Caramel Marshmallow Popcorn

There are some days where you just need a treat. You know those super long, frustrating, I've had it with life kind of days? Yep. One of those. With two small children, I've had my fair share of frustrating days. Once I get my little munchkins down for bed, occasionally I'll make a quick batch of this tasty popcorn and sit down with my hubby and watch a show and snuggle on the couch. It's the perfect quick treat. Thank you pinterest for the recipe!

Caramel Marshmallow Popcorn

(Recipe originally found on Pinterest. I tried to locate the actual site that the recipe had come from, but couldn't find it. I found a lot of similar ones, but not quite the same...)

Ingredients


12 cups popped popcorn (1 regular sized bag of microwave popcorn)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
10 large marshmallows (not those new super sized, as large as my face ones ... just the old large ones)


Directions: 
(Microwave times may vary depending on your microwave. These are what worked for me)



1. Pop the popcorn
2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter and brown sugar for 2 minutes. It should be bubbly and looking like caramel.
3. Add the marshmallows and cook until melted. My microwave only took 1 minute, but the recipe said 2-2 1/2 minutes. Just keep your eye on it. You don't want to over cook the marshmallow and have it super tough
4. Pour over popcorn and mix well. Try to avoid kernels when you put the popcorn in a bowl, they aren't very fun to randomly bite into. :)
5. Wait about 5 or so minutes and dig in!

Vegetarian (or not) Tin Foil Dinners

When camping in the summer, or even quick dinners at home, I love tin foil dinners! They are so easy and you can easily customize them per person. As a vegetarian, I'm always looking for delicious and filling ideas for tin foil dinners. Most of them I've seen are pretty basic meat and potato varieties. While looking around, we stumbled across this recipe. I've made them a few different times, and they are pretty tasty!




Gourmet Vegetarian (or not) Tin Foil Dinners
(Original recipe found at theveggie-fullkitchen.blogspot.com. The recipe can be found here)

Basil Balsamic Marinade
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:
Combine ingredients and whisk until incorporated.

Tin Foil Dinners
Basil Balsamic Marinade
1 red bell peppers, chopped into bit sized pieces
1 zucchini, sliced into bite sized pieces
8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced (or white button mushrooms work well too)
1/2 large onion, diced
16 ounce bag of frozen, southern style hash browns, thawed
Salt and pepper to taste
**Optional: Chicken, cubed. (My husband and children like chicken in theirs, so I double the basil marinade when I make it and marinate the chicken in one bag and the mushrooms in another)

Directions:
1. Combine the marinade and the mushrooms (and chicken if you want it) and allow to sit in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
2. Tear approximately 12 inch sheets of aluminum foil
3. On the dull side, layer the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the bell peppers, zucchini, onion and mushrooms (and cubed marinated chicken if you want it).
4. Drizzle a little of the leftover marinade over the top.
5. Fold the aluminum foil in half and roll it down tightly to keep any steam in. Do the same on the remaining two sides.
6. Cook in a fire pit on coals or briquettes. 
7. Cook for about 20 minutes or until they are cooked through. The time will vary depending on how hot your coals are and how full your packets are.
8. If you want to bake your foil dinner in the oven, bake it in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes.
9. Enjoy!