A Little Bit of Sweet and a Little Bit of Salty

Several years back my friend Terry and I would go to Slippery Rock, PA twice a year to scrapbook. We would scrapbook the entire weekend from about noon on Friday to about noon on Sunday. Yes, we would have 48 hours of uninterrupted time… no children, no husbands, just a room filled with happy women scrapbooking. Terry and her sister Chris were the masterminds behind these fun weekends. We stayed at various church camps in facilities set up similar to a college dorm. During these weekends we scrapbooked our family memories, made new friends, sang out of tune to various CDs and we snacked. Oh my did we snack. My favorite snack was the kettle corn that Chris would make. This yummy popcorn was the perfect combination of sweet and salty. I found myself eating way too much of this tasty treat but seriously y’all, I tried to limit myself to just two scoops… but I think you know THAT-DID-NOT-HAPPEN!  Finally, last Christmas at Terry’s annual cookie exchange, I asked for this recipe. Much to my surprise it was very easy to make, but it did require a “Whirley Pop” popper. However, it was worth making and I can just about guarantee your taste buds would agree. I made it for our family bingo night and it was a hit. What is so wonderful is this treat can be made to match any given holiday or theme. For example, I made a batch of red and a batch of pink since the theme was Valentine’s Day.

P.S. Soak your popper in warm water after you use it because trust me or shall I say trust my husband (bless his sweet soul for cleaning it for me… wink wink) it is not fun to clean with hard sugar stuck to the sides!

Ingredients :

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil (I used Trader Joe’s sunflower seed oil)

1/2 cup of  white cane sugar

1/2 cup of popcorn (white corn works best…I purchased my popcorn in bulk at a local Amish market)

Food coloring (6 – 8 drops)

Sea salt (I used all natural sea salt by Alessi purchased at Target)

Note: Instead of using cane sugar and food coloring, I used colored sugar (1/2 cup) purchased at the local Amish market. 

Put oil, sugar, food coloring and popcorn in bottom of popper. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until you hear it start to pop. Continue to stir until it is too hard to stir and popping has stopped.

Dump onto a clean counter or cookie sheet.

Sprinkle with sea salt while it is still hot.

Let cool and enjoy. 

B-I-N-G-O

Several years back my family (husband, children, brother, sisters, their spouses, nephews, nieces, parents and a few close family friends) started getting together for game night…I guess I should have said my BIG family started getting together! We would gather at my parent’s home for an evening of food and fun and to play Bingo. After a year of using self-printed cards and any random tokens to mark our cards my sister Cindy ordered us “professional cards.” Don’t get me wrong there was nothing wrong with the self-printed cards, but more times than not we would be laughing so hard that inevitably someone would knock the table and well you can imagine what would happened to the tokens that were already placed on the cards. Now, we use cards that only require a quick flick. My father, “Pop”, would provide cash prizes and we would all pitch in and bring enough food and snacks to feed an army. Yes, these game nights were something we looked forward to and they were guaranteed to make all that attended laugh. The memories that my children have of these evenings are priceless. When my mother passed away we thought that we would never be able to have another game night. My father and her simply adored having the entire family together. My mom loved playing games and let’s just say she was a tad bit competitive (wink wink). Then one day back in January, my niece suggested we have a game night with the pretense of celebrating all of the February birthdays in our family. I was immediately on board and offered to host the evening. Since game night was in February, I went with a Valentine’s theme. The evening was a blast and like usual we had a ton of food and drinks. The only thing missing was our dear Nanny, but we know she was looking down from heaven and I am pretty sure I heard her yell “BINGO!”

A frame bought at Dollar Tree, a free printable found on Pinterest by: “The Cutest Blog on the Block” , and some colorful scrap ribbon.

Candle holders and tea lights bought at Dollar Tree and conversation hearts found at any local grocery store.

Misc. glass jars, looking glass spray and ribbon bought at Michaels (our awesome local craft store), licorice sticks, forks and flowers. I love to spray paint empty glass jars. There are so many uses for them and it’s an inexpensive way to decorate.

Votive holders bought at World Market, after Christmas for 90% off, make for cute candy holders. Think outside the box when you see a great deal. I also purchased this adorable mixing bowl at World Market and it made a great chip bowl.

More photos of our incredible night…