Pop Corn

Man, I love pop corn! I can eat it just about anytime of day. Same with our kiddo's.

Your probably thinking why is Blair writing about pop corn? Way back when, I thought microwave pop corn was the bomb! One day my destine to be my future Mother-In-Law, made stove top pop corn in olive oil. Zowie!! It was awesome. After that fateful bliss day, I always cook pop cornon the stove rather than the ichy bag stuff. 

Recently my pop corn world was rocked yet again! Sarah Elizabeth's BFF made pop corn in the microwave but not with the prepackaged, hydrogenated oil stuff. Just a simple brown bag or "poke" as my Grandma called it. Simplify at its best!

Microwave Pop Corn

Ingredients
1 brown flat bottomed lunch size paper bag
1/2 C pop corn kernels
Salt or seasonings
Earth Balance (optional)

Directions
Place pop corn in paper bag. Fold top of bag 2 times. Do not not use staples, twisty ties or anything to secure bag. The fold will hold during popping.

Place in microwave using the pop corn setting. Microwave times vary. Listen for when the popping slows. Be careful, DO NOT OVER COOK OR BURN! Your house will be very stinky and your taste buds will be very sad. You most likely will need to play around with the cooking time to get it just right with your microwave. Add seasons and enjoy!

Try these toppings for some gourmet popcorn fun:

• Mexican: Add chili powder, hot sauce, and salt.
• Kiss My Breath: Shake in onion powder and garlic powder — hold the kiss.
• Cheese Please: Mix in Parmesan cheese with a little salt.
• Sweet Tooth: A dash of cinnamon, a sprinkle of sugar, and a topper of honey. Now that’s money.
• Classic: A shake of salt with a pat of butter.

May your table be bountiful~blair

Baked Tortilla Chips

In reviewing our family food budget I have decided our family eats as well as spends way too much on corn chips each month. We have nacho's for lunch once a month and we use these to tunnel through the mega size hummus we graze through on Sunday afternoons for lunch. Don't worry, there are vegetables involved too!

As you may recall, my goal this year is to make more than to buy more.I was trolling through the internet for tortilla chip recipes and found I liked this recipe the best. Very easy and straight forward.

The great thing about making these chips at home is you can use what ever seasonings you have on hand and are cheap! I am also thinking these would make a nice hostess or house warming gift paired with homemade salsa.

We took our chips with us tonight the Everett Aqua sox's game. Beats paying $5 for a large bag of popcorn, which I am sure the kiddo's could NOT eat. Jeff and the kids enjoyed them. Next batch I am thinking cinnamon and sugar!

Ingredients 

Corn Tortillas (You can use flour but then they will not be GF!)
Nonstick cooking spray, I used canola but olive will be yummy as well.
Seasoning of your choice (*optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Lay single tortillas out on wax paper. Spray each side with oil, lightly. Sprinkle with seasoning. *
Stack 8 tortillas on top of one another. Using a pizza cutter or knife divide into 4ths or 8ths.

Arrange triangles in a single layer on baking sheet.* Bake 7-10 minutes until edges start to curl and are lightly brown. CAUTION: these will burn very easily. Once chips are brown and crisp transfer to a cooling rack.

Chips will continue to crisp as they cool. Completely cool before transferring to an air tight container. Use within 1-2 days.

* I did not salt or season mine. Next time I will lightly season with sea salt. :0)

May your table be bountiful~blair