Kitchen Meets Culinary Clutz

• 4 quarts Popped Popcorn
• 1 cup Spanish Peanuts
• 4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) Butter
• 1 cup Brown Sugar, packed
• ½ cup Light Corn Syrup
• 2 Tbsp Molasses
• ¼ tsp Salt

1. Preheat oven to 250°F.
2. Combine the popcorn and peanuts in a metal bowl or on a cookie sheet and place in the preheated oven.
3. Combine all of the remaining ingredients in a saucepan.
4. Stiring over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil.
5. Using a cooking thermometer, bring the mixture to the hard-ball stage (260° - 275°F, or the point at which the syrup, when dripped into cold water, forms a hard but pliable ball).  This will take about 20 to 25 minutes (or until you notice the mixture turning a slightly darker brown).
6. Remove the popcorn and peanuts from the oven, and working quickly, pour the caramel mixture in a fine stream over them.  Then place them back in the oven for 10 minutes.
7. Mix well every 5 minutes, so that all of the popcorn is coated.
8. Cool and store in a covered container to preserve freshness.

1. Empty entire box of Chex cereal into a large bowl (If you own a Tupperware Thatsa Bowl, use it!).
2. Into a 3-cup microwavable bowl (Pampered Chef Micro-cooker works great!), measure chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter, then microwave for one minute; stir.  Microwave about 30 seconds more or until mixture is smooth. 
3. Stir in vanilla extract.                    
4. Pour mixture over cereal and turn to coat with a large spoon until all cereal is completely coated. 
5. If your bowl has a tight fitting lid, add confectioners’ sugar, seal with lid and give it a couple good shakes – rattles – and rolls, until the cereal is well-coated and snowy white.  (If no lid is available, then grab yourself a 2-gallon Ziploc bag, dump your chocolate coated cereal inside, dump in the confectioners’ sugar, seal tight and shake – shake – shake until each piece of cereal is well-coated with that snowy-white goodness! (If there is more than one child making this, each child can take a turn shaking the bag, yay!)
6. Your party snack can be stored in an airtight container inside the refrigerator.

This recipe is so easy to whip together! We’re talking 5-min to prep and 25 min to bake! 


The school year is finally coming to an end. I am going to miss all the fantastic kids who are moving up to the High School this fall. I do believe I have discovered the worst part about my job, and that is seeing all those bright smiling faces move on. :) 

• No-Stick Cooking Spray
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 (14 oz.) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2 cups (12 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
• 1 cup chopped nuts

My Baby Girl came home from school today, grabbed two ziploc bags out of the cabinet and asked, "May I make Chocolate Ice Cream?" While at school today she had logged into Success Maker and read a science article about how liquid can take different forms depending on it's temperature. At the end of the article there was a recipe on how to turn Chocolate Milk into Ice Cream by using Ziploc bags. She was bound and determined to make ice cream but could not remember the details of the recipe. With the help of her big brother, we embarked on a mission to concoct a tasty treat!