Brown Sugar Caramel Popcorn

August 20, 2009 | Posted by Lorraine as Caramel, Snack Recipes at 1:54 pm | (1) Comment »

Caramel Popcorn

I’ve never understood why anyone would buy packaged caramel popcorn (yes, I’m talking about those tin cans)- or worse, the “caramel-flavored” microwave popcorn which comes with a little pack of artificially flavored caramel to mix with your popcorn while its hot. See, the thing is that caramel is sugar. And if you have popcorn and sugar in your house, you can make caramel popcorn that tastes a thousand times better than anything storebought.

My own recipe, which I think is based off one I got in Seventeen magazine when I was, um, around 17, uses brown sugar, honey, kosher salt, and plenty of butter. I love that phrase, plenty of butter. It always equals something good.

Brown Sugar Caramel Popcorn Recipe

3-4 cups plain popcorn, popped (you can make this in the microwave, hot air popper, or kettle)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons butter

In a large pot, over medium heat, melt the butter. To this, add the brown sugar, honey and salt. Stir while cooking, so that it all melts into a gorgeous, golden caramel… just below boiling. Immediately take off heat, pour onto your popcorn, and mix mix mix.

I don’t always have honey around, so sometimes I omit it altogether. And of course, you can add all sorts of goodies to this, like chopped walnuts or almonds- even some chocolate, if that’s your thing.

Five Quick & Healthy Snacks

July 14, 2009 | Posted by Lorraine as Snack Recipes at 3:05 pm | (1) Comment »

carrot-sticks

It may not seem like it, but it’s not all about over-indulgent desserts and cooking with lots of butter here at bFeedMe: we really do care about eating “well”- and most of the time, that means sticking to healthy choices. Which is why today I want to post about my favorite healthy snacks- and really, because they’re so quick to prepare, there’s no reason not to grab one of these in a moment of peckishness. Instead of a cookie or that bag of chips, I mean.

Chilled Carrot Sticks
It’s not easy to find fresh baby carrots at my local supermarket, but when I do, I like to wash them, portion them out in small freezer bags, and chill them- to be eaten plain when I’m looking for something crunchy and sweet. Without baby carrots, regular carrots will do as well- wash, peel, and cut into sticks. Can’t get much easier than that.

Boiled Eggs
So after years of telling us to limit our egg intake, it turns out eggs are good for us. I knew that all along, of course- and boiled eggs are probably my favorite quick snack of all time. Hard-boiled or soft-boiled, I can’t really decide which one I like best. Oh, and they must be perfectly done- learn how to make a perfect hard-boiled egg here.

Banana Peanut Butter Smears
I could be the only person on earth who calls them this- but these are basically plain bananas smeared with peanut butter. All you need is a banana, a jar of your favorite peanut butter (I like crunchy, but would never turn my nose up at creamy), and a good spoon. And a napkin. Bananas give you potassium, and peanut butter is chock full of good things like Vitamin B3, Niacin and Protein. Who knew healthy snacking could be such fun, eh?

Hot Cocoa
This is what I reach for when I have a strong chocolate craving, and don’t want to wreck my diet with a slice of chocolate cake. There are so many awesome varieties of instant hot cocoa these days (helloooo, Jacques Torres Wicked), and if you make it with skim milk, and give it a good whisk, it makes for a wonderfully satisfying, luxurious chocolate snack.

Slices of Cheese spread with Jam
A few slices of regular cheddar cheese spread with jam (or natural fruit preserves, if you want to be strict about it) really hits the spot for me. Seriously, if you’ve never tried this one- do. The salty creamy cheese is perfectly offset by the sweet tartness of the jam. I like strawberry, but went through a cheese and marmalade phase not too long ago.

What are your favorite snacks?

Super Bowls of Awesomeness

February 2, 2009 | Posted by Lorraine as Cozy Comfort Food Recipes, Snack Recipes at 4:26 pm | (1) Comment »

Superbowl Sunday is over! Do you know where your chicken wings are?

Chances are, the answer is in your tummy- along with other traditional Superbowl goodies. Every year, American food bloggers start posting some of the most sinfully delicious recipes in the days leading up to the Superbowl. This year was no different- from spicy Buffalo wings to pico de gallo, from jazzed up onion dips to cheese balls that make you go weak at the knees, the best thing about Superbowl recipes is that they’re actually great all year round. Here, a round-up of my favorites this year:

Chicken Wings
Can you have Superbowl without wings? Ree Drummond over at The Pioneer Woman Cooks posted a link to her classic Wings recipe, which I’ve made several times and love fiercely. For something a little different, check out Priscilla’s Tempura Chicken Wings, which use a sweet soy marinade instead of the usual hot sauce.

Chili
A bowl of Chili is, for me, one of the greatest comfort foods around. This year, Style Slacker’s Chipotle Chocolate Gourmet Chili had my mouth watering just reading the recipe. And because I’m trying to cut down on my meat consumption, I’m loving the Adventurous Vegan’s recipe for Big Paul’s Chili – because yes, Vegans can have fun in the kitchen too.

More Finger Food
Forget the forks and knives, and grab these:
Ed Levine’s Bacon-Cheddar Popcorn – truly inspired. Must. eat. this.
Simply Recipes’ Chicharrones de Pollo - yes, chicken again, but little fried bits of heaven? Yes, please.
And again from the Pioneer Woman, Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies – made with just three ingredients, and seriously addictive.

Sweet Stuff
Slashfood linked to Nigella’s (yes, there’s only one Nigella) Peanut Butter Squares as a Superbowl treat, but really- couldn’t you eat these every day? The same could be said of The Bumbling Baker’s Guinness Cupcakes, which she initially made for St. Patrick’s Day, but are perfect for Superbowl (hello, they’ve got beer in them!) or, like I said, any day.

So there you have it: my favorite Superbowl recipes, to be enjoyed after the Superbowl- because they’re that awesome.

Super Pizza From Rachel Ray

January 29, 2009 | Posted by Lorena as Celebrity Chefs, Recipe, Snack Recipes at 10:21 pm | Comments »

Rachael Ray goes shopping for fruit and veg at the Farmers Market in New York City

You either love her or hate her but hey, she does present some great ideas for eats. Her “super pizzas” actually caught my attention and I think that I just might make one of them this weekend. I found some recipes at The Daily Journal – all of her super pizzas – and this is the one that I think has the most potential: the Chicken Pot Pizza.

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/4 cups frozen peas and carrots
• 1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
• Salt and pepper
• Biscuit pizza dough (see below)
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken, skin and bones discarded
• 1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese (about 4 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, melt 1 tablespoon butter in the microwave; stir in the peas and carrots and the mushrooms; season with salt and pepper. Press the biscuit dough evenly into a greased 9- to 10-inch cast-iron skillet. Spoon the vegetables on top, reserving the bowl, then bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 7 minutes. Transfer to the reserved bowl along with the chicken and half of the cheese.

Wipe out the skillet, add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and melt over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the milk and bring to a simmer, stirring continuously; stir in the remaining cheese and season with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.

Preheat the broiler. Spoon the chicken mixture over the baked pizza and broil until golden bubbly, about 5 minutes. Drizzle with the cheese sauce and sprinkle with the parsley.

This recipe serves 4 and takes 25 minutes of prep time and 25 minutes of baking time. A fun meal in less than an hour – not bad.

Pretzels German-like

December 21, 2008 | Posted by Lorena as Candies & Truffles Recipe, Chocolate, Dessert Recipes, Snack Recipes at 12:05 am | (3) Comments »

Thinking of a good foodie gift for Christmas? Or maybe you need to whip up quick snacks for people to munch on. Here is a perfect recipe for you – Chocolate pretzels from Germany. I found this recipe from Taste.com.au and I think that it just might be a hit this year.

Ingredients
• 125g butter, softened
• 1/2 cup pure icing sugar
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 200g good-quality dark cooking chocolate, chopped

Method
1. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and icing sugar until pale and creamy. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until well combined. Sift flour and cocoa over butter mixture. Stir until dough comes together. Transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead dough until smooth. Press into a 1.5cm-thick disc. Wrap in baking paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm enough to roll.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 2 large, flat baking trays with baking paper. Using 2 teaspoons dough per biscuit, roll out dough into 20cm-long sausage shapes. Bend into horseshoe shapes, with ends towards you. Cross over ends. Rest ends on top loop of dough. Place on baking tray. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, swapping trays after 6 minutes, or until golden and firm to touch. Allow biscuits to cool on trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
3. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water (do not allow base of bowl to touch water). Stir occasionally with a metal spoon until chocolate is melted and smooth.
4. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Dip each pretzel into chocolate. Place on baking trays. Allow chocolate to set.

What do you think? Looks easy enough to make?

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