addictive

one word. addictive!

my kiddos had a hankering for a late afternoon snack. i was busy (what mom isn't) and so i didn't want to commit a lot of time to creating something for their picky pallets.

i sent them to the pantry to get a single serve bag of microwave popcorn. mysteriously, the microwave popcorn was gone. surprised? not really.

what next? i immediately went for the old stand by ... 2 T regular popcorn in a lunch sack with 1 spray of PAM. fold the top over and staple. throw in the miracle maker (aka microwave) and minutes later....voila.... popcorn!

here's the thing. i started to have a hankering too. it was 4:00. the temperature was rising and patients were wearing thin. popcorn wasn't going to give ME the fix that i needed.

or was it?

i remember a few months back coming across a recipe somewhere in blogland about home made kettle corn. i don't remember where it came from (surely if i did i would credit the source now) but i logged it to the recipe file somewhere in my brain, only to have it surface at this very moment.

1/2 cup popcorn

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup sugar

easy right?

now you can log it to your very own personal recipe file...preferably on paper, or it may not surface until months from now. and i'm telling you that you're going to want to make this immediately.

you'll shake it and stir it and pour it into a large bowl. you'll then take a bite. you'll take another. you'll then give each of your dear children a very small serving and walk away. with the popcorn bowl. all to yourself. and lock the office door. and eat all the popcorn. by yourself. whilst the children are pounding on the office door asking why you took their bowl of popcorn. moments later, when you emerge from your very personal feeding frenzy, you pick up your keys, get in your car, and drive to the nearest grocer to pick up a new bag of popcorn (for only $1.26 - what a bargain) you'll take a deep breath. walk back into your home. and make your children another batch of this addictive afternoon snack.

what was that about being busy? you are never too busy to make this ... i repeat. you are NEVER too busy to make this!

and now, without further adieu

homemade kettle corn

1/2 cup popcorn

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup white sugar

salt to taste

heat up a large skillet (one with a lid) on the stove. pour oil into skillet. when the oil is hot, add the popcorn and sugar. quickly stir together. place the lid on the top. wait a minute or two for the first "pop". when you start to hear the popcorn popping, start shaking the skillet over the heat. I held the skillet in one hand and the lid in the other and shook. Listen for the popping to slow down. remove from the heat. keep shaking so that the sugar does not burn the popcorn. DO NOT REMOVE THE LID until the popping has stopped. remove the lid and pour popcorn into a bowl. quickly stir and salt to taste. eat warm. in my case devour warm. ahhhhh!

the entire process takes about 3 minutes from start to finish. who doesn't have time for that?

enjoy!

p.s. you just might make yourself a third bowl when you sit down to watch avatar with your hubby that same night! i'm telling you... this stuff is addictive!