Now if you have ever had a child in sports, a club, or any other after-school activity you will know that at some point it will be your turn to bring the group snack. A big UH OH! With so many picky taste buds, allergies, and lack of time on my part, I have found it the best and easiest (and most frugal) to bring popcorn, usually individually packaged in those cute popcorn bags I find a Target or Sam's Club. Most kids (and their parents) enjoy the popcorn. 
But wait a minute! My SIL Donna, the one that taught me how to make Shark Attack Popcorn sent me two magazine articles with some pimped up popcorn. So for this "Car Picnic"- The UH OH's, It's My Turn To Bring The Snack! installment I will show you some real designer popcorn to bring to the ballpark. Or even the office or classroom. 
For all of the following recipes I have used my Whirley Pop Popcorn Maker to make the popcorn instead of using microwave popcorn. I pop 1/2 cup kernels and 2 T. vegetable oil. I prefer Orville Redenbacher Popcorn kernels. I have also salted the popcorn with popcorn salt before adding the rest of the ingredients.
ADD-INS 
S'Mores- To 6 quarts Whirley Pop popcorn or one batch of microwave popcorn, sprinkle cocoa powder, mini marshmallows, and Golden Graham Cereal.
Pepperoni Pizza- To 6 quarts Whirley Pop popcorn or one batch of microwave popcorn, sprinkle with Italian Seasoning, grated Parmesan cheese, and chopped pepperoni. 
Rainforest Popcorn- To 6 quarts Whirley Pop popcorn or one batch of microwave popcorn, sprinkle with toasted coconut, banana chips, and chocolate chips. Totally saturated fattening but yummy just the same.
NOTE- With the above pocorns it is common for the smaller chips and bits to sink to the bottom, so be sure to place them on top of the big bowl or on top of each individual's portion.
The above recipes were adapted from Better Homes and Gardens 3/09 issue, page 166.
POWDERED TOPPINGS
Chocolate Malt- Mix together 6T. powdered sugar, 3 T. unsweetened cocoa, 1/2 cup Chocolate Malted Balls (ground in small food processor). Store in airtight container. To 3 quarts Whirley Pop popcorn or one bag of microwave popcorn toss 3 tablespoons of the dry mix. Toss until all popcorn is coated.
Sweet Chili- Mix together 3 T. powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 T. chili powder, 1/2 tsp Kosher salt, and 1 1/2 tsp paprika. Store in airtight container. To 3 quarts Whirley Pop popcorn or one bag of microwave popcorn, toss 2 1/2 T. dry mix. Toss until all popcorn is coated. This one was my favorite.
The above recipes were adapted from Ladie's Home Journal 3/09 issue, page 158.
Thanks Donna!
Related Posts:
"Car Picnics"- How To Eat On The Go: The Plea
"Car Picnics"- How To Eat On The Go: The GOOD
"Car Picnics"- How To Eat On The Go: The BAD- The Chicken and The Egg
"Car Picnics"- How To Eat On The Go: The BAD- Noodles and Dough
"Car Picnics"- The UGLY: Ballpark Food- Nachos
Friday in the BRK:
Eating a Rainbow. Really. Or as Daelyn says, willy.
28 comments:
This looks like some great tasting popcorn. I love the s'more idea! I see a movie night in my future with one of these recipes!
LOVE THEM! What awesome ideas. Thanks for sharing. And I must say that after I read about your whirly pop, I purchased one and we have not gone back to microwave.
What fun ideas for popcorn! I can't wait to try them!
Lovelovelove this! I'm going to be the BEST snack mom next season--I especially see the s'mores version going over v. big with the little girls! Thanks.
I love love love popcorn, so thanks for all the new ideas!
You're right - it does feed a crowd and who doesn't like it?
I like that it's perfect in brown lunch bags - they're a really good alternative to adding more plastic to the garbage. My kids love digging in to their own little bag of the good stuff. Yum!
Michelle
http://oneordinaryday.wordpress.com/
Yum, yum! Pop corn with a good movie is a classic. So, all those variety looks amazing! But I liked more the rainforest popcorn. Hmmm, so yummy, I imagine. lol
I bought some fancy red popcorn kernels a little while back, it's been my first foray into stovetop popcorn. So much healthier and tastier than microwave popcorn! I love all your flavor combinations.
I don't have a Whirly Pop but I do have a Stir Crazy and we love it. Popcorn is such a good snack and simple and cheap (even buying the organic popcorn kernels). Yummy, yummy. I may have to make some this afternoon!
If I could only picks two foods to eat on a deserted island it would be ice cream and popcorn. I LOVE popcorn. I must say that I need to make the shark attack popcorn!
That is a cheap snack to bring!
I like my popcorn simple - Tabasco sauce only! :D
I cant wait to try buckets full thanks for such a good idea.
I love pimping my popcorn...I still have to make the shark attack popcorn, its so cool!
These look so good... I like the last one, too and the one with the pepperoni, wow!
Can you tell me..how much popcorn do you get from Whirly Pop when you use 1/2 cup popcorn kernels? Do I need to make more than one batch to get the 6 quarts? Thanks for featuring this..great ideas!!
Cindy
We are so off microwave popcorn and definitely into the REAL stuff. These add-ins look so good and I love your Whirly Pop!
I have a special place in my heart for popcorn! It's such a wonderful (not unhealthy) treat! The s'mores version is the one that totally catches my eye--I'm a sweets girl at heart. It looks excellent. My boyfriend Todd however would totally appreciate the pepperoni pizza popcorn! And I also love all the powdered toppings. You did such a great job with this!
This is some deluxe popcorn! What creative ideas. We have a big tin of flavored popcorn my husband received as a corporate gift and none of them are nearly as enticing as the ones you made. Nice job!
Oh!! Robin Sue, popcorn makes me weak in the knees, happens to be one of my downfalls!
Cindy- The Whirley Pop makes 6 quarts of popcorn using just 1/2 cup of kernels. Using Orville's practically pops the top off! I have used cheaper brands of popcorn and you get a scant 6 quarts. Have Fun!
Wow, awesome! I really liked the shark attack popcorn, too. My son had sharks just like those. If only I'd known about shark attack popcorn when he was little! I can eat most of these recipes--cool! I'm thinking Pepperoni Pizza, Rainforest ... :-)
Thanks, Robin Sue!
Shirley
What great looking popcorn snacks! Fantastic ideas. Thanks!
so many possibilities! say...i wonder how cinnamon popcorn would be... :)
I tend to be a purist (olive oil and too much salt to be good for me) when it comes to popcorn but we were recently in Pittsburgh where my kids visited a popcorn shop with their dad while I was wallowing, I mean perusing, in the chocolate shop. Anyway apparently my kids loved the weird flavors so I think I will have to try some of these!
Thank you sooooooooo much mrs.Joss! Both that I tried were great but I would have to say the rainforest took the cake. I kind of hid the rest of the bag and then Mel and I went back to it later...and finished it.
These are fantastic tips! I love homemade popcorn but am never sure exactly how to manage it. Thanks, these look delicious!
Hey Sis, when we lived in Hawaii, we learned to have rice crackers mixed in with our popcorn and seasoned salt. Yummy.
Love all these popcorn ideas!
That's a great idea to bring popcorn as snacks. I have two kids in multi-age classes, meaning there are 42 kids total!
There is a candy factory near my house "Ferrara Pan" they make red hots, lemon heads, boston bakes beans, etc..." Their fruit snacks are really cheap there, but making popcorn is even cheaper.
I'm jealous of your popcorn machine! I'll have to look into that!
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