Movie/Wii Night = Spiced Popcorn

Last night Jake and I had some friends over for a movie/Wii night. Dinner for Shmucks was hilarious as was watching Jake get beat in all the Wii games he thought he "owned" :) I found a recipe for Spiced Popcorn  and tweaked it slightly. It was pretty tasty and easy to make.

Recipe:

2 bags of popcorn popped

1 stick of butter

4 tbs brown sugar

2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp cayenne

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp salt

Place popped popcorn in a large bowl or pot that has some sort of top. Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat. Add the rest of ingredients (excluding popcorn) until well combined. Pour butter mixture over popcorn some what evenly. Place top over bowl and shake gently until mixture has coated all popcorn. Transfer popcorn mixture to a tin foil lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes and serve.

Jake's Take: Thinks sprinkling Seasoning Salt over popcorn is easier and quicker... But still liked the final result and thought it was a good spin on movie popcorn.

An Ode to Pepper Jelly

Best things in the world that start with "P":

Peace

Puppies

and Pepper Jelly

I am averaging one jar of pepper jelly a week.. no joke. I seriously have a problem. Something about the sweet/spicy combo has me hooked. Here is what I've been eating for the past week and as we speak:

Yum. Cracker with pepper jack cheese and pepper jelly. I am determined to incorporate this jelly into a full on dinner this week.... Wish me luck!

Cheddar Bacon Scones

These scones are a meal in themselves and are great to grab on the go. I mean how can you go wrong with bacon and cheese?

Oh yumm.. you can make these a day or two in advance and are a great addition to a brunch.

Recipe: (adapted from The Pastry Queen)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbs baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp black pepper

1 stick chilled, unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

4 green unions, thinly sliced

10 slices of bacon, diced and cooked with fat drained

3/4 - 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 egg

2 tbs water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix first 4 ingredients together. Add butter cubes and mix with a mixer on low speed until mixture is has butter flour bits the size of peas. Add cheese and mix until blended. Add bacon, green onion slices, and 3/4 cup buttermilk. Add 1 tbs of buttermilk if mixture is still too dry and repeat until dough can be formed into ball. Place dough ball on floured surface and roll out until it is 1/2 thick. Cut dough into 10 wedges and place on ungreased baking sheet. Combine water and egg and brush each scone with the egg wash. Bake 18 minutes or until golden brown.

Jake's Take: Thought they were very filling and liked tasting the bacon in every bite. Suggested adding some more cheese on the top. Yumm..