POPCORN!!!

Ok so I haven't written in a long time, I know. I'm sorry. BUT now that Christmas is over, I thought I would share something I did as a secret food Santa gift that was AMAZING!

I'm always looking for cheap things to make for Christmas. My husbands family does this $5 food secret Santa. Which is great, but you can't buy something really good and half healthy for $5. That's barely a Starbucks coffee. JuSt SaYiNg!!

I love making my own popcorn. Popcorn that comes in premade bags is horrible for you, seriously one of the worst things you can eat. I thought it was hard to make old school popcorn, but after I learned, I'll never go back!

Back to the gift I made....

-Chocolate covered popcorn
-Mint Chocolate covered popcorn
-Butterscotch Chocolate covered popcorn
-Butterscotch covered popcorn
-Ranch

This is so simple. First you want to make a big batch of popcorn. Don't use too much oil (or butter popcorn if you MUST use premade popcorn). The extra oil might prevent the chocolate from sticking.

I bought regular chocolate chips, the kind you put in chocolate chip cookies. Put how ever many you want in a pan and melt on LOW!! Chocolate needs to melt at a low temperature because if not it'll burn and won't get the drizzle effect you want.

Lay the popcorn out on wax paper. Once the chocolate is melted, drizzle it on with a spoon. I put mine in the freezer so it would set up faster, but it's up to you if you do this or not.

MINT  Popcorn!! I found peppermint extract at Aldi's. It is the best thing to put in my hot chocolate, but also in my chocolate popcorn. You don't need a whole lot, but of course you have to play with how strong you want it. It will thin the chocolate which makes it easier to spread.

Ranch Popcorn!! This is so simple and way addictive. After the popcorn is cooled, just put some ranch seasoning on it. You can use your own home made one or buy a pack from the store.

Kettle Corn!! This is a dangerous thing. When I first figured out how to make this, I ate an entire pot full (my biggest pot by the way). So Bad!! The secret measurement is 1/2 cup popcorn to 1/4 cup sugar. When the oil is hot enough to pop the corn, add the sugar. Once the kernels are in, shake like crazy to coat them evenly.  The great thing about this is you can change how sweet you want it. I usually make small batches with light sugar, that way I can get my sweet fix without feeling guilty.

This is super cheap to make as a gift or if you're having company over. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!

God Bless

P.s. Valentines day is coming up, it'd be cheap and amazing for classroom gifts.