Barney Is Right When It Comes To Popcorn

Did you push play?  Huh, did ya?   Come on, do it.  It is 'must have' background music for this post, and it will give you a taste of what it is like to be me.  No joke, every time I pull out the popcorn, this song plays in my head, and now (if you were obedient and listening to the song) it will play in yours, too.  Such a catchy little tune, isn't it? 

The way we have been making popcorn in our home lately is pretty neat for a few reasons:
1. It's frugal.
2. It's so easy, even my 6 year old can do it.
3. I know exactly what is in it. (and artificial color and flavor isn't!)
4. It's fun. (which according to Barney, is very important)

On to how we do it.  You will need..
Brown Paper Lunch Bag

Popcorn!
Butter
Sea Salt
Open the brown paper bag, pour in 1/4 cup popcorn.  Fold bag over twice at the top.  Microwave until popping slows down to 2-3 seconds in between pops. (my microwave has a popcorn button on it that is 2 minutes 4 seconds, which works well for us)  Microwave ovens vary, so experiment a bit with the time.  I personally would rather stop the cooking early and have a few kernals left then have burnt popcorn!
Put a Tbls or 2 of butter in small dish while popcorn is popping.  Open popped bag of corn and pour into a bowl.  Melt butter in microwave, about 20 seconds.  Pour over popcorn and sprinkle with salt.
A simple, yummy and healthy snack!

I store our scoop and salt right in with the popcorn so it is always

ready for my girls to help themselves.

Here are a few ideas to make your popcorn even more special:

Honey-Buttered Popcorn
3 Tbls Butter
3 Tbls Honey
Itty Bit of Vanilla
Melt butter in microwave, add honey and vanilla.  Pour over popcorn and sprinkle with salt.
Cinnamon-Sugar Popcorn
3 Tbls Butter
1 Tbls. Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Sugar
Melt butter in microwave.  Mix cinnamon and sugar.  Sprinkle over popcorn.  Can add a bit of salt if desired.
Red Hot Cinnamon Popcorn
(we make this once a year for Valentines Day.  It is full of junk but sooo good!  This recipe makes a ton, we like to share with neighbors and make valentine deliveries to friends.  This would also be a great homemade Christmas gift)
6 Quarts popped popcorn
1 Pkg (12 oz size) Red Hot Cinnamon Candies
Sugar
1 C butter
1/2 C corn syrup
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
Spread popcorn in a lightly buttered pan.  Bake at 250 while preparing syrup.  Pour cinnamon candies into a 2 cup measure.  Fill remaining space to the top with sugar.  Place in pan, add butter, corn syrup, and salt.  Bring to a boil, boil for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in baking soda.  Pour over popcorn stirring to coat.  Continue baking for 1 hr, stirring every 15 minutes.  Remove from oven, let cool, break into pieces and store in airtight container.

*Did you know this?  A study done at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania has found that popcorn contains large amounts of polyphenol, an antioxidant believed to lower the risk of cancer and other diseases.  Polyphenols have been known to be in fruits, vegetables and other foods, but until now researchers had no idea they were in popcorn!  I bet Barney knew that...

Crazy Love

This post does not have anything to do with homemaking, but it might help you understand why I embrace the whole idea of simplicity.  In a previous post, I wrote about how simplifying, for me, is the "intentional promotion of the things I value most."   This post is about the THING I value most.

 My sisters and I are reading a book together called Crazy Love by Francis Chan.  We are on chapter 2 and I'm loving it.  Our purpose in reading it is to learn about this "Crazy Love" that God has for us, and to figure out why in the world would the same God who created the universe love US?!   What?Seriously?  I know, it seems quite crazy, really.
Below, there is an amazing video called "Just Stop And Think" with a message that I believe is life changing.  It was for me.  It articulates what I believe with all my heart is true, and because of it I will never be the same.  Please take a few minutes to watch it to the end.  Sounds crazy, but it could be the most important video you ever watch.

**do you think I used the word "crazy" enough times in this post?  Trust me, I'm really not...ok maybe a litte..sometimes.

Whole Wheat Waffles

I have a childhood friend to thank for this awesome Whole Wheat Waffle recipe. (Thanks, Joy!) They are super yummy and very filling due to the high amount of fiber and protein.  They are also high in calcium, and make an easy, nutritious breakfast.
This morning, my girls were busy downstairs playing a new Wii game their dad surprised them with when they woke up.   Can you believe the smell of these waffles were able to tear them away from the Wii game and make them come stomping up the stairs, to see what that amazing smell was?  They loved the waffles, ate 11/2 each, and their tummys stayed full past lunchtime.
I served them with 100% Real Maple syrup.  Nothing compares! Just walk past and give a polite nod to  Mrs. Butterworth and Aunt Jemimah.  I know their price looks nice, but they are not as nice as they look!  I pay extra for the real stuff for a few reasons. 1. Because it tastes good, 2. I like eating real, whole foods that are as close to the way nature created them as possible, 3. because almost all imitation syrups have high fructose corn syrup in them which I am trying hard to avoid in our home. (Here is a post about why, with some of links if you are interested)
My friend, Joy, mixes the dry ingredients together and stores them in a jar for a quick Waffle Mix, which I think is brilliant and I plan on doing the same.  This recipe makes about 12 waffles.  Whenever we have extra pancakes or waffles, I just freeze them in a gallon ziplock bag and the girls help themselves in the morning.  They reheat the pancakes in the microwave for a few seconds, and the waffles in the toaster.

Whisk dry ingredients, add wet ingredients.  Pretty simple so far, huh?  I took a picture and poured at the same time, impressed?

I love this silicone basting brush.  You can buy one Hereon Amazon.  I pour a little oil into the oil lid (yes, the small lid of my oil) so I can dip the brush without dirtying another dish.  I do this anytime I need to grease a pan.  It is so much better than using a cooking spray that contains propellants, that can be flammable, cause sticky build-up on pans, and cost money!  It is less waste because there isn't a can to throw away.

Whoops!  Don't overfill like I did.  The picture with the open waffle maker is the right amount.

I will leave you with a tip from Joy-"to get the best waffle texture, cool COMPLETELY on a rack before you freeze them.  If you set them hot on a solid surface, they sweat and get quite soggy."  I agree with her!  If fact, I do the same before serving to keep them crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

 

Makes Me Happy-Wooden Clips

In my quest to simplify, I have tried to get rid of stuff that takes up space, and replace it with something more practical, simple and cheap.  These wooden clips fit that description perfectly.  They are so much better than having a bunch of plastic, different colored chip clips laying around, or shoved in drawers.  I personally have very, very little drawer space in my kitchen. VERY little.  Like, 2 normal size drawers, and one itty bitty skinny drawer stuck in the corner.  One drawer I have my silverware in, the other I have miscellaneous utensils/measuring cups, and the itty bitty one is the only 'junk' drawer I allow myself in the whole house.

I've actually found a way to be grateful for my lack of drawer space. It forces me to be strategic in my kitchen and really think through everything I bring into it.

 Back to the clips, I love these things!  I use them all the time and keep them in a mason jar;) in a very accessible spot in my pantry.  Makes me happy!  I know, doesn't take much..

Fudgy Buttons

Tonight I wanted something sweet, and there was NOTHING in the house (I need to grocery shop!).  I knew it was time to pull out my recipe for Fudgy Buttons once again.  I found the recipe in a magazine, given by a grandma who said she stirred up a batch for her grandkids every time they visited. I've made these many times, and I am sure I will still be stirring them up when I am a grandma.:)  I like them for a few reasons.  I always have the ingredients on hand,  I don't have to turn the oven on,  I can make them in 5 minutes, my girls can help roll the balls and make them into buttons, they are round and cute, and they satisfy even the most intense craving for chocolate and peanut butter.  They are not the healthiest thing we could choose to eat, but when compared to the ingredients in some of the most popular chocolate and peanut butter candies, (Peanuts, Milk Chocolate, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate, Nonfat Milk, Milk Fat, Lactose, and Soy Lecithin, and PGPR, Emulsifiers)Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Cottonseed, Soybean, Palm Kernel, and Palm Oil)Sorbitol, Dextrose, Chocolate, Nonfat Milk, High Maltose Corn Syrup, Refined Palm Kernel Oil, Cocoa Butter, Salt, Corn Syrup, Whey, Whey Protein Concentrate, Caseinate, Soy Lecithin, Artificial Flavor, Glycerin, Lactose, Mono and Diglycerides, and TBHQ.) I feel pretty good about my 5 ingredient, (ones I can pronounce!) cute, little Fudgy buttons.

Fudgy Buttons
4 Tbls butter or margarine
3 tsp. baking cocoa
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. milk
4 Tbls creamy peanut butter

In a small saucepan, melt the butter; remove from heat.  Add cocoa and mix well.  Stir in sugar. (will be quite thick) Add milk and stir until smooth. (you will feel like you should add more milk- don't.  The peanut butter will make it creamy and perfect) Add peanut butter and mix well.  Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper; roll into balls and flatten with your thumb.

Does Your Lunchbox Make You Special?!

One of my least favorite things to do is pack lunches for my girls to take to school.  They have never had cafeteria school lunch (well, one of them snuck a chocolate milk and had to do a bunch of chores to pay for it. eyyy.)  At first, my reason was because it was much cheaper.  Now, after reading up on health, I am glad they take their own lunches. I'm ok with occasional processed food, but EVERY day for lunch?  Nope, can't do it.  I have to admit, I do A LOT of peanut butter and jam.  A LOT.  I grew up on the stuff and to this day love it!  I make ours with yummy homemade bread and jam, but they are still getting sick of it, so I have been trying to get a bit more creative by packing some hot food in a thermos.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these  Funtainer Food Jar by Thermos. You fill them up with hot water from the faucet, let them sit a few minutes to warm, dump out the water and fill them with hot food.  My girls say they are still nice and toasty warm at lunchtime, and they get so excited to open their lunchbox and see a thermos instead of another peanut butter and jam sandwich. 
So on to the title of this blog post. 
The girls hang their lunch bags up every day on a hook in the pantry when they get home from school.  My youngest daughters hook happens to be right above the trash can, and this morning her lunch bag was missing.  I asked her about it, and she insisted that she hung it up.  I believed her because it is a great habit of hers and she always remembers. After staring at the empty hook for a minute, and then looking down at my empty trash can with a brand new bag in it (thanks to my wonderful husband who takes the trash out every morning) it dawned on me what must have happened.   I asked the girls if any of them had seen the lunch bag in the trash, AND CAN YOU BELIEVE I GOT A YES!!   AND CAN YOU BELIEVE THEY DIDN'T REACH IN TO GET IT AND HANG IT BACK UP??!!  My husband left for work by this time and I was NOT about to go dig in our trash bins (we'll let him do that when he gets home, poor guy) so I went to look for an old lunch bag. As I triumphantly pulled out the extra Scooby Do lunch bag, my youngest (the one with the missing lunch bag) crumbled like her world was coming to and end.  "Mom!!"  (sob, sob) "I'm too old for a Scooby Do lunch box!!"(sob, sniff, sob, her six year old head in hands)  Knowing the school bell would be ringing soon, I knew we had to do this conversation quickly.  Me- "Honey, why are you special?"  6 yr old-(sniff, sniff) "because God made me"  Me-"Would you still be special if you went to school with an ugly, torn, stinky lunch bag?" 6 yr. old (sniff and slight chuckle at me plugging my nose which changed my voice when I said the word stinky) "yes." Me-"are you still special with a Scooby lunch box?" 6 yr old-(big sigh, arms crossed, pouty downward pointed eyebrows) "yes."  Me- (with a tickle to try and erase the pouty eyebrows) "well, its a good thing a lunchbox doesn't make you special" 6 yr old-(arms still crossed, too stubborn to give in to the tickle) Me-(quick, very strategic change of subject) "hey, I think it might be sprinkling, that means you get to carry your very own umbrella!!"
Thank goodness, the change of subject worked and off to school she went, smiling and waving,  Scooby lunch bag in hand and still feeling special.
*if you are wondering about the lunch bag in the picture, I have a girl that is really into black and pirates of the caribbean.  Girls don't HAVE to like pink, ya know.  I think she knows that it is not her lunch box that makes her special.:)