your tastes :)
Remove the pan from the oven and let cool completely.  Enjoy!!!
And pink just totally makes me happy :) so why not? Watermelon jello is pink - even though watermelons themselves are quite red (if you had a pink watermelon, you would be sad right? Because that would mean it wasn't fully ripe!)
And here it is :) I am one of those crazy people that absolutely hates watermelon- (again... texture issues) but watermelon candy is delicous to me :) and of course... it doesn't really taste that much like real watermelon... hmmm why is that??? One of those things I guess!

Dang it... I was going to take a picture of my sweet little press agent taking the popcorn in cute little containers... after the day we had... she went with it in gallon plastic bags :) Still a big smile on her face- and still to rave reviews from the 50 plus kids and leaders! Music to my ears :)

Sorry I really rambled on today didn't I? wow...
Well I hope you all have a chance to try these recipes sometime- I would love to hear what you think!!!

Sweet Dreamz all!!!
Renee :D