Homemade Dark Chocolate Drizzled Kettle Corn

About a month or so ago, my mom asked me if there were any recipes for homemade Kettle Corn. She had been enjoying a little chocolate drizzled kettle corn as an afternoon snack, but the bag was almost empty, and as it was a seasonal item, the stores around here didn't have any more available.

So I went searching on Pinterest to see what I could find. Sure enough, I found a recipe that looked easy, and decided to give it a try. The first batch was sort of a success. I only had a regular cooking pan to make the popcorn in, and the sugar stuck to the bottom of the pan a little and the popcorn had a slightly burned taste.

I wasn't ready to give up yet, and thought I'd try it again on a lower temperature. This time was worse! Not only did the popcorn burn again, the sugar also badly burned onto the pan leaving black spots that only came off with vigorous scrubbing and cleaning products! Things were just not working!

Then one day we were at church getting our weekly carry-in meal ready and one of the families brought their new Whirley Pop popcorn maker to make kettle corn! That's what I was missing! A regular pan just wasn't good enough for making kettle corn, I needed a special popcorn popper! We've always used and air popper for making popcorn, so this was something new.

Within a week or two, I had purchased a used Whirley Pop popper off of Ebay and was in business! This pan is just perfect for making kettle corn, and we have been thoroughly enjoying it since we got it. It takes a lot of turning to keep the oil, sugar, and popcorn kernels moving so that they won't burn, but it's worth it, and turns out perfect yummy kettle corn every time!

Making Kettle Corn

Measure 1/2 cup popcorn kernels, 1/4 cup organic sugar (or regular sugar), and 1/4 cup coconut oil (affiliate link).

Pour oil in popper and heat over medium heat until hot. Add popcorn and sugar. Stir to combine. Close lid and begin stirring as the popcorn heats and the sugar melts.

Just as you begin to think nothing is going to happen, the kernels begin to explode first one or two at a time and then more and more at once! Keep stirring until you can't stir anymore as the pan is completely full.

Quickly dump into a large bowl and sprinkle with salt to taste, stirring to get the salt mixed in thoroughly.

Now, you're ready to dig in and eat your yummy treat, OR you can go a step farther and turn your plain kettle corn into an even more special treat by adding drizzled chocolate!

Melt 1/2-3/4 cup dark chocolate chips (depending on how much popcorn you have left after eating sampling the plain kettle corn) and whatever oil has settled in the bottom of the measuring cup from making the popcorn.

Spread the popcorn in a single layer on cookie sheets. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Place the pans in the freezer (or fridge) for about 10 minutes to allow the chocolate to harden.

Break into chunks and enjoy!

You could also try this with semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips or peanut butter chips for a fun and yummy variation!

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Grandma's Ginger Cookies

Nearly every Saturday morning finds me in the kitchen making food to take to our carry in dinner after church on Sunday, and yesterday was no exception.

After cooking up the chicken and rice casserole and filling the crock pot ready for heating up today, I turned to the dessert. I decided to take advantage of the fact that it is still winter (despite the fact that the temperature was in the 60's yesterday) and make a recipe I typically only make in the Fall and Winter months - Grandma's Ginger Cookies.

The original recipe for these cookies has been passed down from generation to generation from my Great-Great Grandma. If you love ginger cookies, you'll want to try this recipe. These special cookies are packed with flavor and are crisp on the outside while being oh so soft in the middle!

I have changed the recipe slightly to make it a little healthier, but the taste is just as wonderful.

Grandma's Ginger Cookies

1/2 cup palm shortening

1/2 cup coconut oil (or additional shortening)

1 cup molasses

1 cup cane juice crystals (or sugar)

1 egg

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

1 tablespoon ginger

1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Mix shortening, oil, molasses, sugar, and egg. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake on 350 for 8-10 minutes.

(Do not over bake unless you like your cookies completely crisp rather than soft inside.)

 

Note: The palm shortening and coconut oil I used in this recipe are from Tropical Traditions. I highly recommend their quality products and right now they even have a FREE Shipping coupon! Just use the code 28113 at checkout to receive free shipping on your order. Plus if you order through one of my referral links on this page, you'll also receive a FREE copy of their Coconut Oil book which is excellent! And thanks in advance for allowing me to refer you to Tropical Traditions!

I'm linked up at: Heavenly Treats Sunday

Apple Muffins with Coconut Oil (plus coupon)

These apple muffins are some of my family's favorite muffins, and I hope you will enjoy them too! They are really moist, and freeze great.

Apple Raisin Muffins

3/4 cup coconut oil (or other oil)

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached white flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups diced apples

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 12 muffin cups.

In a large bowl, beat oil and sugar with electric mixer for 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla; beat 1 minute. In another bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add dry ingredients to oil mixture; stir just to combine. Stir in apples, raisins, and walnuts.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups; bake 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in center of one muffin comes out clean.

Remove muffin tin to wire rack. Cool 5 minutes before removing muffins from cups; finish cooling on rack. Serve warm or cool completely and store in an airtight container.

These muffins freeze well. Makes 12 muffins.

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Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

With July being National Ice Cream month, we've been taking full advantage of that fun fact and enjoying a few yummy ice cream events!

The first one was at our church on what we named Ice Cream Sunday. We always share a meal after church, but this time, we decided that everyone should bring ice cream (or toppings) for dessert. It was so much fun! Five of the children and I worked together to prepare and serve the ice cream.

We had a great variety of homemade ice cream, store ice cream, and Braum's ice cream (Braum's happens to be right next door to where we meet for church :)).

Everyone enjoyed creating their own ice cream sundaes with their choice of ice cream and toppings!

I made two different types of homemade ice cream, but my absolute favorite was the Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream! This is the best homemade ice cream recipe I've ever had! It's really easy and SO creamy and yummy! The original recipe calls for blueberries, but since I prefer other berries, I've tried this recipe with strawberries (last year) and raspberries (this year). Both varieties are delicious and got rave reviews from nearly everyone who tried them, but I think I prefer the raspberry just a little bit better.

Pairing the fruity tartness of the raspberries with the crunchy goodness of the graham cracker crust swirled in the sweet, creamy cheesecake ice cream makes an absolutely delicious special occasion treat!

Our second event paired ice cream and politics. Every election year a local group of Republican ladies known as the Lincoln Ladies host a free Ice Cream Social where anyone in our county can come and enjoy ice cream and cookies while at the same time getting to hear from the candidates who are running for election at the state or local level.

Our family went not only to hear the candidates and enjoy the ice cream, but also to show our support for Congressman Todd Akin who is running for Senate.

How have you been celebrating National Ice Cream month? :)

Lay's Taste From Home Recipe and Giveaway (US)

 If you've done much traveling around the US, or even if you've just met people from different parts of the country either in person or from blogs, I'm sure you're aware that each part of the country seems to have it's own flair when it comes to cooking. Each region has it's own unique flavors that separate it from the rest of the country.

Of course as people move around, these cuisines mix, combine, and adjust as families bring their recipes to their new homes. But for all that, there are still certain dishes and remind you of home no matter where you find them.


Frito Lay is hosting a Taste From Home Recipe Contest in which I was invited to participate. They want to celebrate the unique flavors and cuisines from all across the country, and have asked for a recipe that reminds me of home.


I live in the Mid-west, and as I was considering what specific kind of food our region is known for, I couldn't come up with anything specific. We're right here in the middle of the country and seem to enjoy the flavors gathered from many parts of the country. I kept thinking. When I think of home, what kind of food do I think of.


Simple, comforting, easy to prepare. This is what I think of. The people I know here in the Mid-West seem to like simple, homely, comforting dishes. We don't do lots of frying like those in the South. Our specialty isn't sea food, or spicy cajun food although that's not to say we don't like those things and serve them on occasion. For us here in the mid-west, I'd say our specialty is just down home simple dishes like these potatoes I created for our family.

 

Cheesy Cheddar Potatoes

7-8 medium red potatoes
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Scrub potatoes and cut into bite size pieces. In a medium/large pot, steam potatoes until tender.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan. Whisk in flour until smooth. Add milk and stir. Cook on medium/high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to boil. Add salt and pepper. Continue cooking and stirring until sauce thickens. Turn heat to low and add cheese. Stir until cheese has melted.

Once potatoes have cooked, spoon then into a greased 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Pour sauce over potatoes and stir to combine. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until top begins to brown and bubble. Let sit about 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

In addition to the Taste From Home recipe contest, Frito-Lay has also celebrated the regional flavors from around the US with 5 special flavors of potato chips!

These chips were inspired by popular American regional cuisine and include:

Northeastern U.S. – Lay’s Honey Mustard
Midwestern U.S. – Lay’s Creamy Garden Ranch
Northwestern U.S. – Lay’s Balsamic Sweet Onion
Southwestern U.S. – Lay’s Chipotle Ranch
Southeastern U.S. – Lay’s Cajun Herb & Spice

All of the Lay’s Regional Flavored potato chips are made with all natural ingredients, and are cooked in healthier oils so they contain 0 grams of trans fats per serving! There’s also less sodium in them than you might think – a 1-oz serving of our Lay’s Regional Flavored potato chips contains less salt than a plain bagel!

How would you like to win a bag of each of these five flavors? Frito-Lay is generously offering one of my readers their very own variety pack of these regional flavors! Don't they all look yummy?! I would especially love to try the Cajun Herb & Spice and the Chipotle Ranch flavors.

The Giveaway: Complete the mandatory entry below and any additional entries you want to, and make sure you include your e-mail address!!

Mandatory Entry:

Tell me what flavors or recipes remind you of home or tell me which flavor you'd be most excited to try AND leave me your e-mail address.

Extra Entries (please leave a separate comment for each one and don't forget to leave me your e-mail address!):
*Follow me on Google Friend Connect (1 entry)
*Blog about this giveaway (2 entries)
*Tweet this giveaway (can be done once a day - 1 entry each)
*Share this giveaway on Facebook (1 entry)
*Share this giveaway with friends through e-mail and let me know you did (1 entry)
*Comment on any non giveaway blog posts and tell me which one (1 entry)
*Enter the Starry Home Crafts giveaway (1 entry)

This giveaway is open to the US only. The giveaway will close on August 24th, and the winner will be chosen by random.org and notified by e-mail. The winner has 48 hours to get back to me with their address or a new winner will be chosen.

Disclosure: This post is my entry into the recipe contest. Also Frito-Lay has provided the prize pack for this giveaway.

Chocolate Chip Mint Brownies

These brownies are SO easy and quick to make, and they sure are yummy! Whenever I take them to our church lunches, they disappear in a hurry, and I never have leftovers to take home. Everyone seems to love the combination of gooey brownies, chocolate chips, and mint pieces! Yummy!

All you will need to make these is a brownie mix (plus the extra ingredients to make the brownies), chocolate chips and Andes mint pieces. I use an Aldi's brownie mix which our family thinks is the BEST brownie mix there is (and it's cheaper than a name brand mix! :)).

Mix your brownies according to the directions on the box. Stir in approx. 1/2 cup chocolate chips, and 1/2 cup mint pieces. Mix thoroughly and spread in a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle additional chips and mint pieces on top of the batter. Bake according to package directions.

I usually use somewhere around 1/3 of a bag each of the chips and mint pieces for each brownie mix, so a bag of each will give me three pans of brownies.

This is my very favorite way to make brownies, and I hope you'll enjoy it too! :)

Recycled Cookies

Recycle. Reuse. Those words seem to be everywhere these days! :)

A couple weeks ago I was trying to figure out what I could do with the two bags of cookies pieces I had in the freezer. We had had a bunch of homemade cookies for an event that were stored in ziplock bags. Some cookies didn't end up being used, but after traveling in their bags a couple different places, they were no longer whole. I didn't want to just throw out all those cookies, but I couldn't very well serve them at our church dinners in such small pieces. That's when I came up with the idea of Recycled Cookies. :)

 Recycled Cookies

Step 1: Crumble your broken cookies into small pieces (not crumbs). Any kind of cookie can be used. I had a variety of chocolate cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and some others that I'm not quite sure what they were.

 

Step 2: Melt almond bark and a little shortening over low heat. You can use chocolate or white almond bark depending on what flavor cookie you have or the taste you prefer.

Step 3: Once chocolate is melted, stir in cookie pieces until they are well coated with the chocolate.

Step 4: Drop cookie mixture onto wax paper lined baking sheets. Decorate with sprinkles, crushed candy, or chopped nuts if desired. I used almond toffee crumbs for half of my cookies (crumbs that were left in the bottom of the box of toffee and stored in the freezer for just such a time as this :)), and some peanut butter crumb mixture for the other half.

Step 5: Place pans of cookies in the freezer for several minutes to allow to harden.

Step 6: Remove cookies from pans and enjoy! :)

 

These weren't the prettiest cookies I've ever made, but they sure were tasty, especially if you like chocolate. :) I prefer the white chocolate variety myself. :)

Shoo-Fly Pie Recipe

My sister has been begging me to make her a Shoo-Fly Pie for some time now. With all this snow and cold, baking just seems the perfect thing to do, so last Saturday, I finally got around to making the pie. :)

We first discovered this recipe when we were studying the Colonial time period in school. My mom had us try several colonial recipes which was really fun. This recipe was an immediate winner and has been in our recipe stash since then!

 

Shoo-Fly Pie

1 cup flour

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup molasses

1 9-inch unbaked pie crust

Mix flour, brown sugar, salt, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves in a large mixing bowl. Mix in butter with a pastry cutter, fork or your hands. Mixture will be crumbly.

Boil water; remove from heat and add baking soda and molasses. Stir well. Put aside 1/3 cup of the flour mixture. Combine the rest with molasses mixture. Pour into pie crust. Sprinkle with remaining flour mixture.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.