This is enough for Bret and I (generally). I love caramel corn, and this is pretty simple. I haven’t tried it yet, but you could possibly make the popcorn this way, then microwave the caramel mixture in a bowl, and then dump it in the bag and microwave it all. That way there would be less dishes to wash. Not sure how long it the caramel would need to be microwaved, but based on this, I’d say 4 minutes. Or, you could just follow this recipe:
2 quarts popped popcorn (around 1/3 c. unpopped)
1 brown paper grocery bag
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 T. corn syrup
2 T. butter
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. baking soda
Pop popcorn. Put popcorn in brown grocery bag. Combine sugar, corn syrup, butter, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil on medium-high temperature. Cook for 1.5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add baking soda. Pour caramel mixture over popcorn. Roll the top of the bag down, and vigorously shake the bag. Cook bag in microwave for 1 1/2 minutes*, removing bag from microwave every 20 seconds and shaking bag to prevent burnt areas. Cut the bag so it will lie flat. Spread the caramel corn out to cool.
*Cooking times will vary depending on your microwave. If the caramel corn is still sticky after it has cooled, it needed to be cooked longer.
No real recipe, but:
chicken, noodles, alfredo sauce, vegetables, chipolte chiles in adobo sauce, cilantro
Rather exciting with the chiles.
A few weeks ago I saw a flyer at Maceys advertising cooking demonstrations. We decided that this could be a great idea for a cheap (free) date night, and signed up for the Middle Eastern night. My hopes weren’t super high (because really, how good could it be? It’s at a grocery store…), but we had nothing to lose and it was something fun to look forward to and to do together.
Did you know that there is a mini demonstrating kitchen in the back of Provo’s Maceys? We didn’t either, but we decided that we could probably move our things in there and live just fine. The lady who taught the class grew up in Armenia, but has been in Utah for the last twenty years. She taught us how to make chicken couscous, a carrot salad, hummus, and peanut butter ice cream topping. Delicious. We’re definitely going to make them again on our own.
It was really nice that she taught us how to make a complete meal, since I always seem to have problems coming up with a full meal. We don’t know if this is typical, but the amount of food they gave us was substantial. Not just two-bite samples. If I wasn’t pregnant, I might have considered it enough food for a full meal. And to top it off, at the end we got a coupon for $1 off a $5 purchase of any of the ingredients. And since we were going to buy chicken there anyway…awesome.
It wasn’t the most formal or professional cooking demo I’ve been to, but I don’t really think that was a problem. It was fun and we benefited from it way more than we expected. Apparently Maceys has been doing this for over 12 years, and there are demos twice a week. And they’re always free. So if you live in/by Provo, and you like cooking/eating, we found a sweet deal for you 
bret and i went to my parent’s home for a few days last week in idaho. they have a huge garden (over an acre), and the fam decided to start selling their produce, since there is no way on earth they could eat that much garden. so they moved this little shed to the side of the driveway, and now sell food to people driving by:
there are two very large rows of zucchini:
they also have a lot of chickens…
we didn’t want to make dinner the other night, so we walked down center street
to enjoy some salvadoran cuisine…
originally from martha stewart, but we made a few modifications. thank you anna for the zucchini!
serves 4 • total time: 40 minutes
- 1 1/2 lbs. chicken breast halves, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
- 2 T. cornstarch
- salt and pepper
- 4 tsp. vegetable oil
- 1 onion, halved and cut into 1/4-inch slices
- 1 bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch stripes
- 1 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 c water
- 2 T. rice vinegar
- 2 T. soy sauce
- 1/2 c. basil leaves, larger leaves torn in half
- cooked white rice, for serving (optional)
1. Pat chicken pieces dry with paper towels. In a medium bowl, toss chicken with cornstarch until coated; season generously with salt and pepper.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high. Cook the chicken, turning once, until browned, but not completely cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes total. Transfer chicken to plate and set aside.
3. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil, onion, bell pepper, and zucchini to the skillet; cook over medium-high heat, tossing often, until beginning to brown, 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add 1/4 cup water, vinegar, soy sauce, and chicken to pan; cook, tossing, until chicken is cooked through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in basil leaves. Serve immediately, over white rice, if desired.
click image to see bigger
bret made these last night, and topped them with mango, banana, and sloppy strawberry deliciousness!
serves 4 • total time: 30 minutes
- 1 T. yeast
- 2 c. lukewarm milk
- 4 eggs, separated
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 T. sugar
- 2½ c. flour
- ½ c. melted butter
1. Dissolve yeast in milk. Beat egg yolks and vanilla; add to yeast. Add flour, salt, sugar, and butter. Mix well with a hand mixer.
2. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff and then fold into flour batter. Let rise until doubled.
3. Put a heaping ½ cup of batter into a lightly sprayed waffle iron and spread it out slightly. Bake for 3 minutes. Top with powder sugar, fruit, jam, syrup, whipped cream, etc.
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