Popcorn at Home

As a kid, the only time I ever had popcorn was when we went to the movie theater, and even then, it was rare. The rarity was due to my parents' frugality. Once in a while, my mom would buy the microwaveable stuff but she wasn't the biggest fan of microwaving food. She said it was unnatural and that too many chemicals were surely involved to make the processed food microwaveable. I guess she's passed on that paranoia because I didn't want to get a microwave when we redid our kitchen.

But, a lack of a microwave doesn't mean a lack of popcorn. I bought a $10 air popper and it's been pretty awesome. My only complaint is that sometimes, it gets a little overexcited and shoots popcorn everywhere but my dog seems to love it.

Ingredients [yields 10 to 12 cups air-popped popcorn]:
½ cup popping corn
¼ cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
+ seasonings

Make 10 to 12 cups of popcorn. If you are a stovetop popcorn cooker, you'll need a little oil in the pan. Once the popcorn is popped, you can dress it up in melted butter and salt. Or, you can get creative with the seasonings.

Okay, the first seasoning combination I want to share is a triple spicy popcorn.

I made this adorable graphic that efficiently summarizes the ingredients and directions in one nifty little snapshot.

Grab a little pan and melt the butter and salt.

Finely chop up a jalapeno.

Chuck in the jalapenos, squeeze in some Sriracha, and sprinkle in a packet of spicy ramen soup seasoning. Mix it all in.

Drizzle spoonfuls of the flavored butter onto the popcorn and toss to coat. This popcorn is deliciously spicy and that suits my household's palates perfectly.

I also wanted to share a sweet variety.

This one's a Nutella marshmallow popcorn and again, I have a cute little graphic for you.

Again, start with a little butter and salt.

Stir the Nutella into the butter and then pop in the marshmallows and let them melt into the Nutella-flavored butter.

And then, pour this sloppy, sticky mess into the popcorn and toss to coat. Work quickly because the marshmallow will set up.

And while the popcorn is still sticky, toss in the sprinkles. This one's sweet and sticky and perfect for anyone who's trying not to eat a heavy dessert but still craves something sweet after dinner

Look at this adorable popcorn duo!

I also have a bunch of flavor suggestions for you, again, in adorable graphic form! One for savory and one for sweet. These are just a few of my favorites. I also did my best to share flavors that only require three ingredients. I thought it was just more streamlined and easy. I mean, popcorn should be a quick snack and not an all-day endeavor. I'm pretty smitten with how cute these graphics look.

This makes a delicious snack - make a huge batch, portion into little baggies, and take to work for a pick-me-up - and it's kind of healthy so that's a selling point too. It's also perfect and fun for movie watching. I will sneak this into the theater to avoid paying $7 for a small tub of popcorn covered in artificial butter flavoring, thank you v. much.

xoxo.