I’ve been busy with the kids this week shopping for spring and summer clothes, and enjoying an easier spring break schedule. Today a mixture of ice and rain is falling, so we aren’t planning on going anywhere. It’s a good day to be lazy, watch a movie or two and have some popcorn.
I try not to buy a lot of microwave popcorn. There are some very nasty sounding chemicals in it. I’d heard that you could pop your own corn in a regular lunch sack. I hesitated to try it, but it works great. We put a couple of tablespoons of popcorn in a brown paper lunch bag. We fold over the top a couple of times and fold the edges of the top down to secure it. We hit the popcorn button on the microwave and stop it when we don’t hear any more popping. It works great, but the popcorn does taste a little plain. Still, it’s very inexpensive and I would think a whole lot healthier. If it’s too plain for you, you can always melted butter, or popcorn flavorings.
Our family also loves kettle corn. We buy it at a lot of different festivals around Colorado. I always cringed a little at paying six dollars or so for a bag of popcorn. When I found out that it is really just popcorn, oil, and a little sugar and salt, I cringed more. I tried and tried to make it in our stew pot. It’s really hard though to cook the popcorn and move it constantly in a regular pan. After scorching one of our best pots, I gave in and bought a special popcorn popper. The handle on the side connects to a stirring device that keeps that popcorn and sugar moving so that it doesn’t burn. With 1/3 of a cup of unpopped corn, 3 tablespoons of oil and 3 tablespoons of sugar, and a sprinkle of salt, we get incredible kettle corn in just a few minutes. It’s a favorite with our family, and it’s also a great seller at bake sales. The popper also makes great regular popcorn that doesn’t taste plain at all, and it comes with a lot of recipes for special flavors.
Time to make a batch and start a movie.
For More on Popcorn:
Whirly-Pop Popcorn Maker at Amazon
How to Pop Pop-Corn the Frugal Way
Hot and Spicy Chex Party Mix and Nacho Popcorn