Easy Quick Carmel Popcorn

I love popcorn with a good movie, or a good movie with great popcorn. :-)  I am traditional...I open a box labeled "popcorn."  I take out the bag, remove plastic and place in Microwave for three min. and TA DA...popcorn.  I usually buy the 94% fat free.  If I ate it all the time I'd probably buy a machine and pop it fresh,   but...its a once or twice a month treat.  I love caramel popcorn but hate the stickiness in my teeth, hands and the amount of time to make it, bake it and break it.  I found a recipe that is quick, easy, and has me enjoying caramel popcorn in less than 10 min.  Its not sticky after a few min. cooling, and it tastes even better the next day.  What I like best about it is that is not overpowering...very light.  Enjoy!

The following is what I have found to be enough for my family of 4 to enjoy:

2 bags of popcorn, or about 10-14 cups of your own fresh popped corn
Place popcorn in a very large bowl.  On the stove top, in a small pot, put one cube of butter, 1/4 cup karo syrup and 2 TBS brown sugar.  Bring to a boil on medium/high for about 3 min.  Stir continuously.  Remove from heat, let cool about 1 min and add 1 tsp vanilla.  Slowly pour over popcorn while mixing.  Mix completely, let sit about one min, divide into your bowl and serve.  Its delicious, promise.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know, they are not healthy. But, if your going to have a cookie, do it right. Stay away from the Oreos and Keeblers that have who knows what in them that makes up a cookie. Make them yourself and give most of them away. Nothing says your a great neighbor better than a plate of freshly made cookies. It only takes about 25 min. to mix up the batch, wait for them to cook, and transfer one to your plate.
These are very soft and chewy. The secret is to take them out of the oven when they look like they are not done. Seriously, check after 6 minutes and there after every minute until they are just slightly brown around the edges; take them out when you think they should bake for one more minute. Makes about 3 dozen.
I have family members who make different desserts with the effort to reduce calories. My sister has a brownie recipe that calls for Diet Coke. My mom adds bran to chocolate muffin mix. My brother makes a sugar-free cheesecake. I'm all about calorie reduction. But when it comes to desserts, I have the opinion that if your going to eat it, eat it. But just eat one, or half a serving, or just one bite. Remember your going to give most of them away anyway, right? Here is a fabulous recipe I found in a Martha Stewart Living magazine. It has been my staple for years.

Mix 1 cup unsalted butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 cup brown sugar and 2 eggs in a bowl until you get a smooth texture. Add 2 1/4 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp. baking soda and 1 tsp of salt. Combine and then add 2 tsp. vanilla. Empty a pkg. of semi-sweet chocolate chips into the batter and hand mix in. Place onto cookie sheet one drop at a time and bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 min. Cool on a rack if you can keep your kids out of them long enough to do so. Pour yourself a cup of milk and enjoy a moment with your family as you laugh about the bit of chocolate that shows on your teeth when you smile. A cookie won't kill you, but all the cookies might. Keep yourself in check and enjoy your life.

Smoothies For Ice Cream

"Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having your ice cream fall from the cone."-Jim Fiebig.

Ice Cream has been a favorite of treats for a long time running. It's smooth, creamy, cold, and comes in so many varieties you'll never run out of ways to try it. But, unless you spend $6 a cartoon for the "milk, cream, eggs and sugar" kind, you get a cold mound of a bunch of words I can't pronounce crammed into a container that will eventually end up in your stomach. Even with the other, its full of fat. As Brian Regan, a favorite comedian says, "hey guys, come'mere...look, I put down the serving size of ice cream as a half-a-cup. I did it as a joke, but they're going out that way." 1/2 a cup is a joke, and I have never known anyone who sticks to that size.

Instead of ice cream for movie night this Saturday, try one of these smoothies instead. I make mine in a BlendTec blender. I cannot say enough good about this blender. Its worth every penny. Stuff you couldn't imagine would blend, blends. No fight, no 5 batches, just put it in, hit blend and it does what you had hoped. I use my blender for soups, to puree sauces, it whips real whipping cream in a matter of seconds, chops nuts, and of course, makes smoothies that are cheap, good and healthy. You can pick them up on eBay pretty cheap, or a specialized kitchen store for around $300. Insanely expensive, I know, but if I had to choose between it and a dishwasher, I'd enjoy a smoothie after I finished washing my dishes by hand. Heres my recipe. :-)

Directions

Take one banana, 1 1/2" slice of pineapple, 2 cups of ice, 1/4 c water, 2 packets stevia, 2 tsp. vanilla and put them all in a blender. Push blend. Pour into glass, top with real whipping cream. As you sip the sweet tasting goodness known as a healthy treat, smile knowing that you might have seconds tonight, and it's okay!

So easy a cave man can do it! My boys LOVE these smoothies, and rarely ask for ice cream anymore. We use whatever fruit we have. Steve likes banana and pears. I am looking forward to winter smoothies, as Oranges are finally cheap. I love oranges in combination with just about any fruit. The only fruit I don't like blended are apples. But be creative, try something new, and before long, you might be off ice cream too!

One more thing, just a quick cost comparison. An ice cream shake, regular size, on the way home from the video store for a family of 4 will cost you on average about $12. A cartoon of ice cream from the store will use the entire cartoon and provided you don't add any extras but the ice cream, will cost you anywhere from $4-$6 depending on brand. A fruit smoothie, 16 oz. for a family of four will cost you about $3. Eating fresh fruit as a delicious treat? Priceless.