Dragon Droppings Recipe

It's the time of year to make Hogwart's themed snacks.  According to my daughter, this was the best dragon pooh she's ever had! Think Reese's Peanut Butter Cups meets rice crispy treats.

Dragon Droppings Recipe
yields about 40 dung pieces

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups peanut butter (can sub sunflower butter)
1/2 cup butter (can sub margarine)
3 cups powdered sugar
3 cups crisp rice cereal
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (about a bag and a half)
3 TBSP shortening (can sub coconut oil)

Put the butter and peanut butter in a very large pot. Yes, it will look too big, but it will make sense later. Over low heat, stir until melted.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the rice cereal and powdered sugar.

The peanut butter and butter mix will look like this when fully melted - no  more lumpies.

Now you're ready to pour the sugar/cereal mix into the peanut butter/butter mix. Stir well, but try not to mash the crispies.

Line 2 baking sheets with waxed paper. Take 2 soup spoons. With 1 spoon, scoop out about a tablespoon of the mix. With the other, scrape the spoonful onto the waxed paper.

About 20 fit on each baking sheet. When one baking sheet it full, with freshly washed hands, shape the blobbies into a  more rounder shape. Then pop the baking sheet into the freezer.  Fill the second sheet, then, if there is room pop it into the freezer. If not, pop it into the fridge.

Meanwhile, while the blobbies are chilling, place the chocolate and the shortening (or coconut oil) into the smallest pot it can actually fit in. Over very low heat, melt the chocolate, stirring often enough so that it doesn't burn.

Take a fork that you don't particularly like, and bend it like the one in the pic. It helps when dipping the blobbies. Leave the blobbies in the freezer for at least 20 minutes. By then, the chocolate should be melted. Take the first sheet of blobs out of the freezer, and if the second one is in the fridge, move it to the freezer. If it is already in the freezer, leave it while working with the first sheet.

Remove chocolate from heat. One at a time, place a blobbie on the bent fork. Lower it into the pot of chocolate. Dunk it in the chocolate. You can use a spoon to ladle the chocolate onto the blob. It's okay if the blob isn't evenly coated - maybe the dragon's digestion was a little off.

Place the now coated piece of dung back on the waxed paper.  When you're finished with the first sheet, pop it back in the freezer and take out the second sheet. The reason you do these one at a time and one sheet at a time is that the peanut butter melts fairly easily. You want it as hard as you can get it when dipping it. Otherwise, it could fall apart.

When you're done with the second sheet, pop it back into the freezer or fridge.  It should take about 30 minutes to set up and harden, then you can remove them and enjoy. If you used coconut oil and the ambient temperature is about 70 F, then store them in the fridge. Otherwise you should be fine storing them at room temp.

No More Microwaving Popcorn!!

 
Let start a movement (yes, another one). Google "microwave popcorn," and for every advertisement site that shows up, you find one telling you how bad microwave popcorn (MP) is for your health. There's even a special "Microwave Popcorn Lung Disease" that MP factory workers can get. I'm not making this up. It's out there.

But MP is so easy and tastes so yummy! True, but it's just as easy and almost as yummy to make it using nothing but a large pot. Stores actually still sell plain, dry popcorn kernels, and the store brand works just as well as the named brand - for around $1 a bag, you'll get plenty of batches of popcorn.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dry popcorn kernels
3 TBSP your favorite type of oil (I use coconut since it has such a great taste)
 Optional:
3 TBSP melted butter (you can, of course, microwave this)
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
OR
Spray oil (butter or plain flavored)
Popcorn seasoning

Place your oil in the big pot. If it has to melt, turn on the heat and melt if first. Then add the popcorn.

If it's liquid, add the popcorn.

Shake the pot a little so that the kernels are an even layer on the bottom of the pot (like the picture on the right).

Turn the heat on high and place the lid on the pot.  Be patient. Depending on your stove, it may take up to a couple of minutes, but the popcorn will start popping.

Once it starts popping, every now and then, pick up the pot, give it a shake, and then put it back on the heat. This helps the heavier un-popped kernels fall to the bottom near the heat source.

Just like with the older microwaves (the ones without the popcorn button), you can tell when this is done by the slowing of the pops. When the popcorn popping slows down, remove from heat, but keep the lid on. The popcorn will still pop for another half minute or so.

Be careful, at this point, it is possible to burn. If it does, scoop out the top, good popcorn and throw the burnt stuff on the bottom to the birds.

Flavoring: You can eat it plain, but it really is plain.

Or you can melt 2 to 3 TBSP butter and slowly pour over the top while mixing the popcorn with your clean hands.  You can also add a little salt to the process.

Or you can alternate spraying it with spray oil and sprinkling it with a popcorn season (like the ones pictured on the right) or plain salt. Spray, sprinkle, then mix the popcorn with clean hands and repeat about 2 or 3 more times.

If you have all your ingredients on hand, and the pot is clean, all-in-all it takes less than 5 minutes. That's a little longer than microwave popcorn, but not by much. Other than being way cheaper and producing less waste, it's also a good deal better for you.

Just writing about it, I can smell popcorn. I wonder if the kids would wake up if I made a batch!

Enjoy!