Monday's Meal

Here's a great Fall recipe for you. I first discovered it when the chick was about a year old. It was on the back of a bag of Jiffy popcorn -- the loose kind that went into my air popper.

Once you've finished cooking it, while the caramel is still soft, try mixing in some pecans, almonds, peanuts, or probably anything else that sounds good to you. This would be fun for older kids to make but the sauce is very hot and could probably burn you pretty quickly. I wouldn't suggest letting smaller ones do anything but watch you make it.


Baked Caramel Corn

3 quarts popped popcorn (about 1/2 cup un-popped)
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Coat bottom and sides of large roasting pan with cooking spray or oil (You will need at a minimum a 9x13 pan but a larger one would be easier). Place popcorn in pan. Set aside.

In a large heavy pan, melt margarine or butter slowly. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring about 5 minutes. WATCH IT CLOSELY - particularly near the end of the 5 minutes. Don't let it burn. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla.

Pour over popcorn, stirring to coat. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool completely and break into pieces. Keep in an airtight bowl or zipper bag.