Theater Popcorn

I really like my Presto Pop. It makes the best popcorn. But how can I get a batch to taste like movie popcorn? Here's my base recipe. (Which basically means that I'll probably be tweaking it for years to come)

1 Presto Pop

1/3 cup kernal popcorn

1 TBLS vegetable oil

3/4 stick of butter

Artificial butter flakes

popcorn salt

1 big bowl to toss the popcorn

(1 microvae ;-) )

Popcorn: Please follow the directions for cooking your popcorn. I do nothing special for this step.

Sauce:

In a small skillet, melt the butter. Use a spoon and take off the fat leaving behind just the oil.

Putting it together: When the popcorn is finished cooking,:

• shake popcorn salt over the popcorn as you are dumping it into your serving bowl.
• Pour the butter oil over the popcorn
• Add a liberal amount of the butter flakes
• Toss

Let me know if you have another way?

Chocolate Cookie Cheesecake

Now, when you're 11 you get to have a birthday party with all your friends. If the real date of your birthday isn't a weekend date that you can have a fun birthday outing; then, you get to have two birthday celebrations. One on the real day with family. One on another day with your friends. Gosh, life is tough! Just kidding. 
For the "real" birthday celebration, there were tiny peanut butter cheesecakes [q.v.]. For the "fake" birthday, the cake was the first request: Chocolate Cheesecake. Why leave it at just chocolate when you can add oreos?

Tiny Peanut Butter Cheesecakes

Step one: go to New Year's Day party where cheesecake is served.
Step two: browse through cheesecake cookbook on kitchen counter.
Step three: walk home with recipe in hand.

All kidding a side, thanks to my friend Dawn and her son, David, I made these mini-Reese's cheesecakes for Colman's real birthday (more on 'fake' birthday later). Everyone agreed - YUM-O!!!

Basic White Bread

Ever run out of white bread? Don't have time to run to the store? Want to go to bed instead? Dump white bread ingredients in the bread machine. Wake up to fresh homemade bread. Simple? Yummy? Better than store bought?

INGREDIENTS:

  1 cup water

  1 1/2 tablespoon butter or margarine

  2 cups white flour

  1 tablespoon sugar

  1 teaspoon salt

  1 teaspoon bread machine yeast

METHOD:

  Select loaf setting: white

  Add ingredients to bread machine.

  Press Start

SERVINGS: approx. 6 (12 slices)

Pinwheel cookies

Had this idea and the components to put it together. On hand were two packages of sugar cookie mix. Yes, mix, nothing "dangerous about that". But, what happened next is out of the ordinary. Mixed up one batch according to directions. Mixed up the second batch and enough added Hershey's Cocoa Mix to make the batch chocolate looking and tasting. Chill both batches. Roll out each batch individually making them about the same size. Chill some  again keeping them flat. Layer chocolate batch on top of sugar batch and roll into a log. Trim edges as needed. Slice into cookie rounds, placing them on the cookie sheet as you go. Bake according to sugar mix package directions. They were a hit, and I have had requests to make them again.

Macaroni and Cheese

One of my staple recipes, and a recipe that kids love. There are lots of variations on this. I like mine. I acquired the recipe from a friend of mine and tweaked it over the years. If you know how to make a béchamel, you add cheese to the béchamel and bake it. I shred the block cheese in my food processor - way easier than by hand.

INGREDIENTS:

  Pasta:  2 cups elbow macaroni, (8-oz.)
  Cheese Sauce:
     2 tablespoons butter
     2 tablespoons Wondra flour
     2 cups milk
     1/2 teaspoon salt
     1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
     1 block Colby/Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
     1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
  Topping: sprinkle a thin layer bread crumbs on top (you can mix the bread crumbs with melted butter for an extra crisp.)
  Bake in a casserole for 325 for 45 min or until bubbly and the topping has crisped up.