Caramel Popcorn with Peanuts and Chocolate

Need a sweet treat to bring to a superbowl party? How about popcorn and peanuts coated with sweet, sticky caramel and then drizzled with dark and milk chocolate?

Yes?

Good, because I have the recipe for it! This stuff is super amazing and really addictive!

Caramel Popcorn with Peanuts and Chocolate

Source: Baked Explorations

1 cup unpopped kernels or 24 cups popped corn

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks

2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar

½ cup light corn syrup

2 tablespoons unsulfured molasses

½ teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon baking soda

1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1¼ cups salted peanuts

8 ounces good-quality milk chocolate, melted

8 ounces good-quality dark chocolate (60 to 72%), melted

If you are starting with kernels, pop them using any method you prefer and let them cool. (We like a hot-air popper.) Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Place the popcorn in a large roasting pan. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, start to melt the butter. Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, and molasses, and stir gently with a heatproof spatula. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring only occasionally, until the mixture starts to boil. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and bring the syrup to the soft-ball stage, approximately 240 degrees F. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the salt, the baking soda, and vanilla. Pour the caramel over the popcorn in large streams, then sprinkle with the peanuts. Use your spatula to fold the popcorn until it is completely coated with caramel.

Place the roasting pan in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Use a spatula to lift, flip, and coat the popcorn in the warm caramel, then continue baking for another 20 minutes. Cool the caramel popcorn in the pan for 5 minutes and transfer it to the lined sheet pan. Cool for approximately 15 minutes and drizzle the milk chocolate and dark chocolate in crisscross patterns over the top. Let the chocolate set before breaking the popcorn into serving-size pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

My Favorite Mac and Cheese

I've made my fair share of macaroni and cheese recipes. My mother always just winged it and it worked but not so much for me. My father prefers Velveeta. I now prefer this!

This is my favorite mac and cheese recipe and I will use this from now on. I will post the original recipe which I halved. It seems like you are buying a ton of expensive cheese but that cheese lasted me a batch of this plus I used it in multiple other dishes. By halving the recipe I made four of these little ramekins. Abe and I can eat one ramekin between the two of us as long as we have sides like salad or fruit.

My Favorite Mac and Cheese
Source: Martha Stewart

Yield: 8 servings

1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
5 cups whole milk 
1/2 cup all-purpose flour 
4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (10 ounces) 
1 1/2 cups grated Gruyere cheese (4 ounces) 
1 1/2 cups grated fontina cheese (4 ounces) 
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper 
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 
1/4 teaspoon paprika 
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
1 pound elbow macaroni


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter 10 mini (1 cup) pie plates or a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs, and toast, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Warm milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Meanwhile, melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a large high-sided skillet over medium heat. Cook until butter is bubbling. Add flour. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Gradually pour warm milk into butter mixture, whisking constantly. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture bubbles and thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in 3 cups cheddar, 1 cup Gruyere, 1 cup fontina, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, the nutmeg, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain, and transfer pasta to cheese sauce. Stir to coat. Divide mixture among mini pie plates or transfer to baking dish. Scatter remaining cup cheddar, 1/2 cup Gruyere, and 1/2 cup fontina over top, and sprinkle with toasted breadcrumbs. Bake until cheese is melted and pasta is warmed through, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Gnocchi with Spinach and White Beans

It has come to the point where I am going to post recipes without pictures or with pictures from other sites (with credit of course). It is dark when we eat dinner so taking photos is a challenge. Plus I'm trying to feed a toddler and he is impatient. We are eating some really great stuff!

Pinterest and I are really great friends and I pin food things all the time. This is one that I found on there. The original recipe calls for chard but I like spinach or kale better.

Here is a picture from the Eat Well site:

Gnocchi with Spinach and White Beans
Source: Eat Well
Yield: 4-6 servings

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 16-ounce package shelf-stable gnocchi
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup water
• 6 cups chopped spinach (or kale)
• 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings
• 1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
• 
  
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add gnocchi and cook, stirring often, until plumped and starting to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and onion to the pan and cook, stirring, over medium heat, for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and water. Cover and cook until the onion is soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Add  spinach and cook, stirring, until starting to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, beans and pepper and bring to a simmer. Stir in the gnocchi and sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and cook until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling, about 3 minutes.

Congo Bars

Congo bars remind me of school lunch back in the third grade. Do you think they still serve these in schools? Probably not. I don't even want to think about what they serve for school lunch these days. Ick.

I've been hanging on to this recipe for quite a while. I think it was the full box of brown sugar that had me on hold. Man, that full box of brown sugar is amazing though. These are sweet and kind of chewy with chocolately little bites. I will definitely make these again!

Congo Bars

Source: Bakerella

Yield: 12 big or 24 small

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 lb. light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
11.5 ounce package milk chocolate chips

Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
Combine butter and sugar using a mixer until blended.
Add eggs, one at a time to sugar mixture, mixing on low in between each addition.
Add vanilla and mix.
Add flour and mix until combined.
Stir in chips.

Coat a 13 X 9 pan with non-stick spray and spread batter evenly into dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Make sure you don’t over bake.

Chex Lemon Buddies

Hi. Are you mad at me? I mean, for not blogging for a really long time? I have a good excuse. I swear. His name is Abe. He's 14 months old. He keeps me extremely busy. But don't worry. I've been cooking and baking a lot and I've been taking pictures of most of it.

I'll try to do better. I vow to make time to blog about food. I mean, I think about it enough I might as well put it on the Internet.

While making traditional Chex Mix for the holidays I noticed a new recipe on the back of the cereal box, "Lemon Buddies." Um. Yes. Please. In my head I was imaging lemon cooler cookies from the 80s. Remember those??

These weren't as good as a lemon cooler cookie (it is cereal after all) but they were very good, easy to make, and so addicting. I brought them into work today to get them out of my house.

And Abe approved of them.

Lemon Buddies
Source: Chex Cereal
Yield: 9 cups (be ready to share or get a tummy ache)

9 cups Rice Chex cereal

1 1/4 cups white vanilla baking chips

1/4 cup butter

4 teaspoons grated lemon peel

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 cups powdered sugar

Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.

In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chips, butter, lemon peel and juice uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.

Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; gently shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. Store in airtight container.

Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

A couple years ago Hannford put out a bunch of whoopie pie recipes in their Fresh magazine. Those are the best recipes I have found. I love all of them and my favorite of them might be the reverse whoopie pie. I dunno, this one is pretty close to number one too.
I thought it was really weird that there is cream cheese in the peanut butter filling. Belive me people, it works. It is amazing. So creamy. Wonderful. GIVE ME SOME!




Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies
Source: Fresh Magazine
Yield: 15 or so


7/8 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (I took this directly from their site, I think it is 2 sticks...I'll check later)
1 cup Sugar
2 each Egg
2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
3 cup All purpose flour
2/3 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
11/2 cup Cultured low fat buttermilk
6 oz Cream cheese
1/2 cup Creamy peanut butter
41/2 cup Confectioners or powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoon Milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat two baking sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer on medium speed to mix butter and brown sugar until well blended, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until smooth after each egg. Mix in vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add half the flour mixture to mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until combined. Add half the buttermilk and mix again on medium until smooth. Repeat with remaining flour and buttermilk, and mix until smooth. Batter will be thick and slightly springy.

Drop 2-Tbsp. portions of batter onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between each portion to allow for spreading. Bake 11 to 13 minutes, until puffed and set but still soft when touched lightly with fingertips. Let cakes cook for 3 minutes on baking sheets before transferring them to wire racks to finish cooling, about 15 to 20 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.

Prepare filling while cakes are baking and cooling. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer on medium speed to mix crea, cheese, peanut butter, vanilla and salt until creamy. Add half the confectioners' sugar and mix on low first to combine, then on high until smooth. Add remaining confectioners' sugar and milk and blend on low, then on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Assemble whoopie pies. Spoon filling onto the flat sides of half the cakes, dividing it evenly. Top with remaining cakes, flat side against the filling, rounded side up. Serve immediately, or wrap and store at room temperature for up to two days, or in freezer for up to two months.

Chicken Burger

I've been making chicken burgers a lot this summer. When picking out your ground poultry make sure it is fairly lean. I picked up one that was not on sale and the fat in it was outrageous. I can't remember how much fat is in a patty...not much.

I stir in salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder and maybe a touch of breadcrumbs (I don't even know why). Once they are done (you can easily tell because they will be come firm) I top mine with cheddar. DO NOT over cook these. I went to a BBQ and was served the same kind of chicken burger but way over done and dry and gross. I still ate it.

I also like to top mine with avocado.

Or fresh tomatoes.

Or thick sweet onion.

OH. And use good buns. Hun.

Vegan Peanut Butter Mousse

This is a quick, easy, and "healthy" mousse.

Tofu and peanut butter.

That's about it!

I swear it is good.

Do it. Do it now.

Vegan Peanut Butter Mousse
Source: Food Network Mag
Yield: 4 servings

Puree one 12.3-ounce package silken tofu and 1/3 cup each reduced-fat creamy peanut butter and confectioners' sugar in a blender until smooth. Divide among glasses, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 30 minutes. Top with a dollop of  Fluff and sprinkle with chopped peanuts and/or chocolate.

Frozen Summer Berries with Warmed White Chocolate

This one is for Brandi who is tired of reading about baby food!

Brandi, I hope you like white chocolate. If so, I suggest you go find some berries.

I saw this on the Fromogette blog and knew I needed to make it this summer. Not only did it look delicious but those frozen berries looked really photogenic, and they were.

These berries are all local. Awesome, right??  The strawberries and raspberries are from Litchfield. The blueberries are from my house and my father's house. The blackberries are from Dresden. Each little berry is perfection. So dang yummy.

White chocolate melted with some heavy cream to pour over the berries. YES PLEASE!

Bliss.

Frozen Berries with Warmed White Chocolate
Adopted from The Fromogette
Yield: One serving

A cup of mixed local berries, frozen and then left to thaw for 5-10 minutes
2.5 ounces quality white chocolate
1/4 cup heavy cream

Melt the chocolate in the cream over double boiler. Pour over berries. Wow.

Baby Food! Carrots (and mango and apple)

I think the worst part of making carrots is peeling the damn things. It takes for.ever. I would use the baby carrots but they don't have the organic kind where I shop.

I simply steamed these and then pureed them with a touch of water. DO NOT use the water that you used to steam the carrots. Something about nitrates.

I freeze almost all of the food I make. I bought a silicone tray and it tore after a few uses. I find that the ice cube tray works the best. One cube is about an ounce. After I freeze the food I pop out the cubes and transfer them to a marked heavy duty ziplock bag. I find that by freezing single ingredients I can be more creative. Carrots with apples. Carrots with parsnips. Carrots with mango. Carrots with all three.

You can also make a carrot, mango, apple puree all in one. Just roast the peeled chopped carrots, cored and halved apples (you can leave the peel on) and chunks of mango. I roast at 350* until the carrots were tender. Then transfer that to the blender. You may need to add a touch of water to thin it out.