White Chocolate Cinnamon Crunch Popcorn

Want some gourmet popcorn that you can make right at home?  It's easier than you might think.  But it probably involves more butter than you think so make this before your New Year's resolutions take effect.  This would actually be a perfect snack for a New Year's Eve party. 

However, if you make your popcorn in the microwave, I hope you'll reconsider.  It is so much better when you make it on the stove top.  You don't end up with all the chemicals and it's super easy.  All you need is a large sauce pan with a tight fitting lid, a little canola or vegetable oil, and some popcorn kernels.  Personally I've replaced my popcorn pan with a Whirleypop, a switch I made a few years ago when we upgraded our stove to a glass top instead of coil burners.  I didn't want to scratch the stove top shaking the pan so I bought the Whirleypop which has the same result but since it has a mechanism to stir the popcorn inside the pan, you don't have to shake it.  It was a worthwhile investment for us since I'm a popcorn lover and it was only about $30. 

Anyway, back to the recipe, you can make your popcorn on the stove or in an air popper, or if you must use the microwave, at least make sure you are using the natural popcorn without butter or other flavorings. 

White Chocolate Cinnamon Crunch Popcorn
Recipe adapted from Right at Home

2/3 cup popcorn kernels (about 16 cups popped)
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup light Karo syrup
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp baking soda
3 squares almond bark

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Pop popcorn and set aside in large bowls, make sure to leave yourself room to mix in the bowls or it will get very messy.

Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and corn syrup in a large microwave safe bowl.  (If your butter is straight out of the refrigerator, cut it into chunks before adding it to the bowl to help it melt faster.)  Microwave on high for about 30 seconds and then stir to combine everything.  Microwave an additional two minutes and stir and return to microwave for two more minutes.  Add vanilla and baking soda and stir to combine, the mixture will foam and rise when you add the baking soda.  Divide hot caramel mixture evenly among the popcorn bowls and quickly stir to coat the popcorn.  Continue to gently mix until topping is well distributed. 

Pour popcorn mixture onto prepared pans and bake for approximately 30 minutes, stirring every ten minutes.  Lay out another large sheet of parchment paper on your counter.  Remove the popcorn from the oven and spread out on parchment paper.  Melt almond bark (I like to use a double boiler method as it scorches very easily in the microwave but you can use whatever method you prefer) and drizzle over popcorn.  Let popcorn cool and then break into chunks and serve or store in an airtight container. 

(Whirleypop has not sponsored this post in anyway, these are my own opinions.)

Cheese Stuffed Everything Pretzels

It only takes one word to describe these pretzels... awesome! 

Of course, I will continue to type because I can't actually just stop at the one word.  Soft pretzels are delicious on their own, this recipe adds cheese to the middle and then adds poppy seeds, garlic, and minced onion to the normal sea salt topping.  Takes them to a whole new level.  Just look at the oozy cheese, the crunchy toppings... yummm...

This is also a super easy recipe for those of you who are afraid of yeast... there is no rising, punching, etc.  This recipe also skips the normal soft pretzel step of boiling the dough in a baking soda bath before cooking as well.  This makes for an incredibly quick pretzel recipe.  I think I had these mixed, rolled, shaped, and baked in under an hour. 

Cheese Stuffed Everything Pretzels
Adapted from Guy Fieri, via the Food Network

Dough:
1 1/2 cups warm water (approx. 110 degrees)
2 packets active dry yeast
4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 T sugar
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
3 cups shredded colby jack cheese

Toppings:
1 egg
2 T milk
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp minced onion
1 tsp sea salt

In a large measuring cup, heat water and sprinkle yeast over the water.  Stir to combine and let sit for about 10 minutes until frothy.  Meanwhile, in a food processor fitted with a dough blade, combine all dry ingredients and pulse to combine.  Add egg and yeast mixture and pulse in short bursts until the dough comes together.  Do not over mix, you just want the dough to come together.  Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times with your hands.  If dough feels sticky, add a little more flour.  Form the dough into a ball and cut in half.

Roll out 1/2 of the dough into a large rectangle, approximately 12"x17", sprinkle about 3/4 cup of the colby jack cheese down the center 1/3 of the dough.  Fold one edge over the cheese, sprinkle with another 3/4 cup cheese, and fold over the remaining 1/3.  Pinch the edges of the dough to seal the cheese inside.  Roll out the dough again into a rectangle about 11"x15".  Cut the dough into six strips approximately 1 1/2" wide.  Roll each strip into a tube and form into a pretzel shape by looping and crossing the ends over each other, then tuck back onto the loop and pinch to seal.  Transfer to a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.  Repeat with remaining half of dough. 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a small bowl, combine remaining egg and milk.  Whisk to combine and set aside.  In another small bowl, combine poppy seeds, garlic, onion, and salt.  Brush the pretzels liberally with the egg wash, then sprinkle with spice mixture.  Bake 18-20 minutes until light golden brown.  Transfer pretzels to a wire rack to cool.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Lately anything that can be made in five minutes or with one hand is what I'm making for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  These smoothies fit the bill - with a bonus that I only need one hand to drink it too.  Things involving forks and knives haven't been happening too often lately. 

This "recipe" is more of a method, you can change out the fruit to whatever you like best.  The yogurt is a must have for me - but feel free to use plain or vanilla or even another flavor if you prefer - but it really adds to the creamy smooth texture of the smoothie.  I also always combine fruit juice and milk instead of just milk to add some extra flavor.  Orange juice is my favorite but I also sometimes use cranberry juice - it's especially good with blueberries in your smoothie.  My final tip is frozen berries - using frozen berries means you don't have to add ice.  Your smoothie will have so much more flavor if you use frozen fruit instead of ice which dilutes the smoothie.  Occasionally I use frozen banana too - it's a great way to use up bananas that are almost past their prime, peel them, cut them into big chunks and freeze in a Ziploc bag and then use throw them in smoothies.

If you want to add some extra protein to your smoothie, mix in a scoop of protein powder and its a great post workout snack.  I prefer to mix the milk, OJ and powder by itself before adding the fruit because I think it gets rid of the grittiness that can sometimes result from adding protein powder to things.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

8-10 large frozen strawberries
1 banana
1/2 cup milk (I use skim)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend on high for about two minutes until smooth.  Pour and serve.  This makes 2-4 smoothies depending on the serving, for breakfast I usually split this between my husband and I, as a snack, it would serve four.

Soft Pretzels with Jalapeno Cheese Sauce

Well the Superbowl didn't have the outcome that I was hoping for, my team had too many turnovers, I wasn't a fan of the halftime show and the commercials weren't anything exciting, but the food was good at least.  For me these soft pretzels were the highlight of the night.

I debated between a couple different recipes - one from Baking Illustrated and one from Alton Brown.  Although similar the main differences were in the type of flour and the type of sweetener.  The Baking Illustrated recipe used bread flour which has a higher gluten content and therefore creates a chewier dough.  Pretzels are supposed to be chewy so I decided to stick with the bread flour.  The Baking Illustrated recipe also used honey and after reading their explanation, I decided to go with that - it also meant I didn't have to open a package of brown sugar for a couple tablespoons - so it made it a fairly easy decision.  The other key to the recipe which both versions did is to boil the pretzels in a baking soda solution, so make sure you don't skip this step.

The pretzels are best eaten the day they are made or you can freeze them right away and then warm in the oven when you want them.  Don't store them in a covered container on your counter top though or they will end up a little soggy.

I made a simple spicy, garlicky cheese sauce to dip these in because it sounded good and I was already chopping jalapenos and garlic for guacamole and sliders that I was making.  It turned out to be a great dipping sauce for the pretzels adding a spicy kick to the slightly sweet and salty pretzel dough.  They would also be good with mustard or a cheddar cheese sauce.  Of course you can also sub cinnamon and sugar for the salt sprinkled on before baking and make more dessert-like pretzels if you prefer.

Soft Pretzels
Recipe slightly adapted from Baking Illustrated

Dough:
1 package rapid-rise yeast
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp salt
3 cups bread flour (16 1/2 ounces)
1 cup water, at approximately 110 degrees
Approximately 1 T olive oil

Baking Soda Solution:
Approximately 6 cups water
3 T baking soda
Salt for sprinkling on pretzels

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine all ingredients for the dough.  Make sure you are using rapid rise yeast, or you will need to proof your yeast before mixing.  Mix on low speed until combined and then knead about 5-7 minutes on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Prepare a separate bowl by coating with olive oil, transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat evenly.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for about one hour or until doubled in size.  Punch dough down, recover and let rise approximately 30 minutes more.

In a large low pan (a 12" skillet with deep sides or a small dutch oven will work perfectly) bring water and baking soda to a boil over medium high heat.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Separate dough into 12 approximately 2 ounce pieces.  Roll each piece into a long string, about 20 inches in length.  Fold pretzels into shape, twisting the ends over each other and pressing lightly to seal dough into shape.  Transfer pretzels, a few at a time to boiling water, cook 30 seconds on each side, turning with a slotted spoon, drain and transfer to prepared baking pan.  Sprinkle with coarse salt and repeat until all the pretzels have been boiled.  They don't need much room on the baking sheet as they won't spread much in the oven.  Bake approximately 12-14 minutes until dark golden brown.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool and serve.

Jalapeno Cheese Sauce

1 T unsalted butter
1 T flour
3/4 cup milk
1 clove garlic, finely grated or minced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely minced
1 cup Colby Jack cheese
1/2 -1 tsp cayenne pepper

In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add flour and whisk to combine, cooking about one minute until smooth.  Add milk, whisking to incorporate.  Add garlic and jalapeno.  Switch to a wooden spoon and stir frequently until thickened, about 15 minutes.  The sauce should begin to coat the back of the spoon.  Remove from heat and stir in cheese.  Add cayenne pepper to taste. 

Steelers are going to the Superbowl!

Here we go, Steelers, here we go!

Obviously this is old news but I'm a little behind on starting this Superbowl recipe post.  Since half the fun of the Superbowl is making a bunch of appetizers and snacking all day (at least that's half the fun for me) I've got some great recipes to share with you. 

To start off - here are six recipes from the archives in honor of each of the Steelers past Superbowl victories!

Chicken Fajita Quesadillas

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Cheddar Ranch Cheese Ball

Beer Cheese Fondue

Spicy Chicken Tortilla Roll-Ups

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

Since the Steelers are attempting to win their 7th championship game, here's a 7th recipe for spicy sausage pizza roulade. 

This recipe is really easy and essentially a rolled up pizza, so you can change up the filling to whatever your favorite pizza toppings are.  I would recommend staying away from things with a high water content though, like pineapple if it's on the top of your list, so that you don't end up with soggy bread.  You can use any bread dough you want for this - a standard pizza crust from scratch or even roll out a dough like Pillsbury's French bread dough, they even have one that doesn't contain any high fructose corn syrup or trans fats.  That's what I used for this one since I didn't have any pizza dough ready to go and I had a coupon to try their Simply Rustic French bread dough. 

Spicy Sausage Pizza Roulade

12 oz hot ground Italian sausage
1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pizza or french bread dough
1 tsp pizza seasoning
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup shredded pizza or mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 T butter, softened
1 tsp garlic powder
Pizza sauce for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a baking sheet with baking spray or line with parchment paper.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add sausage and crumble as it browns.  After about 2 minutes, add onions, peppers and garlic.  Cook until sausage is just cooked through and vegetables are softened.  Remove from heat and drain any grease off the sausage.  Lightly flour a smooth counter surface and roll out dough into a large rectangle, about 12x18 inches.  Evenly sprinkle pizza seasoning and crushed red pepper flakes over dough.  Spoon sausage mixture onto bottom third to half of the long edge of the dough, leaving an edge of about one inch open at the outside.  Next add cheeses directly next to the sausage mixture on the 2nd third of the dough, a little overlap is fine.  The final third should be open. 

Begin rolling from sausage side, rolling the dough gently into a long tube.  Pinch the seams to seal the dough and place the dough seam side down on prepared pan.  Fold the ends under slightly, pinching to seal the ends.  Bake about 25 minutes and remove from oven.  Add garlic powder to melted butter and brush over the top of the bread dough and return to the oven for about five more minutes until golden brown.  Cool at least 5-10 minutes before slicing into 1/2 inch thick slices.  Serve with warmed pizza sauce.

Apple and Brie Melts

Last week I received this All-Clad griddle that I won over A Cozy Kitchen so naturally I had to try it out.  I knew I wanted to make a grilled cheese sandwich but I didnt want to just make a regular grilled cheese.  Then I saw a caramelized apple grilled cheese on Beantown Baker which looked awesome and I knew what I would do.  Unfortunately I had just used up the rest of the apples we had on hand to make a batch of crockpot apple butter, so I had to wait until I went to the grocery store to try these out.  So my pretty new pan stayed in the box all weekend long. 

But I picked up some crisp Fuji apples on Monday along with some brie that I found at the store to use for the cheese. 

I decided to use my homemade apple butter as a sauce for the sandwich - the recipe can be found here.  While it takes a little while to cook, it requires almost no effort for all of that time since its done in the crockpot.  The most time consuming part of the recipe is simply peeling, coring, and slicing the apples (which you can avoid if you have a food mill).

These sandwiches aren't a typical savory grilled cheese sandwich - you may want to switch out the brie for some sharp cheddar if that's more your style and even throw on some bacon per Jen's suggestion.  Use whatever type of bread you want, I used Italian bread because I had it on hand but I think this would be great with a crusty multigrain or wheat bread too.  Make it even sweeter by using a cinnamon-raisin bread.  These would be great appetizers made on a thin baguette of French bread for bite-sized sandwiches.

Apple and Brie Melts

4 slices of Italian bread, about 1/2" thick

1 large apple, thinly sliced

4 oz brie, thinly sliced

2 T apple butter

1 T butter

Spread apple butter on one side of bread slices.  Layer brie and apple slices on one side and top with remaining slice of bread.  Heat griddle over medium heat and melt half of the butter on the pan.  Add sandwiches and spread remaining butter on tops of bread.  Let cook about three minutes and then flip.  Cook an additional two to three minutes until cheese is melted and bread is toasted as desired.  Cut and serve.

Pumpkin Dip

Since pumpkin has returned to store shelves finally, I'm taking full advantage.  I stocked up on half a dozen cans and have plans for lots of good stuff.  I didn't have time to bake anything (or the need to) this weekend, but I decided to make a pumpkin dip for tailgating instead.  Now this might not be your typical tailgate food as it doesnt contain any buffalo sauce, cheese, or alcohol, but it was definitely addictive.  Served with apple slices, grapes, and vanilla wafers, it was a perfect gameday (or anytime) appetizer and it's really easy to put together.  If you want to make the dip ahead of time, it will keep just fine in the refrigerator.  If you prep your apple slices ahead of time, make sure you toss them with a little lemon juice to keep from browning.

Feel free to sub fat free or reduced fat cream cheese in this recipe - I can't tell the difference and neither could anyone I served it too.  You could also sub a low fat/fat free whipped topping for the whipped cream (just leave out the powdered sugar) but I used the good stuff because I dont generally have whipped topping on hand.  The whipped cream gives this dip a really light, mousse-like texture that's perfect with the fruit and cookies.

Pumpkin Dip

Inspired by She Wears Many Hats

1 8 oz package cream cheese, at room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 T powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth and fluffy.  Add pumpkin and spices and mix until well blended.  Mixture will be fairly thin.

In a separate, cold bowl beat whipping cream with a whisk attachment on high speed until peaks form.  Slowly add powdered sugar, one tablespoon at a time until incorporated.  Fold whipped cream into pumpkin mixture and serve.  If not serving right away, cover and refrigerate. 

Tropical Granola

I love making homemade granola -- it takes less than an hour including baking and its a lot cheaper and healthier than buying granola at the grocery store. I wanted to change my usual granola a little bit to make a bit more summery, so I came up with this tropical granola. Including the mashed banana really gives this a ton of flavor. Adding the egg white, helps the granola form clumps. Feel free to switch out the dried fruits for whatever you like, banana chips, papaya, or mango would also work great in this granola. This granola is great on its own or served over yogurt.

Tropical Granola

1 large very ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup honey
1 T canola oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup shredded coconut
2/3 cup dried cranberries
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 cup dried pineapple, chopped
4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1 cup chopped pecans
1 egg white

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper. Combine banana, applesauce, honey, oil, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt and whisk together until smooth in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir gently with a wooden spoon until well incorporated. The mixture will be dry but all dry ingredients should be moistened. Beat egg white with a whisk until foamy and pour over mixture. Stir to incorporate.

Spread in an even layer onto prepared pans, if mixture is too deep, it may take longer to bake. Bake about 30 minutes, stir gently making sure to move the granola from the edges into the middle and bake about 20 minutes more. Remove from oven and cool on pans. Transfer to storage containers. Recipe yields about 3 quart-size jars of granola.

Black Bean Salsa

I have to admit that I've published this recipe before... but I did it way back when I didn't really know where I was going with this blog or what would be the best way to organize these recipes. The old recipe is buried in a post with several recipes and there isn't a picture included. Since I make this recipe so often and it's requested all the time, I decided to update the entry.


This recipe takes no time at all to put together and it tastes even better if you make it in advance.

Black Bean Salsa

1 can black beans
2 cans Ro-tel tomatoes
1 each red and green bell peppers, diced
1 red onion, diced
1 can white shoepeg corn
1 cup Italian dressing (I use fat-free)

Rinse and drain the beans and corn and add to a bowl. Add tomatoes, with juice to the mixture. Add diced bell peppers and corn and stir together. Pour 1/2 the dressing over the mixture and stir to combine. Add remaining dressing as desired. Perfect with tortilla chips. This is also great as a relish for quesadillas or tacos.

Apple - Apple Honey Granola

Spring is on its way... my first flowers have started blooming. I love when the crocus start to bloom because they are the first thing that comes up and it seems like they bloom almost overnight. One day there is nothing and then all the sudden there are all these little purple flowers. They are so cute, like baby tulips.

But anyway... you most likely aren't reading my blog to learn about flowers. So here's a delicious granola recipe for you to lighten things up a little from all the desserts I've been posting lately. (Don't worry, I have more cupcakes too...)

The base of this granola is unsweetened applesauce and it uses honey to sweeten things up. I added dried apples, chopped dates, almonds and ground flax seed along with the oats. Making your own granola is extremely easy, just toss everything together and bake and it keeps well in an airtight container.

Apple - Apple Honey Granola

2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup honey
1 cup dried apples, chopped
1/2 cup dried dates, chopped
1/2 cup chopped unsalted almonds
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 T olive oil (Use canola for a milder flavor - I used my citrus infused olive oil)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line a large rimmed baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until wet ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and bake approximately 1 hour, stir/turn after 30 minutes. Let cool completely and then transfer to an airtight container.

Lemon Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

This is a slightly more grown-up version of the popular cream cheese and marshmallow fluff fruit dip. But it still only has four ingredients and is ready in about five minutes. I think it works as an appetizer, a light dessert or goes well with a brunch menu.

Its perfect with all kinds of fruit; my favorites are strawberries, pineapple, and grapes. You can also add some vanilla wafers or other cookies to the platter. And it's perfect for making a vanilla wafer sandwich - kids will love them - just sandwich a strawberry slice and a spoonful of dip between two vanilla wafers.

Lemon Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

8 oz cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat)
8 oz low fat vanilla yogurt
Zest of 1 lemon
2 T lemon juice
1 cup powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese until light and smooth. Add in yogurt, lemon juice and zest (reserving a little for garnish if desired) and beat until smooth. Slowly mix in powdered sugar. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Pumpkin Cranberry Granola

A healthy snack that tastes great on its own or mixed with yogurt. Make sure you use pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling. This is also a recipe where it works best to use quality maple syrup. Pancake syrup will work but it won't give it a true maple flavor, it just adds sweetness. Spring for the good stuff if you can. If you prefer raisins to cranberries, increase one and decrease the other. Same for the nuts, use pecans instead of walnuts or leave them out altogether. The great thing about this recipe is how easy it is to substitute what you like to tailor the recipe to your specifications.

Pumpkin Cranberry Granola
Recipe adapted from Ashlee at A Year in the Kitchen

2 1/2 cups old fashion rolled oats
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 T olive or canola oil (I used citrus infused olive oil, use canola oil if you want less flavor)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well until the wet ingredients are evenly incorporated. Spread out mix onto a baking sheet, try to get it into an even layer but don't worry too much about clumps at this point. Bake about 30 minutes, stir and spread mixture in an even layer again. Continue baking about 30 minutes more. Let cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Beer Cheese Fondue

Fondue is one of those foods that turns "cheese dip" into something much more fun. For some reason, dipping food into the little pot on your color-coded skewer is always fun. I had a couple blocks of cheese, half a loaf of bread, and some apples on hand the other night so I decided to throw this together. The pepper jack cheese is great with the beer. I recommend using a darker Mexican beer or similar style for added flavor. You can use a light beer but it just wont add as much depth of flavor to the recipe.



Beer Cheese Fondue

4 oz pepper jack cheese
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese
4 oz beer (I used Red Stripe)
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 T flour
Juice of half of 1 lime

Grate cheese on a coarse grater and toss with flour and cumin. Rub a stove-top safe fondue pot or small saucepan with peeled garlic clove all over the inside of the pot and discard. Pour in beer and lime juice and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to low and add cheese a handful at a time, whisking constantly until melted. Add cheese slowly so that it doesn't clump up. Continue whisking until the mixture is smooth and cheese is well incorporated.

Transfer to fondue pot to keep warm and serve.

Dipping suggestions: warm bread cubes, apples, grapes, carrots, cubed potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

You know that smell at the mall around Christmas time or in the concourse at a football game? The sweet, cinnamon smell of German Roasted Nuts... it is one of my favorite smells. Up until a couple of years ago I didn't eat nuts, didn't like them at all. Then I tried German Roasted Nuts at a football game. Then I read about some of the health benefits of nuts and started adding them into lots of things. Sure adding sugar to them negates some of the healthy stuff but as snacks go these are still a lot better for you than cookies or chips. And as a bonus your whole house will smell good when you make them.

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds
Recipe adapted from Melanie at The Sisters' Cafe

4 cups almonds
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg white
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 250 degrees and cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Combine the sugars, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Add egg white to a large bowl or stand mixer and beat with whisk attachment. Add vanilla and continue beating until very frothy and thick. Don't let the egg white form peaks. Add in the almonds and toss until well coated. Add the sugar mixture, stirring to coat the almonds well. Spread almonds onto prepared baking sheet. Try to get them into a single layer. Bake approximately 1 hour, tossing every 20 minutes. Cool and serve or store in an airtight storage container.

Sweet Apple Cinnamon Chex Mix

This is one of those sweet and salty snacks... and it takes about 10 minutes of work to prepare it. Perfect for snacking on during the Superbowl or other party.

Sweet Apple Cinnamon Chex Mix
Recipe adapted from General Mills

3 cups wheat chex
2 cups corn chex
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 T light corn syrup
1 cup whole almonds
1 cup yogurt-covered raisins or cranberries
1 cup dried apples, coarsely chopped

In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine chex and almonds and set aside. Add butter, sugar, vanilla and corn syrup to a 2 cup measuring glass and microwave for 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute. Pour mixture over chex mixture and toss until well distributed. Microwave for 3 minutes, uncovered, stirring every 45 seconds. Add apples to the mix and continue microwaving for another 2 minutes, stirring every 45 seconds.


Spread mixture onto a large sheet of waxed paper and allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container or serving bowl and stir in yogurt-covered raisins or cranberries.

100th Post! Holiday Treats: Caramel Corn

This is my 100th post! I started this blog at the end of August, not sure what I was going to do with it. I didn't know what I would talk about since my daily life would be pretty boring to most people... it pretty much goes, wake up, drive to work, sit in my office, drive home, make dinner, watch TV, go to bed... yeah a whole lot of readers would have stuck around. I didn't really think I would stick with it and I didn't have a clue who would read it. Then I decided to start posting recipes and it became fun for me to experiment more in the kitchen and make new recipes to share. Going back through the archives, I realize that I have already learned a lot although I still feel like I don't know much about food blogging. My pictures aren't very good yet but they have improved drastically from the beginning. I decided to only post 1 recipe per post to make searching easier, etc. Hopefully by next week, I'll also have figured out some of my layout problems and will have a new header.


So for my 100th post, here's another holiday treat -- although I definitely recommend making this more often than just the holidays. This caramel corn is really easy and so.so.good. I'm a bit of a popcorn snob though so I have to tell you, if your idea of popcorn is putting a bag in the microwave, you are absolutely missing out. Give yourself an extra 3 minutes and you can make much better popcorn. I grew up eating stove top popped popcorn made from kernels we used to get from a farmer by the 5 gallon bucket. Or movie-theater like popcorn made in one of those big popcorn poppers at my grandparents house, minus that greasy butter. When I went to college and had to suffer through microwave I went through withdrawals... so instead of a prohibited hotplate or toaster that most college kids had, I got a StirCrazy. Until my crazy roommate stole it. But anyway, the next version of the StirCrazy eventually died and about this time last year, I got a WhirleyPop. Best.Invention.Ever. It is easy, it's cheap, you don't have to plug it in, it makes delicious popcorn without all the chemicals and artificial crap, and you can take it all apart and wash it. If you think microwave popcorn is good, do yourself a favor, buy one. But anyway, I'm way off topic...

Homemade Caramel Corn
Recipe from Annie's Eats

1 cup unpopped popcorn
1 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 cups light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Pop popcorn (if you have to, you can make a couple of bags of natural microwave) by preferred method and transfer to 2 large bowls.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Mix in corn syrup, sugar, and salt. Increase heat to medium-high, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils.

Once it boils, stop stirring and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add baking soda and vanilla and stir to combine. Be careful, the mixture will foam up.

Immediately pour the mixture evenly over the popcorn. Toss popcorn gently using 2 wooden spoons until well mixed. Pour the coated mixture onto prepared baking sheets and spread out as much as possible.

Bake for approximately 45 minutes, tossing with wooden spoons every 15 minutes. The caramel corn should be crisp, if its not, continue cooking for another 10 minutes or so. Cool for approximately 1 hour before packaging. Package in airtight containers to save for later use.