Caramel Popcorn

This past weekend, my Mom made homemade caramel popcorn, and it was so good!  It was so good that I had to make my own batch.

With the holidays coming up, this popcorn would even be great as a gift, packaged into holiday-themed tins or containers.

Here's the recipe to make the popcorn - perfect for a gift or a snack!

Ingredients:

5 quarts cooked popcorn (approx. 2 1/2 bags of popcorn)
2 sticks of butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup karo syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

Instructions:

Bring the butter, brown sugar, and karo syrup to a boil in a saucepan.  When it begins boiling, let it do so for five minutes.  Do not stir.  After five minutes, turn off the heat.  Add the vanilla and baking soda.  Stir the mixture.  On a cookie sheet, spread out the popcorn.  Pour this mixture over it and make sure to mix it a little so the popcorn is coated. Also, sprinkle the chopped nuts onto the popcorn.  Bake this at 250 degrees for an hour.  Every fifteen minutes, give it a little stir to mix it around. 

After the hour in the oven, the popcorn is done!  Take it out and enjoy!

And here's what else has been going on in the kitchen...holiday cookies!

Thanksgiving Appetizers!

Thanksgiving is here!  This year, I decided to make two different appetizers for my family to try.  We like to "pre-game" before the big meal, and these two appetizers were just perfect.

The first one is a Spicy Buffalo Chicken Dip.  If you've read my past posts, you know that we like all varieties of buffalo chicken. 

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded chicken (you can buy this in a can, already cooked)
1 package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce
2 tablespoons hot sauce
1/3 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

In a casserole dish, spread the cream cheese, then drain the chicken, and layer the pieces into the dish.  Pour the wing sauce and drizzle the hot sauce over the chicken.  Add the ranch dressing.  Over the top, sprinkle the shredded cheese.  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.  Once baked, you can turn the broiler on and leave it in there for a few more minutes so that the cheese gets crispy.

Serve with tortilla chips and carrot sticks.  Enjoy!

The second appetizer is a really quick and easy one.  It is Raspberry Baked Brie.  All it involves is a bit of prep time.

Ingredients:

15 filo cups (you can find these in the freezer section of the grocery store)
1 block of brie cheese
Seedless raspberry jelly

Instructions:

Cut the brie cheese into small cubes.  Into each filo cup, place one of teh cheese  cubes.  Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes, or until you see that the cheese has melted.  Now, take them out of the oven and spoon about 1 teaspoon of jelly into each.  Put them back in the oven for about 5 minutes. 

Enjoy these bite-sized apps!

Christmas Brittle

This is one of the easiest, tastiest recipes for a Christmas treat.  This is a great thing to make while you're making your holiday cookies.  

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 sleeve of saltines
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.  Lay all of the saltine crackers down onto the sheet, one next to the other.  Fill the entire sheet with the crackers.  Now, in a saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, and the vanilla.  Cook on medium heat until it is all dissolved.  Once dissolved, pour the mixture over the crackers.  Bake this for about six minutes at 350 degrees.  Then, take it out and pour the chocolate chips over the crackers.  Make sure to sprinkle the chips evenly.  Put back in the oven for about three more minutes.  Smooth the melted chocolate out with a spatula.  Cover it with plastic wrap and put in the fridge overnight.  The next day, break it up into pieces.  The brittle is done!  Enjoy!

Snowball Cookies

I typically think of snowball cookies as a Christmas treat, but I made some a little early this year.  These are the easiest cookies to make, because there's really only a few ingredients!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
3/4 cup confectionery sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
Optional: 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Instructions:

Microwave the butter for about 45 seconds to soften.  Then, combine with the sugar and cream them.  A mixer is essential for getting the sugar and butter well mixed.  Now, add in  the flour, salt, and vanilla.  Mix well.  If you are adding pecans or walnuts, be sure that they are finely chopped, and add them now.  Stir batter so that nuts are mixed in.  When it is fully combined, roll the dough into small spheres, and bake at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes.  When they are just turning golden brown, take out the oven and let them cool for about five minutes.

Now, get some extra confectionery sugar and put it into a shallow bowl.  Mix each cookie around in the sugar until the outside of the cookie is mostly coated. Enjoy!


*yields 3 dozen*

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

A great treat during this time of year is...roasted pumpkin seeds!  They are really easy to prepare and are a tasty snack.

Ingredients:

The seeds from 1 pumpkin
Coarse salt

Instructions:

Once you've cleaned out the pumpkin and separated the seeds, you can rinse them off and then dry them with a papertowel.  Now, spread them out on a cookie sheet.  Sprinkle coarse salt over them.  Bake at 350 degrees.  Every so often, open the oven and move around the seeds a bit with a spatula so that they roast evenly. Enjoy!

The chickens love to eat the leftover pumpkin pieces!

Fresh Brussel Sprouts

I love brussel sprouts.  This is the first year that my parents planted them in the garden, and we've been waiting for the first frost to harvest them.  Here are some that we picked from the garden today!

You can roast them in a pan or in the oven, and they taste great either way.  Here's how I like to cook them on the stove top:

Ingredients:

Brussels sprouts ~ 10 is usually a good serving size for each person
Juice from 1/2 of a lemon
3 cloves garlic
Salt
Pepper

Instructions:

Cut the stem portion off of the brussels, then slice in half.  Bring a pan to medium heat and drizzle the bottom with olivve oil.  Then, crush the cloves of garlic and add to the pan.  When they start tp sizzle, add the brussel sprouts.  Add a dash of salt and pepper, and another drizzle of olive oil.  Once they have been cooking for a few minutes, squeeze the juice of half a lemon onto them.  Make sure to stir them around now and then so that they all roast evenly.

After 12-15 minutes, they will be tender.  What a perfect side dish to serve with a nice meal!  Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pies

Today my Mom and I made a batch of homemade chicken pot pies.  We made miniature sized pies and regular sized ones.  Here's our recipe for traditional pot pies, made simple. 

This recipe will yield seven mini pies, or 1 large pie.

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken (to save time, we used a rotisserie chicken that was pre-cooked; we just cut pieces of chicken off the bone and diced into small chunks)
1/3 cup onion, finely diced
1/3 cup celery, finely diced
1 cup of frozen mixed vegetables (we used a bag of peas and carrots from the store)
1/2 cup diced potatoes ~ (if using canned potatoes, use as is; if using fresh potatoes, make sure you microwave the diced pieces for about 2 minutes until they soften)
2 tablespoons butter
2 flavored bouillon cubes
1/4 cup flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups of chicken stock
Pie crusts ~ (if using store-bought crusts, 1 package will be enough for this recipe; if you want to make your own - see my past recipe for homemade crust in my Apple Pie post)
7 mini pie tins or 1 large pie tin~ disposable tins are easily found at the grocery store in the baking section

Instructions:

In a large saucepot on medium heat, add your olive oil. When it heats up a bit, add the celery and onions.  When the onions have cooked down a bit and the vegetables look translucent, add the butter.  When it melts completely, add the flour and start whisking immediately. Whisk until the flour is completely dissolved into the mixture.  

In a separate bowl, put the bouillon cubes into the chicken stock and microwave it for about two minutes.  Now, add the chicken stock to the saucepot.  Turn up the heat.  Add the potatoes and the frozen vegetables.  Add the chicken.  The mixture will almost come to a boil.  Let it cook for about 7-10 minutes.  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  We used the mini pie tins as "templates,"  flipped them over onto the crust, and cut the crust around the edge of the tin.  As I said, a "top" and "bottom" crust in a package from the store made 7 mini crusts.   You are only using these as top crusts; the pies do not need bottom crust.

Now, ladle your veggie mixture straight into the pie tins, leaving a bit of room in the tin.  Lay a crust on top of each tin, and then slice a tiny slit into the top of each pie.

Cook in the oven for about forty minutes.  When the crust is golden brown, they are done! 

Look at these - so delicious!  The individual ones are great if you were having guests over for
dinner, and the larger pies would be a great item to bring if you are the guest!