Movie Night with Easy Microwave Caramel Popcorn!
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With house projects nearing an end, we took advantage of a cool display I found at Walmart. Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn, M&M’s® in the theater size boxes {milk chocolate, peanut, or peanut butter}, and a Warner Bros. DVD and Blu Ray all in one place for a convenient movie night! We could watch a movie and eat something awesome, like maybe Microwave Caramel Popcorn with M&M’s®? Well, sure! And I could make extra for fun gifts for the holidays!
You see, I literally have not had a kitchen in a month. We replaced the countertops, added a backsplash, repainted and totally decluttered. During that time, the water was cut off. Which meant no home cooked meals for a while. Not that I love to cook, but eating out gets old pretty fast. It was nice this week to finally get back in the kitchen.
I loved the selection of movies on this display, including titles such as: Harry Potter, The Blind Side, The Dark Knight, The Notebook, Forrest Gump, Ghost, Braveheart, The Hangover, and much more! Great for an adult movie night! And we sure do need a break.
I chose the movie, “The Blind Side” which stars one of my favorite actresses, Sandra Bullock. It chronicles the true life story of football player Michael Oher and stars Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw as his adoptive parents. A very touching story.
And then to set if off on the right foot, I made up a whole batch of Microwave Caramel Popcorn with M&M’s® to munch on while we watch.
Microwave??? I hear you say? I’m sure you raised your eyebrow too.
Really! I promise it is amazing! You won’t believe how amazing, but you really have to try it. And the best part? It only takes minutes to make and involves no candy thermometers. And it makes great gifts! If you can pry it out of the husband’s hands, that is. Want to know how to make it?
Microwave Caramel Popcorn
3/4 cup brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons corn syrup
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1 large paper grocery bag
Make up the popcorn according to the directions on the box. Place your popcorn in a large paper grocery bag.
In a large microwave safe bowl (to help avoid spills in the microwave), combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, salt and vanilla.
Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir and then microwave for another 2 minutes. It will come out of the microwave boiling. Be sure to use an oven mitt to pull it out.
Immediately, stir in the baking soda. This makes it foam up. Pour it over your popcorn.
Now fold the top of the paper bag a couple of times and shake it well. Then place the entire bag in the microwave and cook on high for 1 minute. Pull the bag out and shake it again. Shake it hard. Then put it back in the microwave for an additional 45 seconds.
Carefully open your bag and pour the caramel popcorn out onto foil or wax paper. You will be amazed at how fabulous it looks! Spread it out and give it about five minutes or so to cool and harden.
It tastes great like this, but we need to add some color!
Then toss in the colorful Peanut M&M’s®
It will go fast. Guaranteed!
You will most like have to make a second batch if you are wanting to make gifts. But as a holiday idea, this goes over quite well and is easy to make! I like to package it in bags with ties and place in holiday coffee mugs. It makes great gifts for friends and coworkers!
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thanks suzy,
the caramel up until the point I poured it onto the popcorn was looking great.
but unfortunately, with it in the paper bag (and the door shut) I couldn’t see it was burning…
I will definitely try it again and reduce the times like you suggested.
best,
jodi
Hi Jodi,
I don’t know what the wattage of my microwave was, but once the caramel is added to the popcorn, you put it in the microwave for just one minute, shake it really well, and then an additional 45 seconds. If that was enough to scorch your popcorn then definitely decrease the time. Maybe do 45 seconds, shake and then 20 seconds. The popcorn is so good, it is worth a second try. Promise.
Hope that helps!!
suzy
hi suzy –
just tried the microwave caramel corn (I usually make the kind you have to bake in the oven).
I’m thinking you probably don’t have the same microwave from your kitchen now that you’re in the camper, but I’m wondering if you know what the wattage was? mine is a 1250 and boy – it burned the heck out of my caramel popcorn! it was black and smoking when I took it out!! yikes! :0(
so disappointed, so I’m guessing my microwave’s too strong.
thoughts?
thanks. jodi
Hi Robin,
Wow! It sounds like your new kitchen is going to be awesome! Our last minute additions were just to get the house ready for sale. We figure that putting a bit of money in the kitchen might be the little push the house needs to sell quickly. But now that it is complete, I wish I had done it a long time ago so that I could enjoy it longer.
Love your idea of the magnetic chalkboard!
suzy
I never knew you could make all this in the microwave — love the convenience! Cute idea to make it into gifts, too! #client
OMG! That looks awesome!!!!! I’m gonna have to try that now!!!
Looks wonderful…can’t wait to try when I get home…
From the pic…I LOVE YOUR NEW BACKSPLASH AND COUNTERTOP! Way to go! I love that tile!!! I wanted similar for my kitchen but it was NOT in my budget. 🙁
I am STILL in the process of doing some “things” to my kitchen. My house is not that old, so my countertops and cabinets are still “in style”. But we have NO backsplash. Well, if you want to call the splatter stains on the walls behind the sink and stove a “backsplash”, then we DO have one…a very UGLY one! hahaha
I made a kitchen island on wheels, from old cabinets. I put it on wheels. Just have to add some trim at the bottom, and add the laminate to the top. We don’t have a table saw, so I have to measure out how I want it cut, then take the laminate to a friend’s to cut it. After that we will be DONE. I bought 3 awesome cushioned bar stools from Wayfair, and put them together this week. I LOVE them…brown “pleather”…same color as my DR chairs…and just as “cushy”. I see myself sitting there QUITE a bit in the future! 🙂
I am going to paint the walls a pumpkin color, and add a backsplash of tanish tile and those glass stones ya put in the bottom of vases. I pick “tanish” for tile due to the fact the countertop is VERY busy, and the walls above it will be bright…the pumpkin color will pick of the touch of that color from the countertop. Why the glass stones? I thought I had enough tile, but recalculating found I did not. And I had gotten it on clearance so there was no more left. It had been $9.99 a sheet, marked down top $1.86 each. So I grabbed it all up. I will cut the backing behind the tile…so the piece is cut in half across. The stones will go in between the 2 halves.
Then I can get my huge under cabinet microwave OFF the counter and be able to USE that space it takes up! Whoohoo!! 🙂
One kitchen wall is going to be a huge magnetic chalkboard. My 14 y/o is looking forward to that. And it will be a lot of FUN for any new “additions” we add to the family….drawing and playing with magnetic letters while mommy prepares dinner. 🙂