Cinnamon, Pecan & White Chocolate Caramel Corn

Never have I ever. Or... never did I ever think that I would make my own caramel corn. It's up there with oreos, poptarts or bread. Those are some things that are in the "things I don't ever think I'll make." But guess what? I made it and it was delicious... no wait, amazing! And now I'm contemplating those other things on my list because well, I can do it!

This is how the mixture should look after the second round of microwaving:

Make sure to toss the mixture well!

Cinnamon Caramel Corn with Pecans & White Chocolate

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/09/cinnamon-caramel-corn-with-pecans-white.html

12 cups popped popcorn

1 cup roughly chopped pecans

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup Karo syrup or honey

1 stick or 1/2 cup butter

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

3 squares almond bark

Preheat oven to 250 F. Place popcorn and chopped pecans in a large bowl and set aside (and by large I mean twice as large as you really need to prevent splattered hot caramel). Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a big, microwave safe bowl. Chop butter into chunks and place it on top of the sugar mixture, pour corn syrup over the top of everything. Microwave on high for 30 seconds and then stir to combine. Return to microwave and heat for 2 minutes, remove and stir then microwave 2 minutes more and it should be nice and bubbly. Remove from the microwave and add the vanilla and baking soda, it should foam up and double in size. Pour over popcorn and pecans and stir well until everything is well coated.

Spread mixture onto a foil lined pan and place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. After 30 minutes, take out a piece and let it cool. Sample it and if it is still not crunchy enough, let it bake for another 5 minutes, repeat process until satisfied with crunchiness. When done, give it a final stir and let it cool while you melt the almond bark/ white chocolate. Use a fork to drizzle the melted bark over the popcorn, let it harden and enjoy!

A great movie/ tv snack!

Cheesy Bacon Baked Tortilla Chips

It's football season, but it's not like I care, I don't even watch football! I just happen to think that this recipe would be perfect for a tailgating party, or pre-football watching party or any kind of party actually. It's filled with bacon, onions and cheese with a kick of jalapenos. How could this not be good?!?

Yummm, I think that's a 9:1 bacon ratio there, that's a gooooood ratio:

Now for the addition of the cheddar; cheese always makes things better:

First, spreading on the salsa, then topping with the cheddar-bacon mixture:

Cheesy Bacon Baked Tortilla Chips

Yields: Enough as an appetizer for about 10 people

Slighty adapted from here.

Printable Recipe

2 jalapenos, minced (you can discard the seeds if you prefer)

1 small onion, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 package bacon, chopped into small pieces

2 cups cheddar cheese

1 jar salsa (choose your favorite)

1 large bag of tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 400 F. Place tortilla chips on a large baking sheet in a single layer, set aside. In a large pan brown the bacon until fully cooked and crisp. Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel, allow to cool. Remove all of the bacon grease from the pan except 1 tablespoon. Add onions, jalapenos and garlic. Cook for 3 - 5 minutes until translucent and cooked through. Add to bacon and allow to cool. Once cool, add the cheddar to the mixture and mix well. Spoon a teaspoonful of salsa on each tortilla chip and top with the cheese mixture. Place in oven for 5 - 8 minutes or until the cheese turns a nice golden brown. Serve straight away and enjoy!