After School Peanut Butter and Honey Popcorn

You know, we started school in the middle of August, but I was sort of in denial. I was pretending that we were just playing at school, just a little molecular biology for fun. Oh, a smidge of prealgebra just to fend off boredom. The charges weren't a bit tricked-they know all about school during Christmas-just to make it easier to wait for Santa, and school during summer-just so you won't get too sunburned outdoors. These tricks up my sleeve are really just for me. I just didn't want to admit that the tardy bell had rung and school was in session in overripe August. But now, it is after Labor Day, and along with putting away my white shoes, I'm storing away my it's-not-really-school hijinks. Welcome back to school, dear readers. How was your day? Did you learn alot? Bet you're the smartest one in the classroom! You're going to give that ol' teacher a run for money. But, come on and sit down and have a little snack: peanut butter and honey popcorn. It's sweet (like you), crunchy, salty, and it'll give you lots of energy to get your homework done. That's right-homework. But finish your popcorn first.

Money Saving Tips:

Pop your own popcorn for pennies. Put a few tablespoons in a brown paper bag, fold down the top and microwave-then stand there and listen. Here's a link to the complete instructions. After School Peanut Butter and Honey Popcorn

Estimated Cost: $2.50

8 cups popped lightly salted popcorn (low-fat microwave popcorn is fine)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Place popcorn in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, combine sugar and honey. Bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until smooth. Add vanilla, if using. Pour peanut butter syrup over popcorn. Stir and serve. (You can place the popped popcorn in a large paper bag, then pour over the syrup and shake.)

Next Up:

Blueberry Walnut Maple Granola

Patriotic Popcorn

Hello and Happy Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth of July. Uh, what day are we celebrating this year? I'm mixed up. Are we supposed to do our parades, barbecues, swimming and fireworks on Saturday? And then do we sing heart-thumping patriotic hymns on Sunday? (I always wish I had a booming baritone voice to march and sing "Glory, Glory, Hallelujiah." But I also fantasize about having an emotive soprano for the national anthem-I just can't hit those high notes-"And the rockets red glare!...Oer' the land of the fre-ee-eee-eee" Can you hit them without straining any internal organs?) And what about Monday? Are we eating barbecue left-overs or do we start all over again with fresh supplies and renewed enthusiasm? Are we still waving our flags in the street and letting off smoke bombs on the Fifth? Should we maybe just make it a three day feast like the real Thanksgiving-72 hours of Par-tay. What are you doing this weekend, readers?

At least I know we will be eating this in between waving sparklers and listening to piccolo petes. It's Patriotic Popcorn, and you can try saying that ten times fast for kicks. It's a bit of a sticky, gooey mess to make it-which means that kids will love it. When I'm old and my kids are grown, I won't make anymore sticky, gooey foods. My dentures won't be able to handle it anyway, but also, it will be no fun to make a mess without pudgy little hands. Dry, bony, old hands are better for making fat-free cheesecake and broiled chicken breasts. Until then, I resolve myself to enjoy the juicy perfectly patriotic imperfection of cooking with tots. Make some this weekend-you've got three days of celebrating, so get a move on. Have a happy Fourth-uh, Third and Fifth, too. Much love, safety and sticky gooeyness to you and your families!

Patriotic Popcorn (from Kraft Recipes)

Estimated Cost:$2.50 for 8 cups

Notes:

I made two half batches of blue and red jello. Measure out 1/4 cup jello powder from each box.

8 cups popped popcorn (Use low-fat microwave popcorn)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
3 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar or granulated sugar
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Strawberry or Blueberry Flavor Gelatin
Make It
PREHEAT oven to 300°F. Line 15x10x1-inch baking pan with foil or wax paper. Toss popcorn and peanuts in large bowl; set aside.
PLACE butter and syrup in small saucepan; cook on low heat until butter is melted. Add sugar and gelatin; stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Bring to boil on medium heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes. Pour immediately over popcorn mixture; toss to coat well. Spread into prepared pan, using 2 forks to spread evenly.
BAKE 10 minutes. Cool. Remove from pan. Break into small pieces.

Next Up:

Pasta Primavera

P.S. Did you check out these hot dogs from Des News? Head over there.

Last Minute Maple Brown Sugar Popcorn and Bonus Toffee Popcorn

You know someone is going to stop by your house this evening. Someone you completely forgot about it. They'll bring you a gift and you will stammer and tell them that you will be by later to bring a little something by; you haven't forgotten-just haven't had a chance to whip up that little something, uh..because the holidays are just so busy. This somebody is probably on the way to your house RIGHT NOW, but don't panic. All you have to do is whip up some last minute candied popcorn. And you know something? It's sweet, crunchy, and completely addictive and it couldn't be cheaper-or easier to make, thanks to a new method I tried out this morning.

Pop a couple of bags of microwave popcorn, low fat if possible, since you really don't need any added butter. Or pop you own out of about 1 cup kernels. Pour it into a large brown bag, the one you have sitting around waiting to make the brown bag apple with.

In the microwave, boil some butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup for two minutes. Stir in some vanilla (or maple extract-my favorite) and some baking soda.

Pour it over the popcorn in the bag...and give it to the most hyperactive person in your house. Let them shake it and boogie down, baby.

Voila! You've got enough to share. Phew, just in time, because wasn't that the doorbell?

Maple and Brown Sugar Candied Popcorn

Estimated Cost: $2.00 for about 2 gallon bag fulls

1 cup popcorn kernels, popped, or two bags microwave popcorn

10 tablespoons butter

1 and 1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon maple extract (or sub vanilla)

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Pour popcorn into brown bag. In a LARGE (mixture will expand) microwaveable bowl, melt butter in microwave. Stir in brown sugar and syrup. Bring to a boil in the microwave and continue to microwave for two minutes. Stir in extract and soda, mixing well. Pour over popcorn in bag. Close bag and shake well. Return to microwave for one minutes. Stir inside the bag with a wooden spoon to distribute coating well. Rip open bag and devour, or be a saint and package some up for friends.

Toffee Popcorn....

Now, I'm also very partial to rich and crunchy toffee popcorn. Sailor just took some to a holiday party this weekend. (Get a load of her candy cane tights in the shadows.)

Here's how to make it:

Toffee Popcorn

Estimated Cost: $1.50 for about 8 cups

1 bag low fat micro popcorn, popped (or 1/2 cup kernels, popped)

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup corn syrup

1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon baking soda
Butter a medium saucepan. Melt butter in pan over low heat. Stir in sugar over low heat until completely dissolved. Add corn syrup and water. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Boil for about three minutes, OR until mixture JUST begins to turn tan, almost like the color of chino pants. Add vanilla and soda and mix well. Pour over popcorn and stir. (I would recommend the bag method above for even distribution.)

Next Up:

What we gave the Neighbors this year....

Dark Brown Sugar Caramel Popcorn

C and H Dark brown sugar. Don't leave your grocery store without it.This week, I got a $20 gift card from C and H and Domino sugars. The money was meant to help cover the cost of creating a treat from their website and posting about it here on Prudence Pennywise. The truth of the matter is that irregardless of the $20 gift card, I ALWAYs buy C and H dark brown sugar. The flavor is deep and caramely, perfect for adding depth to any recipe that calls for brown sugar. Cheap grocery store brand brown sugar just doesn't have the same flavor quality, and you end up unfortunately getting what you paid for. When it comes to C and H dark brown sugar, I'm a life long loyal customer. So I'm happy to toot their holiday horn today. You've got to head over to their website and check out their great holiday gift ideas. Check them out here.
My favorite idea was for caramel corn:
"To ship baked goods with popcorn as cushion, add 1/2 of caramelized popcorn into a large clear plastic bag. Insert bag into shipping box. Adjust bag and popcorn to fill bottom of box. Add your baked goods, which should be in a sealed plastic bag. Top off with the remaining of the popcorn mixture and securely seal the plastic bag. Be sure to release enough air so that you can close the box. Your baked items will safely be floating in the delicious caramelized popcorn, ready to ship. "
I'd heard of packing in plain styrofoam-y popcorn, but caramel corn is an entirely different matter altogether. Wouldn't you love to open a present and have this sweet popcorn come spilling out instead of those packing peanuts that kids always make a mess with? And even if you aren't packing up for shipping, Dark Brown Sugar Caramel Popcorn makes a sensational gift. It's easy and quick to make, plus it's extremely inexpensive. But then again, why give it all away for a gift? Wouldn't your family like a big bowl of it in front of the fireplace with a Christmas story tonight?
Now here's the recipe, and it's fantastic. I make it all the time, but with one significant difference. I don't always bake it in the oven when I'm done. Sometimes I want chewy, gooey caramel popcorn, so I skip the oven, and simply toss it and eat it. For packing up for give-aways, I always use the baking option. In fact, I'm making some today to hand out to my top-scoring college students on our most recent Humanities test. No wonder my Winter classes are already full.

Dark Brown Sugar Caramel Popcorn

Estimated Cost: $3.00
1 cup salted butter
2 cups C&H Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 quarts popped popcorn
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 250°F. Line two large shallow baking dishes with parchment paper. Divide popcorn and spread into baking dishes, set aside. For caramel: In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter. Add brown sugar, corn syrup and salt, continuously stirring, bring to a boil. Let boil for 3-4 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat, stir in baking soda and vanilla. While caramel is still hot, stream over popcorn. Stir caramel into popcorn with a wooden spoon to coat. (Stop here if you like it gooey and chewy.) Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Break apart popcorn with your hands.

Here's a cute packaging idea for a cookie dough give away from the Domino's website...

Next Up:

More ideas for Homemade Christmas Gifts...

Pennywise Tip for Popcorn

Look for other great money savers by clicking on "Pennywise Tips" below and left.
About 11 o'clock at night, my dad would put on his blue bathrobe, pop himself a big bowl of popcorn, and settle himself in front of the TV for the news or a snippet of a Laker game. He worked hard, rising at 5 for handball, running his own company, getting to all the sporting events of all 10 of us children, and keeping up with his leadership responsibilities at church. By 11 o'clock at night, he needed a snack and a break. Dad made his own popcorn on the stovetop, long before those oily yellow microwave packages were available.

We were all supposed to be in bed, fast asleep, but when we'd smell homemade popcorn and hear the ping ping ping of the kernels exploding, we'd wander downstairs to try to spend a few minutes with Dad. This only worked if you came alone. If we came in twos, we'd get sent back to bed. You had to act fast if you wanted to be his one and only popcorn partner. Whoever came alone got some buttery handfuls and a few minutes with Pop. So, Dad, Happy Father's Day-and here's a pennywise tip for you, to keep you eating popcorn into the next few decades.

You can make homemade, from scratch microwave popcorn in minutes and for pennies-with no pot to clean and no harmful additives. All you need is a brown lunch bag, olive oil, and popcorn and a stapler. Oh, and a microwave of course. And salt and butter are always good.

Happy Father's Day, Big Stuff. No girl could have ever had a better dad.

Homemade Microwave Popcorn

Estimated Cost: 20 cents

Notes: The tiny staple will NOT cause sparks in the microwave. Be sure to remove it before you pour out the popcorn.

1/4 cup popcorn kernels

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pour 1/4 cup popcorn kernels into a brown paper lunch sack. Add olive oil and salt. Fold over and staple top of bag. Smooth bag to get rid of air, and rub kernels through bag to distribute oil. Pop for about 2 minutes, or until there are 3 seconds between pops. Pour into bowl and serve.

Yummy Variation:

Add 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary to bag. Toss popped popcorn with butter, parmesan and garlic powder.

Coming Tomorrow (Or Monday-we'll see...):

Food and Furthermore-Sending Out Blog Awards