Christmas Popcorn (or gooey popcorn…or marshmallow popcorn….)

I call this stuff Christmas Popcorn-- because that's when I eat it.  There's a lot of recipes similar to this one on Pinterest, but my friend, Heather, gave me this recipe so that's why I like it.  :)  She made it for a Christmas party a year ago, and I decided I'd wait to make it until (almost) Christmas time for fear that I would make it monthly.  Because it's addicting people!

I made a double batch, so if the pictures look like there's a crazy amount, you know why.  I would only suggest making this much if you need it for gift giving.  (And I took these pics with my phone, so sorry they're not too fantastic.)

Ingredients: (for 1 batch)

1 1/2 cups unpopped popcorn
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cube of butter
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
10 oz. bag marshmallows

Pop popcorn in air popper and place in large bowl, set aside.

In a saucepan, heat brown sugar and butter over low/medium heat. 

Once thoroughly melted, add half a can of sweetened condensed milk.  Melt together while stirring until ingredients are mixed well.

Add whole bag of marshmallows to pan and continuing melting ingredients together on low medium heat.  You don't need to get the pan to a rolling boil at all.  Once mine started to bubble and blurp just a tiny bit, I turned the heat down and kept stirring.

When everything is melted and stirred thoroughly, take off heat and pour over popcorn in the bowl. 

Stir well to coat popcorn and then transfer to a large piece of wax paper to cool.  (Sorry, no pic because I had to work fast with all those popcorn bowls!) 
Enjoy! And here’s how much a double batch makes just for fun:
   This AND This.       That’s a lot.

Optional:  I love sweet-n-salty, so I sprinkled just a tiny bit of salt over the popcorn once it was all spread out on the wax paper.  Tasted like salted caramel popcorn—delish!

Gooooooo Hoosiers!!

Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding

{as seen on Pinterest}

This is by far the best banana pudding I’ve ever had—and it’s super easy to make!  My family goes ‘bananas’ (har!har!) when I make this because it’s pure creamy yumminess.  Make sure you let it sit in the fridge overnight so the wafers have time to soften in the pudding—you’ll thank me later!

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups ice cold water
1 package (3.4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix (I use Jello brand or generic—either one works great.)
3 cups heavy cream
1 box (12 oz.)  Nilla Wafers (or generic brand—just not the mini- sized wafers.)
4 cups sliced ripe bananas (about 3 medium bananas)

On medium speed of a stand mixer, mix together water, evaporated milk and pudding.  Mix about 2 minutes until creamy and smooth. Cover and place in refrigerator until completely set, about 3-4 hours.  When you turn pudding bowl upside down, it should stay in place without dripping down the bowl—that means it’s ready.

Next, whip cream on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in set pudding mixture to the whipped cream until completely blended—it should be light yellow in color with no white streaks when you’re finished.

In your serving bowl (some people like to use a trifle bowl—I just used a plain glass one), place 1/3 of Nilla wafers on the bottom, then 1/3 of the sliced bananas and then 1/3 of the pudding mixture.  Repeat until all ingredients are gone.  I crush up some leftover Nilla wafers in a bag and sprinkle them on top of the dish for a beautiful garnish.

Place in fridge overnight or at least 8 hours to soften cookies.

Caramel Cookie Bars

If you’re in the mood for some caramel mania (which I am weekly) then you’ll really enjoy these cookie bars that have caramel frosting schmeared (and you have to say schmeared, not smeared) all over the top of them.  They are super sweet, so cut them into smaller squares for the perfect bite.
(Cookie recipe from Duncan Hines; frosting recipe from me.)

• 1 package Duncan Hines Caramel Cake Mix
• 1/4 cup flour (for high altitude baking only)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 13x9-inch pan.

Combine cake mix (add 1/4 cup flour if high altitude baking), eggs, water, brown sugar, and butter in large bowl. Stir until thoroughly blended; mixture will be thick.

Stir in chocolate chips. Spread in greased pan.

Bake at 375 for 24 to 27 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan; cut into bars and frost with Caramel Frosting.

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Caramel Frosting

• 4 Tbs. butter
• 6 Tbs. milk
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, and mix in milk and brown sugar. Boil vigorously for 1 minute.

Remove from heat, and beat in 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Cool slightly, and beat in the vanilla and remaining confectioners' sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Add more milk if the mixture is too thick.

Mama’s Sweet Cornbread

I created this recipe to go along with my Easy Indiana Chili.  My husband loves this cornbread so much, he wants me to make it for his birthday cake!

• 3 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup corn meal
• 2 Tbs. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 cups milk
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 9x13 pan.  Combine all the dry ingredients first then add all the rest of the ingredients in the large bowl.  Stir just until blended.  Pour into prepared baking pan.  Bake for 35-40 minutes and check if wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Serve with honey and butter.  I say share with neighbors, my husband says eat it all yourself.

Easy Indiana Chili

Chili isn’t chili in Indiana unless it has pasta shells in it.  That’s right, folks…and when I moved to the mountains of Utah and someone handed me a bowl of chili with no pasta, I thought, “This chili looks so sad and plain.”  So, here’s to chili done the Hoosier way!

• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cans (15 oz. each) vegetarian chili
• 2 cans (14.5 oz. each) diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano
• 2 cups tomato juice
• 1 box (16 oz.) medium shell pasta

Brown ground beef and onion in skillet. Drain and put in slow cooker. Add chili, diced tomatoes and tomato juice. Cover. Cook on low 4-6 hours. About 45 minutes before serving, cook pasta on stove, drain and then add to crockpot. Stir all ingredients together. You can serve with shredded cheddar cheese on top or crushed crackers, if you'd like. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy! {Serves 8 adults, 2 adults and 10 kids or 16 monkeys.)