Peppermint Bark Popcorn

I make peppermint bark every year for Christmas. It's easy to make and great to give away as gifts.  Everyone loves peppermint bark!  I found a new recipe for peppermint bark that I will be trying out in a few weeks. In the meantime, I found this great recipe for peppermint bark popcorn. Thank you Pinterest.

You know those yummy popcorns you can get at your local big box store.... they have white chocolate, caramel, zebra (white and dark chocolate)... This is kind of like those. It turns out with a nice smooth candy finish. A bit on the addictive side.

You will need:  popcorn, almond bark, candy canes, peppermint extract. If you cannot find almond bark, I think that white chocolate chips would work just as well.

Pop about 8 cups of popcorn. I made fresh popcorn, but you can use microwave as well. I like to make my own to control the butter and salt. Divide popcorn in half and put in two large bowls.

Crush candy canes. My pack of candy canes had 8 regular size candy canes in it. The most difficult part is getting the wrappers off the candy canes. Seriously, who wraps these things? I finally figured out that if I put the wrapped candy canes on the counter and smacked them with a pan, they would break just enough to come out of the wrapper. Then I put them in the food processer. They came out nice and powdery. It is just as fun to put them in a ziploc bag and smack the dickens out of them with a rolling pin. Kind of therapeutic (in case you get stressed out trying to unwrap them like I did). Mix 3/4 of candy cane into the popcorn (divide between the two bowls).

Melt almond bark according to package. I melted mine in the microwave. Took about 1.5 minutes. Add 1 tsp of peppermint extract. Add the remaining crushed candy canes into the almond bark mix. Mix into the two bowls of popcorn. This is a bit messy :)

Spread evenly onto wax paper and leave to harden. This took about 30 minutes. Enjoy! 

I had a little of the almond bark/candy cane mixture left, and it was too good to waste. So, I grabbed a few pretzels and dipped them. I have to say, these are wonderful as well. Next time I will reserve more of the candy mixture and make more pretzels.

I hope you enjoy these as much as my family did. They are worth the mess to make.



A grown-up use for Halloween candy

So, your little ones trick or treated to their little hearts content. Now you are stuck with a bucket of candy. If you're like me, you have already picked out all of the chocolate candy and hidden them in the pantry; away from your husband and children.


Now all you are left with is a bucket of hard candy (lemon heads, jolly ranchers, little mints) - right? Everyone is. Nobody eats those. They are like the little red headed step-sister to the snickers bar.

Well, I have the perfect use for those little hard candies. I found this recipe on this blog and knew it would be the perfect way to turn those left over hard candies into an edible (okay, drinkable) adult treat.


What you'll need: Hard candy of your choice, vodka. Nothing else. Really.


Candy Flavored Vodka

I put 3 cinnamon Jolly Rancher candies into one jar, and 3 round candy cane candies into the other. Fill 3/4 full with vodka. That's it. After one day, the candy was gone and I was left with a beautiful colored and wonderful flavored vodka. You can use many different types of candy for this.  Think lemon drop vodka, skittles vodka, butterscotch drop vodka. The possbilities are endless.


I plan on making this at Christmas time for gifts. So, if my sister or brothers are reading... SURPRISE!! 


This would also be great for a party. Use small mason jars and make individual servings in different flavors. If you are doing one of those gift exchanges with friends, family, or co-workers, this would be a wonderful gift (beats a talking fish for the wall).

Be creative! Be imaginative! Have fun!

Pumpkin-Palooza

It is a pumpkin-palooza in the Sunny household! Like many of you, I love Fall; it is my favorite season. Here in Southern California, Fall is more a state of mind then an actual season. We may not have the crisp Fall weather, and we have to wait until November until the leaves start to change color and fall, but we do have the Fall spirit!

Nothing says "Fall" to me better than the smell of pumpkin pie. I have to admit, as much as I love pumpkin pie, I can only have it on Thanksgiving. I'm sure there is some deep psychological reason for that, but I can't afford the therapy to find out what it is. So, to satisfy my need for pumpkin pie without actually having pumpkin pie, I decided to pumpkin it up a little differently this weekend.

I bought a 32 oz of pumpkin mix and made three different wonderful pumpkin delights. This is what I made:  Pumkin muffins, pumpkin coffee creamer and a silky pumpkin dessert.

If you are heading out to the store, this is what you will need:  32 oz. can of pumpkin pie mix (16 oz for muffins, 6 oz for coffee creamer, 10 oz for dessert), one box of yellow cake mix, one box of instant vanilla pudding, 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk, 16 oz. tub of greek yogurt, one tub of whipped topping.

Pumpkin Muffins



Ingredients:
One box of Yellow Cake Mix
16 oz. Pumpkin Pie Mix
One box of Instant Vanilla Pudding
Powdered Sugar

Preheat oven to 350

Prepare vanilla pudding per directions and put in refrigerator to set

Mix yellow cake mix with 16 oz. of pumpkin pie mix. Yup, that's it. The batter will be thick, don't worry. Spoon into muffin tins, about 2/3 full. Bake at 350 for 22 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Time to fill the muffins with pudding. I am sure there is a more professional way of doing this, but I like to do things the easy way, so here is my method.  Take a wooden spoon, carefully insert the end of it into the muffin. Now comes the tricky part... Kind of twist the spoon around in the muffin to make a little cavern inside. I know, there's probably a technical term for this, but I have no idea what it is. So, twirl the spoon handle around, make a nice little comfy hiding place in there.  Now, some of you may have the proper piping bags, but I don't. I used a little food storage bag. Add pudding to the bag and take a small snip off of one corner. Gently pipe the pudding into the muffin.

Top with a little dusting of powdered sugar. How was that for quick and easy? And trust me, these are moist and delicious.

Pumpkin Coffee Creamer

Ingredients:

16 oz. can of Sweetened Condensed Milk

6 oz. Pumpkin Pie Mix

16 oz. Milk

Pretty tricky stuff here. Mix all of the above ingredients together. Okay, and you're done. That's it.

Pour into jars. I used 8 oz jars. This recipe made 5 jars. Keep refrigerated and shake before using.

Silky Pumpkin Dessert

(okay, so I'm looking for a better name.. let me know if you have a suggestion)

Ingredients

16 oz. Greek Yogurt

One tub of Whipped Topping

10 oz. Pumpkin Pie Mix

Another easy one...Mix yogurt and pumpkin mix together. Layer in glass or bowl with the whipped topping. Top with a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice. And serve. Really. That's it. Isn't it pretty? Almost too pretty to eat. Yah, right. Dig in.

These recipes are too good to keep to yourself. Having your girlfriends over for coffee? Serve them pumpkin muffins and coffee with pumpkin creamer. You know they will want the recipe. Give them each a little jar of creamer to take home with them.

Having an office get together? Bring a large jar of coffee creamer. You will be very popular and could quite possibly get a raise.

Having friends over for dinner? The yet-to-be-named silky pumpkin dessert would be perfect. And it is made with greek yogurt, so it's kind of good for you. Kind of.

Going to see family at Thanksgiving? Bring pumpkin muffins and pumpkin creamer for dessert. It will soon become a family tradition.

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I enjoyed making them.

Me? Blogging?

Really? Me starting a blog? I like to read blogs. Well, I like to read some blogs. If they involve families and recipes, I'm in. So here I am starting my own blog to share about my family and recipes.

A little about me: My name is Sunny. I am a work at home mom. I am married and have two sons. You know the very popular saying "Live, Laugh, Love"? That is my philosophy. Life is too short to not enjoy it.

I absolutely love to cook. And, I am slowly but surely checking off that bucket list of adventures.

My plans for this blog:  To share great recipes I discover. They might be recipes I have known for ages, or new ones that I get from other people. They will always be easy. I promise!  I will also be sharing thoughts and stories from my life. Between work, home, husband and children, there are alwys stories to be told.

Thank you for visiting me. I hope you enjoy what you read and come back to visit me often.  I will try to keep a pot of coffee on (or tea.... or beverage of your choice).


Sunny