Homemade Microwave Caramel Popcorn

Easy sweet treat!

4 quarts popped popcorn
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1/4 cup light corn syrup (I use honey instead)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda


Place the popped popcorn into a large brown paper bag. Set aside.

In a 2 quart casserole dish, or other heat-proof glass dish, combine the brown sugar, margarine, corn syrup, salt and vanilla. Heat for 3 minutes in the microwave, then take out and stir until well blended. Return to the microwave, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from microwave, and stir in the baking soda.

Pour syrup over the popcorn in the bag. Roll down the top once or twice to close the bag, and shake to coat the corn. Place bag into the microwave, and cook for 1 minute and 10 seconds. Remove, shake, flip the bag over, and return it to the microwave. Cook for another 1 minute and 10 seconds. Dump the popcorn out onto waxed paper, and let cool until coating is set. Store in an airtight container.

**When I make this, I usually scale it down to a smaller serving. All you do is cut your ingredients down based on how much popcorn you want to make. Also, I usually pour my popcorn in a big bowl, then just drizzle the caramel over it. I don't worry about shaking it up, cooking it again, or dumping it out on wax paper. Totally not needed.**

Homemade Microwave Popcorn

I no longer buy microwave popcorn. I make my own! It's cheaper AND healthier!

What you need:

(1) Brown Paper Lunch Bag

1/3 cup of unpopped popcorn kernels (this will make about 2-3 cups of popcorn)

Put kernels in the bag, and fold over the top of the bag. Don't make too big of a fold because your popcorn needs room to pop!

Place bag in the microwave and cook for 1 minute 45 seconds (this is what works for my microwave; you might have to adjust the time for what works best for you).

Now my kids will eat this plain, but I prefer a little flavor myself. You can add a dash of salt, a little bit of melted butter, cinnamon-sugar, chili powder, the flavors are endless!

I have successfully popped 1/2 cup of kernels in one bag before. It took about 3 minutes to cook. Enjoy!

Homemade Waffle Mix

Don't buy Eggos again! Make these and freeze them. Then just pop them in the microwave or toaster to heat and eat.

2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
2 eggs
2 cups milk
1/4 cup oil

Mix all ingredients together, and you've got waffle batter!

Of course, just like pancakes, you can add fruit, chocolate chips, nuts, buttermilk or wheat flour to the mix.

Homemade Pancake Mix

Make your own pancake mix from scratch! Super easy, and frugal!

1 1/2 cups flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
2 Tbsp. oil

Mix all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, and you've got pancake batter!

For variations you can add fruit (blueberries, mashed bananas), chocolate chips, buttermilk instead of plain milk (which by the way you can make your own buttermilk with a cup of plain milk and a teaspoon of lemon juice), and wheat flour instead of white.

Instead of buying frozen pancakes from the store, make your own pancakes, and freeze them. Then just pop them in the microwave to heat. Or, you can freeze batter in ice cube trays and pop them out on a hot griddle to cook.

You could also mix all the dry ingredients, put them in a labeled container, and have your own premade mix, just add liquid ingredients.