Crack popcorn

I made this a few months ago for book club. I got the recipe out of this book. It was fast, easy, and my house smelled heavenly. I knew it would be an instant hit, and it was. I omitted the pecans the first go around. I prefer them, but as I have found out, most people don't like them. I truly don't think you can tell the difference is you weren't told, but to each his own. I highly recommend this recipe. It is a good make-ahead treat. I have already been asked by a ton of people for the recipe. You will too when you make it.


Cinnamon Bun Caramel Corn

Recipe by Our Best Bites
12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)*
1 C roughly chopped pecans
1 C brown sugar
3/4 t cinnamon
1/4 C Karo syrup (or honey makes a good substitution)
1 stick real butter (1/2 C)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
3 squares almond bark

*You can use air popped or microwave popcorn. If using microwave, anything works, but I prefer a “natural” flavor that’s low in butter and salt.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

Place popcorn and chopped pecans in a large bowl and set aside. You will need a big bowl, not a brown paper bag to eventually mix with the caramel. The caramel mix maybe too wet and dissolve the bag. . I'm guessing. .. . ;)
This is my preferred way to 'pop' popcorn. No oils, no crazy ingredients. I have tried the brown lunch bag way, and it took way too long since you can only do a small amount at a time.
I place about 1/4 cup of popcorn in a glass bowl, cover with a plate, and microwave for about 3-4 minutes.

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a big, microwave-safe bowl. Like a 2-quart bowl or Pyrex measuring bowl. It smells so good already.

Chop butter into chunks and place on top of sugar mixture. Pour corn syrup (or honey) over the top of everything.

Microwave on high for 30 seconds (just to soften the butter a bit) and then stir to combine.
Return to microwave and heat for 2 minutes. Remove and stir and then microwave for 2 minutes more.

 

It should look like this.

 

Remove from microwave & add baking soda & vanilla. Stir to combine. The mixture will foam & rise.

Pour caramel mixture over the popcorn and pecans and stir well so everything is well coated. 

Spread popcorn mixture onto foil-lined jelly roll pan. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. 

Remove the pan from the oven and spread mixture out on parchment paper.

 Melt the almond bark and drizzle over popcorn mixture.

Nutella Cookies

Recipe & picture from BiteClubBeats

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3. In another medium bowl combine the butter, chocolate hazelnut spread, sugar, and brown sugar. Using a stand mixer, cream the ingredients together.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir until just combined. Refrigerate dough for at least one hour.

4. Using a tablespoon measure, spoon out the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet, spacing the mounds about 4 inches apart. Use the tines of a fork to flatten the cookie dough. Bake until golden around the edges, about 10 to 13 minutes. Let cool briefly, then use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let cool.

I went looking for this recipe after my hubby and I had a Nutella chocolate chip skillet at Biaggi's. It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.  I was a little apprehensive of the amount of butter in the recipe, but curiosity got the best of me and I had to try it. Right off the bat the batter tasted so close to what we had at the restaurant. Next it was obvious that 10-13 minutes will turn your cookie into crisps. I personally have never been one for crispy cookies. I like them cooked, but gooey in the middle. The skillet cookie we had was this way. Once I tweaked the cooking time they came out more moist. However once they cooled off they lost their gooey-ness. So unless you can and want to eat them straight out of the oven with a small scoop of ice cream on them. . .you will want to keep looking for a Nutella cookie recipe.

Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 heaping Tbsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 cups half and half
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. chicken base*
• 2 (28 oz.) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. dried basil about 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves and chop
• 1/2 tsp. pepper more if needed TT
• 1/2 tsp. salt more if needed TT
• milk if needed to thin to desired consistency

Instructions

1. Melt butter in saucepan. Once melted add garlic and sauté for a minute or two. Stir in flour and make a roux.
2. Once roux is formed, slowly pour in half and half, stirring as you pour. Stir consistently until it begins to thicken.
3. Stir in chicken base, diced tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar, basil, pepper and salt. Stir until heated through. If needed add milk to soup to thin it out to desired consistency

 *Chicken Base is like a paste version of chicken broth/bullion. It is more concentrated that broth. Here is the kind/brand I use.  You can easily find either this or other brands at your grocery store.

I could not wait to try this recipe. I already have a tomato basil soup recipe, but felt like it was missing the mark a little. Sadly this recipe as is also misses that mark. I will explain. First off the recipe calls for diced tomatoes. I didn't want chunks of tomato in my soup so I threw the tomatoes in my food processor, and made them nice and smooth! They had a different flavor & texture than the tomato puree so I would still you both.

My next issue is the amount of garlic. 2 HEAPING tablespoons of minced garlic. I made this recipe basically as it was to see if I liked it. There were bits of garlic in every bite. Understandably this made my husband kindly ask me not to make this again. I am however determined to get this recipe the way I like it because the foundation is good. Next time I will omit the mince garlic, and add garlic powder instead.

The good things about this recipe are the texture(minus the garlic) and the taste. Nice and creamy without being too tomato-ey?! One thing that can be over done is the seasoning. Basil can very quickly become over bearing. The amount of basil in this recipe was perfect. I coupled this with another favorite recipe of mine. It is tried and true. Even if you don't make the soup. . try this recipe.

Ham and Cheese Roll

*I use Rhodes rolls instead of the frozen bread dough. I used about 10 of the texas-sized rolls. Mmmm.

Honey Sesame Chicken

I love to try new recipes. Some turn out great, others my husband kindly asks me to never make again. It's fun. I've had my eye on this recipe for awhile and finally got around to making it.

 Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
Recipe adapted from: Baby Center

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thighs would be fine too)
Salt and pepper
1 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup diced onion
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (could also use olive oil or canola oil)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional - doesn't really add heat, just adds more flavor)
4 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 6 Tablespoons water
Sesame seeds

Directions:
Season both sides of chicken with lightly with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce. Dissolve 4 teaspoons of cornstarch in 6 tablespoons of water and pour into crock pot. Stir to combine with sauce. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened. Cut chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce before serving. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice or noodles.

*You can also sprinkle more red pepper flakes on top if you want more heat.

I omitted the red pepper flakes because one of my kids think ketchup is spicy. I also accidentally forgot to add the soy sauce. It still turned out really good.  More sweet, and not as Asian as I was expecting.

 

 

Fried Rice

 recipe adapted from The Mattinglys

I have always wanted a good fried rice recipe, and an excuse to make it. I got both. I didn't have all the seasoning that The Mattinglys said they put in their fried rice, but it still turned out really good.

This recipe does not have any measurements. Just a little of this and a little of that. Totally changeable.

Ingredients

Basmati rice - made in advance, chilled in fridge

Veggies - we used:

Green onion

Carrots

Ham - cut up

Eggs

Oil - we used olive and sesame seed

Soy Sauce

Get the pan hot with some oil, add veggies and saute

Once ready move all the veggies and meat to the side of the pan. Add eggs and move them around chop into pieces. Add rice, toss. Add flavorings. We just added soy sauce a little bit more sesame seed oil.

You are done!

I finished off the sesame chicken with some sesame seeds, and added a pot sticker. It all went really well together.

Pizza Factory Bread Twists

 Umm, are you serious? That was the exact thought I had when I saw this on Pinterest. I love these. I had to try it out right away. 

Here is the link to the recipe

Here is my verdict: Amazing!!!!!
I made the dough from scratch instead of using rhodes dough, I think it definitely made it taste more authentic. I made the whole batch, but ended up freezing half the dough. It was too much for one dinner. I didn't have rosemary so I just omitted it, and it wasn't really missed. I could see how it would make it that much better though. I used wooden dowels that I had in my craft stuff that I had never used. They needed to be seasoned with oil or something because once you got to the bread on the stick it smelled a lot like wood. :/ The dough is really sticky, but still pretty good to work with. The bread twists were a huge kit with the kids, and we will have them many more times I am sure.