Are you having a Halloween Party?

Have a Ball..... It's National Popcorn Month!

Nearly everyone LOVES popcorn and I did a little "search & find" online to find FUN, family relationship sticking activities featuring popcorn.  Here's some FUN recipes and more from http://www.popcorn.org/.  You'll want to check out their websites, it's popping full of Fun!

naturally fun, naturally delicious

Cooking with kids offers many opportunities to teach math and science skills - but you can also work on vocabulary, letters, colors, shapes, counting, sorting and more.  Ask your kids to describe the foods texture, color and weight.  Children can knead dough, stir batters and add wet/dry ingredients.  Have your child compare fruits and vegetables and pasta shapes.  You can also talk about smells or sounds foods make while preparing a dish or even while it's cooking (think rice krispies 'snap, crackle, pop').

Try to ask questions that start with:  Why, Where, When and How?  This encourages your child to 'think' about their answer and encourages discussion about every day items.

Brown Sugar Lolli-Pops

6 cups air-popped popcorn

1 cup brown sugar

¼ cup honey

1/3 cup water

1 tbsp. light margarine

Butter flavored cooking spray

3 tbsp. cinnamon-sugar mixture

(2 tbsp. sugar to 1 tbsp. cinnamon)

Mini pretzel sticks

Combine sugar, honey, and water in a 2-quart saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved. Cook until sugar forms thick, “ropy” threads that drip from the spoon. Add butter and stir to mix. Slowly pour mixture over popcorn, tossing to mix. When popcorn has cooled slightly, spray hands with cooking spray and shape into small balls. Insert pretzel stick to create a lollipop. Roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture and wrap in plastic wrap or

store in zip-style bags.

Show your School Spirit and win $1,000! Join our Popcorn Pep Club

Give me a P-O-P-C-O-R-N and what have you got?  A way for your school to win $1,000!  Get into the spirit by joining our Popcorn Pep Club, and you could be on your way to bringing extra school supplies, healthy snacks, or new equipment to your school.

Joining is easy!  Just fill out the “I Cheer for Popcorn!” form found on our Web site, including a description (150 words or less) of how you show your love of popcorn with true school spirit.  Examples include:  read more

Halloween Jack-O-Lantern Popcorn Balls

Fast, easy and colorful, these popcorn balls are fun to make too! 
Makes: 8 (4-inch) balls

3 quarts popped popcorn

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter or margarine

3 cups miniature marshmallows

3 tablespoons (1/2 of a 3-ounce box) orange gelatin dessert mix

Candy corn, jellybeans and sour green apple candy sticks, licorice string, dried

fruit, etc.

• Spray a large mixing bowl lightly with cooking spray and place popcorn inside.

• In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in marshmallows and gelatin dessert powder until marshmallows are melted and mixture is smooth. Pour over popcorn and mix well until coated.

• Spray hands with cooking spray and press firmly to form into balls. Place balls on wax paper. Press candy decorations into balls to form eyes, a stem and a Jack-O-Lantern grin. Serve immediately or wrap individually in plastic wrap for storage. Add a ribbon tie to plastic wrap as a decorative closure. 

Clean-up tip: Soak saucepan before cleaning.