Fall Friday Movie Night Must Have

I love a good movie night on a Friday night. It throws me back to my childhood. Pizza and a movie after a week's worth of effort in school. Getting cozy under a blanket in your pajamas with the promise of sleeping in the next morning. Ahhhh...

My feelings for Friday night movies haven't changed much as an adult. Friday is usually the day we are running out of what I had cooked for the week. I am usually a little bit exhausted mentally from a week's worth of work and early morning workouts. The thought of going to the grocery store after work on a Friday makes me tear up just a little. Now I understand why my parents did pizza and movie nights on Fridays when I was a kid. I thought it was to create fun family memories but really they were just trying to survive exhaustion (Well played parents. Well played...)

When the fall season hits, it is time to up the ante on my movie nights. They turn into events, really. Anything you add a festive dessert or theme to becomes a party. It began a few years ago when Matt and I were celebrating Halloween by enjoying a pumpkin shaped pizza while watching Hocus Pocus. We needed something sweet but also festive. I mean, it is a legitimate holiday. You can't sit at home and do nothing! So I started my search. I came across a recipe for caramel corn and my life has never been the same. I mean popcorn is already the perfect snack for a movie night, right? Drench it in caramel and what's not to love?

Not all caramel corn recipes are created equal, though. Sweetened condensed milk? Too gooey. No corn syrup or condensed milk? Crystalized sugar clumps...Luckily for you, I've already done the hard work to find the perfect consistency. You just get to benefit from my labor.

Ingredients:

16 Cups Popped Popcorn

1 Cup Butter

2 Cups Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup Light Corn Syrup

1 Tsp Salt

2 TBS Vanilla

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

Optional: 2 Cups dry roasted nuts or nut of your choice

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 200 Fahrenheit.

• Place popped popcorn (and nuts if using) on a greased rimmed baking sheet with sides like a roasting pan or cookie sheet.

• Begin melting butter in a medium saucepan.

• Add brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt to the pan.

• Cook and stir mixture on medium heat until it comes to a boil.

• Let mixture boil for five minutes, stirring constantly.

• Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla.

• The mixture will become light and foamy after you add the baking soda.

• Immediately pour over the popcorn and begin stirring and turning popcorn over in the pan to coat. If you are unable to coat to your satisfaction the first time then pop the pan in the oven for 10-15 minutes and then stir it again. You can do this as many times as you need in order to cover completely but popcorn should be pretty well coated by the second time.

• Line your countertop with wax paper and dump the caramel corn onto the paper.

• Break into pieces and let cool completely.

• Store in airtight container up to two weeks.

Sound like too much? Grab a can of caramel corn at Walmart. The point is: spend a weekend eating pizza and watching movies with your kids. They will remember it. And for an extra festive treat, enjoy some caramel corn. It is not only delicious, but it also gives you one more thing to mark off your fall bucket list. If you've been hanging out with me long, then you know I am ALL about that.

Chat Again Soon!

Monica :)

(Tell me what you think in the comments? Sound easy? Was it delicious? I want to know!)