Popcorn Scramble
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Popcorn Scramble

I don’t even know where to start to tell you about this recipe.  It is one that my best friend, Marcy Howard, has made for all of us for many years.  It is also one we taught and share in Apples of Gold.

If you ever make it, it will become one of your favorite recipes, especially in the fall.  You could become know for it, your signature recipe.  It makes a tinfoil turkey roasting pan full so there is lots to share.  We just moved to a new house, new neighborhood  and new friends to meet so I made a batch to share with them..  You know by now I am all about making dishes for your family and having some to share. Spreading  JOY!!!

We love it when our students from Apples of Gold let us know when they make one of the recipes from the classes.  This is one they make over and over.  On lots of occasions it has been made for out-of-town guest to have in their hotel rooms when they come in town for events like weddings.  Marcy makes it for her hairdresser, for the women at the nail salon, her neighbors and recently she went to a family reunion, so of course she made Popcorn Scramble for all of them.  I know you can buy something similar but this recipe is so much better because there aren’t any ingredients in it that you can’t pronounce –  always a good thing.   There is no need for additives for preserving it because it is gobbled up so fast.  

As we think about all we are thankful for, I hope you will make a batch of Popcorn Scramble and give it to someone who brings Joy to your life or to someone who needs some Joy in their life.  May God Bless you and grant you PEACE, MERCY and JOY as you give thanks to Him the giver of all good things.  

Joy Always, Cissy   

Ingredients for Popcorn Scramble

All dry ingredients mixed together in pan ready for sauce.

Adding baking soda to boiling mixture

Chemical reaction that will happen. Fun to watch!

Popcorn Scramble

Buttery, toffee popcorn snack with optional nuts
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Servings: 10
Course: Snack
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 4 bags popped "natural" microwave popcorn Make sure to remove all un-popped kernels
  • 2 cups Cheerios
  • 2 cups Rice Chex
  • 1 cup Pecan pieces Optional
  • 2 sticks butter
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup light or dark corn syrup "Karo Syrup"
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

Method
 

  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees
    Combine first four ingredients in a large, sprayed with Pam, foil turkey roasting pan; toss gently and set aside.
  2. Melt butter in large saucepan (non-stick if you have one); stir in brown sugar
    and corn syrup.
  3. Bring to a boil over low heat stirring constantly.
  4. Once boiling cook without stirring for 5 minutes.
  5. Remove from heat.
  6. Stir in vanilla and baking soda ( A chemical reaction will happen as you are stirring in the vanilla and baking soda).
  7. Pour over popcorn mixture; stir until mostly coated.
  8. Bake at 250 degrees for one hour stirring every 15 minutes.
  9. Cool and break apart and store in airtight containers like clear food bags.
  10. Notes: Measurements for Rice Chex and Cheerios Cereals doesn't have to exact. Start with 2 cups each and then add more of each to fill the pan.
    Tidbit Tip: After popcorn has cooled in turkey pan place your arms around the pan and bend turkey pan in all directions to help break up the popcorn scramble for bagging. Enjoy.
    It will be the best you ever made!

Chocolate Cherry Cake
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Chocolate Cherry Cake

Hi Friends,

It is so good to be back to share recipes and kitchen tips with you.   My life has emerged from over a year of grief and heartbreak over Bill’s going home to be with The Lord. God has renewed my energy and my desire for cooking and sharing hospitality with my friends, family, neighbors and you my readers.

I am starting with dishes that I know are tried and good. It has boosted my confidence, that even with so many changes, I can still cook, set a pretty table and enjoy fellowship around my table. It looks different without Bill, but it is still good and brings joy to my soul.

This Chocolate Cherry Cake is one that made the rounds of being popular years ago. We always served it for the Celebration Dinner for Apples of Gold. I used a Sugar Free Cake mix, but you can use a traditional one. I also sweetened the icing with Splenda, and it worked great. It is a good recipe to have when you need to take a dessert because it is served from the baking dish, so there is no need to transfer to a plate.

The cake is so moist from the can of cherry pie filling added to the mix.  It does not rise very high, so don’t be alarmed.   I hope you will try it the next time you want to make a dessert or just need a chocolate fix.   Who doesn’t love a good chocolate cake with delicious icing? 

Please let me know when you try it.  It will be one of your to go to recipes and “The Best You Ever Made”.  

 Joy Always, Cissy

Romans 12:12-13 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. ESV

Ingredients for Cake
Ingredients
Ingredients – Ready to be mixed
Be sure and spray the Pan
Ready to Go into the Oven
Sliced and ready to serve
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A Long Journey – Purpose and Promise

Hello All,

 Since 2015 my husband, Bill battled Lewy Body Dementia. It is the most aggressive form of dementia. On May 5, 2020 he went home to be with our Lord. When I look back, I don’t know how either of us survived such a hard time. Bill was so brave and handled the disease with such grace even as he got worse. My role as caregiver was uncharted waters for me. I tried to do all I knew to help make his life better. In the end I was forced to surrender to God and His plan for Bill’s and my life. It was not what we both wanted and even now 1 year later, it breaks my heart. You see, I had to put him in a Memory Care facility because I could no longer care for him even with paid caregivers. God was so good that He protected us in so many ways, one being we never fell while I was helping him get from place to place. When I say this, it doesn’t seem such a big deal, but I can’t tell you how many times I was shaking so badly as he held on so tightly as we maneuvered together from place to place.

I didn’t know it, but the worst was yet to come. Covid-19 hit, and they closed the Memory Care Facility and I could only see him through his window. He died alone. How do you live with that?

I was forced to hold on to my Anchor, Jesus Christ. It is true that life can come hard and all you have is Jesus. Surrendering disappointment of what I thought my life would be like at this stage has been one of my biggest struggles. Daily I must remind myself that I don’t know God’s purposes, but I do know His promises. I cling to His promises with my very life.

 My life has been turned upside down, but Jesus is like an anchor in a fishing boat.  He stops the tossing and turning and keeps the boat steady. He is my anchor and it holds. I don’t know how this new life will work out, do any of us know how our lives will be? I do know that God loves me, and He knows how it will work out.

 I know God will give me the grace and mercy needed to walk this new journey without my precious husband Bill. I know with certainty that I am right where God wants me to be, or else I would be somewhere else. I pray that that you too will know God’s Love and know for certain that His anchor will keep you in safe waters.

Jesus, Our Lord and Savior, Loves You.

Much Love and Joy Always, Cissy

Hebrews 6:18-19a

These two things cannot change:  God cannot lie when He makes a promise, and He cannot lie when He takes an oath. These things encourage us who come to God for safety. They give us strength to hold on to the hope we have been given. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and strong.