Red Velvet Popcorn

A few weeks ago, Scott and I went to see Wolf of Wall Street.  Now, the only theater playing this was almost an hour away.  It became an all-day affair.  

Let me paint you a picture:

In Alaska, we lived 5 minutes from one of those 16 screen, brand-new, stadium seating multi-plexes.  

We would go to a late movie, the ones starting at 9:30pm, and the idea would be suggested around 6 pm…"Wanna go to a movie?"  

"Sure."

I'd put on my sweatpants, we'd leave the house at 9:15pm, and be in bed by midnight.  Plus, that theater was never very crowded because it was in "the valley".  

(I'm sure I've told this story before.)

Anyway, here, if we want to go to a nice theater, it's an hour drive.

We did it though and, since we had to plan the entire day around the movie showtime, we went to Target first.  

Scott said he was going to take a nap in the car while I went in (the long drive exhausted us both).  Twenty minutes later, my arms full of clothes, I found him in the Valentine's aisle, his arms also full.  Clothes, socks, soap…he'd been taken in by Target.

As we walked to the register, nearly dropping things (you don't get a cart unless you mean business and I was trying to avoid that), he said, "It's so quiet in here".  I said, "And that's the appeal of Target…straight-up middle class.  It's quiet.  It's pleasant.  You don't leave with a headache and an impending anxiety attack.  Welcome."

Anyway, while we were at the movies, we ate one of the BIG buckets of popcorn (it was a long movie).

The next day,  I made this dessert popcorn.  It was after we'd eaten it all in one day, Scott told me he doesn't like popcorn.  

Red Velvet Popcorn

1 T. butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup cream cheese frosting + extra for drizzling

1/2 cup powdered red velvet cake mix 

1 t. vanilla

2 T. corn syrup

2 cups mini marshmallows

Sprinkles

2 bags popped popcorn (Pour the popped popcorn into a bowl, and then put the popped kernels into another, bigger, bowl to separate the unpopped kernels.  You don't want to chomp down on a kernel!)

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and corn syrup together.  It doesn't have to boil or anything.  Stir in the cake mix and frosting.  Once combined, add in the marshmallows.  Stir well and let them melt.  When the mixture is nice and smooth, pour it over the popped popcorn and fold with a spatula to coat.  Decorate with sprinkles.  Warm the extra frosting in the microwave and drizzle it over the popcorn. Serve warm or store in an airtight container once cooled.

Best of 2013: Recipes

Your favorites from 2013…. 

5.  Brownie Batter Fudge

An extra-rich chocolate fudge that gets its punch from some boxed brownie mix.

4.  Easy Peanut Butter Cookie Cake

I still remember the day I OD'd on this.  HIGHLY recommended.  Just make it.  Maybe you should share it though.  

3.  Brownie Batter Rice Krispy Treats

Again, extra-richness from some boxed brownie mix and a drizzle of chocolate frosting.

2.  Cookie Butter Muddy Buddies

Ironically, this was my first recipe of the year, posted on January 1st.  Something about powdered sugar, peanut butter, and then the crunchiness of Chex just equals a trifecta of perfection.

It's been awhile.  I need to make some muddy buddies again soon.

And, #1 on the list of favorite desserts this year……

1.  Cake Batter Rice Krispy Treats

Your favorite was my favorite too!  Some of my recipes, I never repeat because I didn't love them enough or they weren't practical.  THESE are Rice Krispy treats that I've made again and again.  They would be excellent for a New Year's get-together.  Even as a gluten-free birthday treat if you use GF cake mix.  I'm so glad you all love these Rice Krispy treats as much as I do :)

Thank you so much for reading, pinning, and trying my recipes.  Even though I don't do it nearly enough, I love to create in the kitchen and I'm so happy to have a place to share these treats.

Here's to more sugar in the new year!

Here's the list of favorite desserts from 2012.  Any requests for 2014?  

Lemon Cake Pops

Yesterday, I had a fun, crafty get-together with some friends.  We made these letters with our last initial.  It was very similar to the wreaths I was putting together last year (Which I'm planning on doing again this fall..which reminds me...anyone want to order a wreath? Custom-made!).  

Anyway.  What a great group of wives!  I'm so grateful to have found such a community here..and it seems like I meet someone new everyday.  It's a nice change of pace from the last year or so..when all my friends PCSed before we did. 

I made some cake pops to take along. I even went all out and used sticks.  In two years of making cake pops (i.e. cake balls), I've never used sticks.  There's a first time for everything.  

Lemon Cake Pops
makes approximately 4 dozen

1 Lemon Cake (from a mix), baked and cooled
1 can vanilla or cream cheese frosting
White candy melts
Sprinkles, for decorating 
Lollipop sticks (found in the cake decorating section of Wal-Mart)

After baking your cake according to the package directions, allow to cool completely.
In a large pan, crumble the cake and mix in the frosting (I also added a teaspoon of freshly grated lemon zest.) You will have one big sticky mess. 

Refrigerate for a few hours so the mixture will firm up and be easier to roll. (You can skip this step if you're in a time crunch.)

Roll into 1-inch balls and place in a covered pan in the refrigerator or freezer for a few hours or over night.

 Melt the candy melts in the microwave.  Do this at 30 second intervals, stirring in between.  It usually take a minute or two.  Put a stick into each cake ball, and then dip in the candy melts.  I thought the yellow was pretty so I didn't cover it the whole way.  Add the sprinkles immediately. Allow to dry/cool on wax paper.  I like to store them in the fridge or freezer because I think they taste better cold.

Mint Oreo Truffles

Another pre-scheduled dessert post...this is a good one.


Guess who made a dessert in September and has decided to blog about it now in May?

ME!

I made these when my mom and dad were visiting last September and they helped me eat them all.  I just found the pictures on my computer and figured better late than never.  (It's never too late for Oreos.)

While my parents were here, they did a lot of sight-seeing on their own while I was at work.  I did drive us out to the Matanuska Glacier one day though.

That is as far as I'd let them get to the glacier.  Apparently, you can go walk on it.  *SHUDDER*.  Nothankyou.  I will never get close enough to a glacier to fall in.  It's a personal rule.

Let's not talk about glaciers anymore. Oreos are much more interesting.

I must say that despite my deep-seeded love for chocolate/peanut butter, mint Oreos are my favorite kind of Oreos.  I imagine, however, that you could create these with any kind of Oreo.  Oh, the possibilities.

Mint Oreo Truffles

1 box cake mix (I used Pillsbury Triple Chocolate Fudge.)
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil (I used half applesauce/half oil.)
3 eggs
1 can buttercream frosting (I used buttercream to keep it from being too chocolate-heavy.)
1 package Mint Oreos, crushed, and divided 
1 package almond bark (I had the green that I bought on clearance way back when, but vanilla or chocolate would work.)

Bake the cake according to package directions.  The ingredients above are what I added.  The ingredient amount may depend on the brand of cake mix.

Let the cake cool, then crumble it up.  Stir in the can of frosting and half the crushed Oreos until you have a thick dough.

Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Melt the candy melts in the microwave.  It will take about 2 minutes total.  I used 45 second intervals.

Dip the frozen truffles into the candy coating and then place on wax paper to set.  Decorate with the other half of the crushed Oreos.  You have to be quick, dipping just a few at a time, because candy coating hardens really fast.  I like to store these in the freezer because I think they taste best that way.

Funfetti Popcorn

A pre-scheduled post...

As I type on this snowy April day, I'm quite annoyed at the stupid bag of funfetti popcorn that I made.  Some of it got more caramel-y marshmallow-y sauce on it than other parts.  So I'm digging through the bag, picking out the chewy stuff, ruining my dinner and my teeth.  

Hmph.

If you're going to make this, just...share it.  Please. I threw the bag across the room.  Scott found it and finished it off.  Teamwork is important.

Funfetti Popcorn

inspired by this recipe

1 T. butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup vanilla or cream cheese frosting

1/2 cup powdered cake mix (white, yellow, or funfetti)

1 t. vanilla

2 T. corn syrup

2 cups mini marshmallows

Sprinkles

1 bag popped popcorn (Pour the popped popcorn into a bowl, and then put the popped kernels into another, bigger, bowl to separate the unpopped kernels...does that make sense? You do not want to chomp down on an unpopped kernel. Speaking from experience. Twice.)

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and corn syrup together.  It doesn't have to boil or anything.  Stir in the cake mix and frosting.  Once combined, add in the marshmallows.  Stir well and let them melt.  When the mixture is nice and smooth, pour it over the popped popcorn and fold with a spatula to coat.  Decorate with sprinkles.  Serve warm or store in an airtight container once cooled.

Cake Batter Rice Krispy Treats

I'm not messing around with this one.

I followed a recipe (that usually doesn't happen).  I made these particularly thick and chewy.  They were, hands down, the best rice krispy treats, I'd ever had.  I credit the frosting I mixed into the melted marshmallows.

I think I ate, maybe, 6 rice krispy treats in my entire life up until the summer of 2008.

At that point, I had just graduated college and was living at home.  In between job interviews, working at a bar, and pathetic attempts at trying to run, I started making rice krispy treats quite often.  I'm not sure where this came from, other than the fact that my mom kept very well-stocked cupboards, and there were always marshmallows and rice krispies available.  I made a pan at least a few nights a week and, if we're being honest, I ate most of it right out of the pot I stirred it up in.  I do that with no-bake cookies too.

I forgot about my deep-seeded love for the rice krispy treat until last spring when I started creating some new combinations.  S'mores, Funfetti, White Chocolate. 

But these ones?  They are the ultimate rice krispy treat.

Cake Batter Rice Krispy Treats

From the back of the cereal box

1/2 cup yellow cake mix (or white, or funfetti, or whatever)

1/2 cup cream cheese frosting

1 10-oz bag mini marshmallows

4 T. butter

1 t. vanilla

6 cup Rice Krispy cereal

In a large saucepan, melt the butter.  Stir in the cake mix, cream cheese frosting, vanilla, and mini marshmallows. Mix well until the marshmallows have melted. 

Fold in the cereal until it's all covered with the marshmallow mixture.

Spread into an 8x8 pan for thick bars or a 9x13 pan for thinner ones.

Happy Rice-Krispy-Treat-Eating!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Ice Cream

That's me and Mt. McKinley. Its Alaskan name is Denali (duh-NALL-ee). Only the tourists call it Mt. McKinley. I'm not a tourist (I'm el residente), so I shall refer to it as Denali from here on out.

Anyway.

I have a cough. A hacking, asthmatic cough. When I go out in the cold air, I start coughing uncontrollably and usually have to get to the point of gagging/dry heaving for it to stop. I get this cough at least once a year. It can be remedied by an inhaler, but I don't have one anymore. I'm far too lazy, and cannot be inconvenienced, to go to the doctor for a new one. I'll give it another week.

Anyway.

That picture above was about 2 hours north of my house at a Denali viewpoint on Saturday. Before the picture was taken, I was coughing quite uncontrollably. Earlier that day, we were at the Trans-Alaska Pipeline viewpoint in Fairbanks.

I was also (surprise) coughing uncontrollably while my parents were wandering around the pipeline like tourists. There were also about a hundred actual tourists disembarking from a Royal Celebrity tour bus.

One of them walked by me and said, "Are you okay?"

I said, "Yeah".

He said, "Oh, it sounded like you were choking on something" and walked away.

Great.

My parents said they could find me in the crowd by following the sound of my cough.

Super duper.

And then, THEN, my mom told me not to eat ice cream. It would make my cough worse, she said.

Um no.  Not eating ice cream is not a viable option.  Need it to survive.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Ice Cream

2 cups chocolate milk (I used 2%)
1 T. + 1 t. cornstarch
1/8 t. salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

2 t. vanilla

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

Frozen chocolate cake, cut into chunks

-I used a box mix, and I chopped up about half of the 9x13 cake into bite-sized pieces and frozen them in a storage container.  I had made this the day before.

Chocolate frosting

-I used about half a can of store-bought milk chocolate frosting.

In a large saucepan, combine the chocolate milk (all but 1 tablespoon), the salt, and the sugar.  Allow it to come to a boil and then let it boil (a rolling boil) for 4 minutes, stirring constantly. 
In a small bowl, whisk together that extra tablespoon (or so) of milk with the cornstarch.  Remove the milk mixture from the heat and whisk in the cornstarch/milk.  Return the pot to medium heat and let it come back to a boil, stirring constantly, for another minute (or until it's thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon). 
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and peanut butter.  After the peanut butter melts, add in the heavy cream.  Whisk well.  Pour through a mesh sieve to catch any undissolved lumps.  Refrigerate the mixture for a few hours until cooled. 

Following the manufacturer's instructions, pour your cooled mixture into an ice cream maker.  Once its consistency is nearing that of soft ice cream, stir in the chunks of frozen chocolate cake and let it stir to combine.  Then dollop in the chocolate frosting.  Once it's all mixed up, pour into a freezer safe container and store in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

Sharing at:
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Back for Seconds Social

Funfetti Ice Cream

'Twas only a matter of time.

FUNFETTI ice cream.  It's scrumptious.

You know what else was "only a matter of time"???

Freakin' fall.  It's here.  We've got 2 months.  I give it 1 more month of "Kristin-suitable" weather.  Then 1 more of "ugly".  Then freakin' snow.

That's what was lying beyond my ice cream photoshoot.  Leaves.  On the stupid ground.

Whatever.

I'm indifferent to the idea of winter at this point.  


Wait.  Does "indifferent" mean "against"?  Oh.  Then, never mind.  I'm against it.

Funfetti Ice Cream

1 batch of Cake Mix Blondies, baked, cooled, frozen, and cut into bite-size chunks
1/4 cup dry cake mix (I used yellow cake mix.)
2 cups whole milk
1 T. + 1 t. cornstarch
1/8 t. salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups heavy cream

I recommend baking the blondies one night, cutting them up and sticking them in the fridge or freezer, and making the ice cream the next night.

In a large saucepan, combine the milk (all but 1 tablespoon), the salt, and the sugar.  Allow it to come to a boil and then let it boil (a rolling boil) for 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
In a small bowl, whisk together that extra tablespoon (or so) of milk with the cornstarch.  Remove the milk mixture from the heat and whisk in the cornstarch/milk.  Return the pot to medium heat and let it come back to a boil, stirring constantly, for another minute (or until it's thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon).
Remove from heat stir in the dry cake mix and heavy cream.  Whisk well.  Pour through a mesh sieve to catch any undissolved lumps.  Refrigerate the mixture for a few hours until cooled*.

Following the manufacturer's instructions, pour your cooled mixture into an ice cream maker.  Once its consistency is nearing that of soft ice cream, stir in the chunks of Cake Mix Blondies and let it stir to combine.
Pour into a freezer safe container and store in the freezer for up to 2 weeks (I would say 2 weeks.  I ate my batch in one week.)

*I let this mixture cool in the fridge for well over 24 hours because I was busy and didn't have time to mess with it.  However, I let another batch of Peppermint Patty ice cream chill for less than 2 hours and it turned out wonderfully.  I think as long as it's not hot it'll work out just fine.

Sharing at:
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Friday Food
Weekend Wrap-up Party
Crazy Sweet Tuesday
Back for Seconds Social

Funfetti Ice Cream Cupcakes

This is a perfect summer picnic treat.
It's like a cupcake, in a cupcake liner, but it's ice cream.  It tastes like a cupcake though.

If we're being honest...

I'm running out of ice cream ideas.

Some people, apparently, like to bake up treats everyday.  Not me!  I'm all about how I can get those treats into my mouth (which is perched on the couch) as soon as possible.  Baking takes time.  And, usually, you want people around to share those baked goods with.  Ice cream lasts forever in the freezer.  (As long as I'm not around to eat it.)

So if I spend the extra 15 minutes making an ice cream treat one day, I can have my treat all week long, in less than 30 seconds.  Because that's how long it takes to scoop into a bowl.

I am above eating out of the container.  I have my limits.

Funfetti Ice Cream Cupcakes
makes 20 ice cream cupcakes

1 container (1.5 quart) vanilla ice cream
1 cup dry Funfetti cake mix
Colored frosting and sprinkles (for that "fun" look)

In a large mixing bowl, let the ice cream soften.  Fold in the dry cake mix.  Re-freeze.  Scoop into cupcake liners and re-freeze again.  Decorate with frosting, sprinkles, whatever floats your boat.  Store in the freezer until ready to serve.

Shared at:
Mix-it Up Monday
Crazy Sweet Tuesday
Tasty Tuesday
Tuesday Talent Show
Mrs. Fox's Sweets Party