Kettle Corn

My parents invited the kids and I to go to the "Soldier Hollow Classic" with them on Labor Day. It's a "dog show," as my kids call it, that has the splash dogs, sheep hearding, and duck hearding events. Andy, Christy, Wynn, and Gracie came too. They also got to see and pet a camel, sheep, some kind of mule, and ride ponies. They had a great time! Anyway, as I stepped out of the car the first thing I smelled was kettle corn. Mmmmm! I tried to talk myself out of it, but to no avail. I bought the largest bag. (Thankfully, I had a lot of help eating it.) It was warm, sweet, salty, & yummy! Brook said, "Mom, do you have a recipe for kettle corn?" To which I replied, "No I don't." Then Brook said, "You really need to get one and make us some of this stuff. It's DELICIOUS!" Well, Fax and Jake are on their Father and Sons camp out, so I figured the girls and I could experiment. I think I tasted pretty good. I think next time I'll add a little more salt, but not really necessary. Cut me some slack on the picture. My kitchen is a wreck, so I took the picture against the wall.

Kettle Corn

Ingredients:

1/3 - 1/2 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
1 tsp. salt (more or less to taste)
2-3 Tbsp. water (depending on how much sugar you used)
1/2 cup unpopped popcorn
1/4 cup oil

Directions:

In a large pot (6-8 quart), combine sugar, salt, and water. Heat over medium heat until sugar boils (stirring constantly). Then add popcorn kernels and oil. Make sure to keep the pan moving constantly. You will want to put on some type of lid. I think that tin foil with a few holes punched in it works best. It lets the steam out, but also keeps you from getting spattered with blazing hot sugar. Anyway, keep moving the pan until the popcorn starts popping. Once the popping slows, remove the pan from the heat and rinse the outside of the pan with cool water. Then dump the popcorn into a large bowl.

And now, with that recipe, enjoy this picture of Andy at the "Soldier Hollow Classic." It's classic!