Stove Top Kettle Corn

I love popcorn.  I love popcorn at the movies, from my microwave, at the farmer's market.  And then we got an air popper when we got married.  And now I can make any flavor I want.  I have used almost every spice from my spice cabinet.  I especially like cumin, cheddar cheese, and cinnamon. 

Today, I wanted kettle corn.  So I needed a recipe.  I headed over to Our Best Bites and found an amazing recipe for kettle corn.  It takes 5 minutes and is DELICIOUS! 

Mom's Fruit Tart

I love this recipe. It is sooooo easy. And it takes no time to prepare. It also has a lot of possibilities. You can make this with so many different kinds of fruit. Growing up, it was mostly plum; recently I have been branching out into all manners of fruit for this. I think the rule is it just needs fruit skin.

Here's what I needed:

• fruit with skin
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg

 Here's what I did: (make sure you do this in this order, otherwise it won't work)

1. Pick your favorite fruit (with skin - apple, peach, pear, plum, strawberries, etc) and slice them into quarters or thirds. Line your baking pan with the fruit skin side down. 
2. In one bowl mix: brown sugar, flour & cinnamon
3. Sprinkle this over the fruit
4. In another bowl mix: white sugar, flour, baking powder, & egg 
5. Sprinkle this over the fruit
6. Pour melted butter over the top (we use the PAM butter spray instead now - its easier)
7. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. 

This is a fruit crumble recipe. In the end, you have fruit with baked crumbles on top. It is delicious warm with a little homemade whipped cream on top.

Fave Chili Mac

Okay, so it has been 90 degrees out and hot as hell.  Matt wanted chili anyway (since it is his favorite food in the world and would eat it everyday if he could!).  So I went looking for a new chili recipe.  This is going to be my new go-to for starting chili. 

Here is what I needed in the kitchen:

• 1/2 box pasta - cooked as directed
• 1 onion - chopped
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 2 cans diced tomatoes - not strained
• 1 can kidney beans - rinsed & drained
• 1 can tomato paste - 6 oz
• cumin, paprika, chili pepper, S&P
• 2 cups shredded cheese

Here is what happened in the kitchen:

1. Cook pasta according to the box.
2. Preheat oven to 375.  Spray 9x13 with non-stick.  
3. Over medium heat, saute the onion with the garlic.  Add turkey and brown.  DRAIN!
4. Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, and spices.  Stir together.  
   *** I only used one can of diced tomatoes and the end result was a little dry, but I don't like my food swimming.
5. Add cooked pasta to the meat.
6. Move to baking dish and cover with foil.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Uncover and liberally sprinkle with cheese.  Bake another 5-8 minutes. 

Then eat it.  We had chili mac with salad tonight.  It was a perfect dinner.  We each had two helpings.  This made 8 servings and we have food for the next few days.