Popcorn Balls

These are soooo easy to make and the kids LOVE them! And, since they are made with Jello, you can make different colors to suit the seasons: Tonight we made orange for Halloween, but you could make red and green for Christmas, pink, purple or yellow for spring--Oh! The possibilities are just endless! :-)

JELLO POPCORN BALLS

9 cups popped popcorn [I prefer air-popped, with no butter, but microwave popcorn will work.]

1 cup corn syrup

1/2 cup sugar

1 (3 oz.) package jello, any flavor

Put the popcorn into a bowl large enough to hold all of it.

In a heavy saucepan, bring corn syrup and sugar to a boil. Add the Jello and stir until dissolved. Pour over the popcorn and stir in well. Let it cool for about 10 minutes. [I learned the hard way that the balls just won't stick together if you try to make them while it's still hot. Besides that, you will burn your hands!] Lightly butter your hands--just like putting on lotion. Now scoop up handfuls of the popcorn goo and make it into balls.

When you're all finished making the popcorn balls, give your kids some spoons and let them clean up the bowl for you.

This recipe makes about 18 balls the size of tennis balls.

Cheddar Chowder

I suppose if I'm going to gripe about whether or not people read this blog, then I ought to at least post something to read once in a while. So here's a recipe that's a family favorite--I mean everyone in my family likes it!
No, I take that back. Kaylie refuses to eat anything that's called "soup" (or anything like unto it). But I bet she'd like it if she'd actually taste it. :-)

CHEDDAR CHOWDER

1/4 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup sliced carrots
2 cups diced potatoes
water
chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup flour
2-3 cups milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese (sometimes I throw in a pinch of pepper-jack, just for kicks)
1 cup diced ham

Put onions, celery, carrots and potatoes into a big soup pot. Measure in enough water just to cover the veggies (probably 3-4 cups). Add one bouillon cube per cup of water you've put in. [Oh no! Did you forget to MEASURE the water? :) ] Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer until carrots are tender.
In a small bowl, mix the melted butter and flour. Add to the soup and mix in thoroughly. Then add the milk and stir until smooth [well, actually it's kind of chunky because of the vegetables; oh well]. Add cheese and ham and stir until cheese is completely melted. Serve right away. Preferably with hot bread--in fact, this soup is just the right kind to put into bread bowls--Yum!

Whaddaya Think?

Yesterday I was going to post my recipe for fabulous pie crust. Pie crust really is very easy to make, but the list of instructions was about 100 miles long. I thought, "Here I am, saying that pie crust is easy to make, but look at all of these instructions!" I decided that pictures might tell the story better, so now I have to make pie again before I can post the recipe. Really--it is easy!

So here's my new thought: Is anyone around here, who lives in the state of Utah, who reads this blog, interested in getting together at my house once or twice a month and having a recipe day? Then we could all make something together--you can bask in my expertise (hahahahaha!)--and we'll all have a good treat to eat when we are done. :-) We could also try out new recipes together.

Any takers?

Slime Punch

Hmmm. Guess it's been a while. But since no one ever looks at this blog, I suppose it doesn't matter much.

I found this cool recipe in Family Fun Magazine a few years ago, and its intended use is (obviously) for Halloween parties. It looks disgusting, but it tastes great! To make this really cool, mix it in a cauldron (a black pot or a cast-iron Dutch-oven would work nicely). Then, using tongs, glide a piece of dry ice over the surface of the punch until it has a nice fog over and around it. Drop the dry ice into it and you'll have a nice pot of bubbling witches brew!

SLIME PUNCH

1 pkg. (.13 oz.) lemon-lime Kool-Aid
1 cup sugar
8 cups water
1 can (12 oz.) frozen orange juice concentrate
4 cups ginger ale
3 scoops orange sherbet

Empty Kool-Aid into punch bowl. Add sugar, then water and stir until dissolved. Stir in the orange juice concentrate. Just before serving, add the ginger ale; float scoops of sherbet on top. Before long, the punch will be green and slimy-looking.