Friday, October 23, 2009

Festive popcorn

I call this "festive" popcorn because you can make it any color you want to fit any holiday. I made it orange today for Ella's class snack and added candy corn since Halloween is next week. I also like it because it's not sticky! Apparently the kids liked it because the container came home empty. Her teacher also loved it and asked for the recipe. She was surprised to learn there is jell-o in it. So here's the link or just take a look at the copied recipe below:

http://dinnerwithjulie.com/2009/04/10/green-pea-hummus-and-pink-popcorn/
Pink+popcorn.jpg



Pink Popcorn

You can use any red Jell-O powder for this; I tried cherry and raspberry and liked raspberry better, although cherry was a paler pink.

Lots of popped popcorn – a big bowl (around 15 cups or so)
2 cups sugar
1/2 small box red Jell-O gelatin powder
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. baking soda

Put the popped popcorn in a large bowl, carefully picking out any unpopped kernels. (I do this by popping into one bowl, then lightly scooping out the popcorn with my hands into another, leaving the unpopped kernels in the bottom.) Preheat the oven to 250F. Line one or two rimmed baking sheets with foil.

In a medium saucepan (with room for the mixture to at least double in size), bring the sugar, Jell-O, water and butter to a boil. Once fully boiling cook for 4 minutes without stirring, swirling the bowl occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and soda. Pour over the popcorn and toss with tongs to coat completely. Spread out onto the baking sheets and bake, stirring once or twice, for an hour. Set aside to cool.



Have Fun with it!

Jody

Monday, October 12, 2009

Girls Night

Saturday Danielle was up from Cincinnati. While the boys were at the OSU game, us girls (Me, mom, Danielle & Karlie) made dinner for us and the kids. When the boys got back from the game, we got to got to go out for dessert. We went to Red Robin and got the Mountain High Ice Cream Pie and Apple Crisp. The only thing that was missing was the rest of our sisters! I should have taken a pic of the ice cream pie, but, hey, at least I posted!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Chinese Day


So I decided to have a theme for each day of the week to help me with ideas of what to cook throughout the week. Wednesday is ethnic night. So last night we had Chinese Cabbage Salad, rice, and Egg Drop soup. Yum it was good. Especially the salad. The dressing is phenomenal! I usually put chicken in it too, but I'm also trying to see if we can eat meat just a few times a week. Anyway, the whole family loved it. Luci especially loved digging for the Ramen noodles and grapes. Another plus...the cabbage came from our garden! Jacob didn't even notice that there was no meat, a key food group that makes a meal filling for a man I guess. Here's the recipe for the salad...


Chinese Cabbage Salad
Slightly adapted from Ellie Krieger, Food Network
Yields: 5 Servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, divided
2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided (optional but very very yummy)
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cubed or sliced (optional)
3/4 head napa cabbage, thinly shredded (about 6 cups)
1 large carrot, shredded (about 2 cups)
3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced, greens included (about 1/2 cup)

3/4 package of uncooked Ramen noodles (optional)
2/3 cup sliced grapes
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 cup unsalted peanuts


Directions


Combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and spread onto chicken breasts. Grill in oil on medium-high heat until done, about 5-7 minutes I think. Don't over cook! Remove from oven, cool completely.

In a large bowl, combine green cabbage, carrot, scallions, grapes, peanuts and
sliced chicken. In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, oil, 1
1/2 teaspoons sesame oil, and brown sugar. Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine.


**Tip: Almost everything in this recipe is optional. Just use what you have! I've even substituted Romaine lettuce for the cabbage before.You can add things too, like mandarin oranges, water chestnuts, etc...