Easy Caramel Corn

Here we are on another easy gift idea!  The PTA President and myself had the brilliant idea to make caramel popcorn for all the kids for the upcoming Christmas program this Thursday.  Sure I can do that ... hehe she said to herself not thinking how long it would take to make 120 of these bags!  Now if you are just doing a normal batch this really is easy heck even at the quantity we did it was pretty easy just a little time consuming.  To make it go easier before she was off work I went and popped all the popcorn.  I made 3 brown paper grocery bags full!  I found this amazing recipe for Easy Caramel Corn on Our Best Bites website.

Easy Caramel Corn

12 C popped popcorn (about 1/2 C kernels)
1 C brown sugar 
1/4 C white Karo syrup 
1/2 t salt (if you are using salted microwave popcorn then omit salt here) 
1 stick real butter 
1/2 t baking soda 
1 t vanilla

Pop popcorn and set aside. Place brown sugar, Karo syrup, salt, and butter in a microwave safe dish. I cut up the butter into chunks so it melts better.
Are you ready for the directions? I’m warning you, it’s complicated. You might want to take notes. Here we go. Microwave for 30 seconds. That should be enough to melt the butter at least half way. Stir it all to combine. Now microwave on high for 2 minutes. Take it out and stir. Microwave for 2 more minutes.

While the caramel is cooking, put the popcorn in a big bowl. Use one that is way bigger than you think you’ll need. Try to get any un-popped kernels out so you don’t break a tooth. When the caramel is done cooking, take out of microwave and add baking soda and vanilla. Sit back and watch it do cool things like bubble and foam.  Stir it well and then pour it over the popcorn. Mix it up well with a big spoon. I usually spread it all out on a piece of foil and let it cool for a minute so it doesn’t get stuck in one big clump. The longer it sits out, the firmer it will get, but it won’t ever get crunchy-hard unless you bake it.

What I did was pop the popcorn doing my microwave trick (click here to find directions).  I used my Pyrex 4qt glass bowl with 1/2 cup popcorn kernels.  This made the exact amount for the recipe. 

I promise it was super easy to make and put it together.  For the kids we put it in nice little treat bags.  The extra I had left over I put in these cute plastic containers I found at the dollar store a while back.  I can't wait to pass them out!  I hope you make it for someone special.

Kids Treat bags (bags from Dollar Tree)

 Treat for the adults (from Dollar Tree)

Have a wonderful day!!

Haul out the Holly Christmas Card Holder

For several years I have a Christmas Card Tree (it is an actual metal tree that holds cards) but it's seen a better day.  So when I came across this idea to make a Holly Christmas Card Holder I was sold.  I picked up the items except for the wire hanger and spray paint at the dollar store.  Note to self the dollar store clothes pins are very cheaply made and may just be worth spending a little extra  money to buy a higher quality version.  This was a simple one to make just took a little time but I think it was worth it since I so can use it again next year.

You'll need:

wire clothes hanger

yard of ribbon

1 pack of clothespins

green spray paint

pony beads

wire cutter/pliers

glue gun (I skipped this and just used the pliers to pin it together in a circle)

empty box (I used a piece of plywood clipped them to it and sprayed)

Pull the flaps off of the box, and clip all your clothespins (or do like I did and clip on plywood). Spray 3-4 coats of paint on the clothespins. Make sure to get in between the two parts as best you can, and underneath as well. Let them dry for a day or so.  (I was impatient and only sprayed 2 coats and should have done a little better and let them sit over night). Cut the hook off your wire hanger, and shape into a circle. Grab your beads. Then, alternating bead and clothespin, slide onto the wire. Continue until your wreath is almost full, and the wires overlap about 1.5 inches. Glue them together with the glue gun-lots o' glue here (this is where I just took the pliers and bent the heck out of the wire to hold it). Cut a piece of ribbon, and tie it around the wire, then trim the ends and glue that to the wires (I used a thicker ribbon then she did). Using the rest of your ribbon, tie a bow and glue that on top of your hanger (I skipped the glue part just tied it on).  I promise it is really easy!  

Hope you had a wonderful week and you may try this out!

More Christmas Movies to Enjoy!

It's that time of the week again a list of the Christmas movies I watched over the week and had to share with you my friends.  Remember the best channels to check out this time of year are Lifetime, Hallmark and my NEW favorite GMC.

 

Will You Merry Me? - myLifetime.com - This was so cute and a great way to see the merging of two different cultures for the holiday.  Plus it had two of my favorite actresses playing the moms.  It's so true we may fight but we are family :).

Come Dance with Me | Hallmark Channel - We have seen a version of this movie before but you will love the Holiday twist to it.  Plus I just love Andrew McCarthy (so love my 80's movies).  Money may bring you things but happiness may be lead to you in a different direction.

Kid Who Loved Christmas - gmc TV -Talk about an all Star cast you have Sammy Davis Jr., Vanessa Williams even there for a short period.  A great story about an orphan being adopted by a man who just lost his wife and the trials and tribulations he goes threw to get him.  And even a Christmas miracle.

Holly's Holiday - Lifetime - A girl learns that maybe Mr. Perfect isn't so perfect and what we may need is right in front of us.  A super cute movie.

Help for the Holidays | Hallmark Channel - Can a elf restore Christmas to a family that has lost the spirit?  What a cute movie and you get to see Eva La Rue (since they cancelled my CSI Miami with out a finally it was nice to see her again).  And even a touch of romance.

All About Christmas Eve - myLifetime.com - What a moment can do, it really can change the way your life can go.  A great movie of two paths that could be and finding oneself. 

Christmas Song | Hallmark Channel - Almost in a Glee style fashion is this Christmas movie lot's of singing and some love stories of course.  Very cute movie!

The Christmas Secret - Hallmark Channel - What a  cute movie about a man who wants to prove reindeer fly.  Along the way he finds out the true meaning of Christmas and the love of family.

I hope you enjoy them and may find one or more you would like to enjoy!!

Cookie Lover Gift Idea

So here is another gift I made for the Christmas party we went to last weekend.  I saw this idea on Pinterest but it just lead to a photo so I'm sorry I can't give credit to anyone.  I took the photo and kind of made it my own.  The original photo was a square potholder with a cookie cutter attached and a bag of cookie mix.  I wanted to give some cookie tools so the person who got it could whip up the cookies, I had a feeling a kid would get the gift since adults and kids were grabbing and either or would like this gift.  This is a simple one that would cost you around $10 (most of the items you can find at the dollar store.

You need:

Christmas Oven Mit (found it at dollar store)

Betty Crocker Spatula (dollar store)

Betty Crocker Measuring Spoons (dollar store)

Bettyy Crocker Measuring Cups (dollar store)

Bag of Betty Crocker Cookie Mix (Sugar Cookie for $1.29 Walmart)

Cookie Cutter (Ross $2.99)

Put the cookie mix and the tools into the oven mit.  I then picked up a cookie cutter a nice metal one at Ross for $2.99.  I took some scrapbook paper and made a sign.  I found the wording that worked perfect on label on Make it Do's Website.  Then stuck it together with some glue and tied it on with the ribbon I used for the cookie Cutter.  The perfect gift for the baker in your life.

Hope you make this it was so cute and the person who got it really liked it.

Now we go to BEER ... Brown Ale Caramel Corn

Yesterday I posted the Root Beer, so now we go to the actual beer!  As most of you know I don't drink beer but my dad does and since he isn't getting around much these days I thought I better use up the beer he left here.  Why not make caramel corn for the Christmas party I went to.  Now of course I can't taste anything but it sure did smell good lol.  I asked my friends to try and they said it was very tasty.  I found this recipe on Betty Crocker.

Brown Ale Caramel Corn

8

cups popped popcorn

1

cup mini-pretzel twists

1/2

cup salted cocktail peanuts

1/2

cup brown ale beer

1/4

cup packed brown sugar

1/4

cup brown rice syrup or corn syrup

3

tablespoons butter

1/4

teaspoon salt

• 1Heat oven to 300°F. Line two 15x10x1-inch pans with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray.
• 2In large bowl, place popcorn, pretzels and peanuts; set aside.
• 3In 2-quart saucepan, heat ale over medium heat, stirring frequently, until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 6 minutes. Pour into glass liquid measuring cup to confirm measure. Add back to saucepan. Stir in brown sugar, syrup and butter. Cook over medium heat until bubbly around edges, stirring occasionally.
• 4Reduce heat to medium-low; cook about 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until thickened and syrupy. Remove from heat; carefully stir in salt. Pour over popcorn mixture in bowl; toss until evenly coated. Spread popcorn mixture in pans.
• 5Bake 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, to caramelize mixture. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Break into pieces. Store in airtight container.
• Alexis Notes: I used the popcorn in the microwave trick that I posted here.  I doubled the pretzels and nuts to give it a little more crunch.  I picked all these up in the bulk section of my Winco.

Perfect for the beer lover and I know what I'll be making my dad this Christmas!

Root "Deer" Gift

As I mentioned yesterday the boys and I went to a Christmas party with some friends from high school.  It was so much fun and they had a gift exchange, instead of just buying something I thought it would be fun to make some fun gifts I've seen on Pinterest.  Since we did Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer "Peanut Butter Fudge" yesterday, why not stick with that theme!  I wanted to try these Root "Deer" gifts I saw on Magnolia Manor.  This was so easy, the only hard part was getting the labels off (I tried keeping them on and putting the eyes on but it didn't look right).

Root "Deer" Ingredients:

Root Beer (in bottles in the cardboard container - had to go to 2 stores to find it)

Brown Pipe Cleaners

Googly Eyes

Red Pom Poms

Glue

Take off the label on the top of the bottom (I ran under water and peeled off).  Take a pipe cleaner and wrap around the top, I then formed to look like antlers.  I took some Elmer Glue and glued the eyes and pom pom on.  Put it back in the cardboard container and done!  You can even make a sign to go on front that says Root "Deer", I ran out of time and didn't do that.

Hope you have a wonderful day and make someone's day with this special gift.