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Diary of a Semi-Health Nut

ramblings + recipes of a semi-healthy nut

Hi! I’m Amanda.

I’m a writer, chocolate chip cookie baker, blog designer, power walker, Instagram fiend, peanut butter toast lover and copious coffee drinker living in Nebraska with my husband and three cats. (also a fan of a good run-on sentence)

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{WIAW #49} Christmas Farm Edition + Popcorn Balls Recipe

December 26, 2012 by Amanda R DeWitt


Hello Friends!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and that Santa brought you everything your heart desired.  I also hope you took some time to focus on the true meaning of Christmas and/or spent time soaking in your loved ones.

PS Have you checked out my Teach Me Tuesday link-up?

As I begin to type this on Sunday evening at “the farm,” Dave is using a vacuum to suck up all the flies in the farmhouse.  It’s quite the place we have here.

The house is pretty old but it’s been remodeled in the last couple of years and has not been completely sealed up.  So when we come out..there are bugs EVERYWHERE.  I just think of it as fancy camping.


It’s a warm place to hang out at and the views are pretty amazing compared to the “big city.”

Farm fare is a little different than what I’m used to eating here.  The main course is usually meat and meat on white rolls.  Which isn’t terrible, of course.  But I haven’t worked out in awhile…so I have been depending on a healthy diet to maintain my ideal body size.

I tried to make sure to eat a handful of veggies before I even started into the main course.

Or before grabbing for a yummy grandma Thiele cookie!

The Thiele family Christmas is a crazy ordeal.  Compared to my small family gatherings of about 20 people (and that seems big!), there are about 50 people scrunched into a small farmhouse.

Cousin Anne, Dave’s sister Laura, Me

It gets very loud and overwhelming but it’s a good time.

Grandma Betty and Dave

I end up laughing so much my stomach hurts, watching the little kiddos entertain us, catching up on Dave’s cousins’ lives and participate in a nail-biting gift exchange game.  We divide into girl/boy groups, all draw numbers and put our girl or boy gifts into a pile in the middle of the room.  The first number grabs a present from the middle.  The second one can choose to steal that present or grab a different one and so on. 

Dave won a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and a ginormous plastic beer bottle full of popcorn.  Can you tell the family likes their booze? 😉

I came out on top with a lovely new purse!  I had to steal it from one of the aunts…hopefully she still likes me!

I also got to participate in the family tradition of making popcorn balls!

It’s a dangerous and messy venture, but in the end, it’s SO worth it.

Popcorn Balls

by Amanda @ Diary of a Semi-Health Nut
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Keywords: stove top dessert popcorn Christmas ball winter
6038964
Ingredients (24 popcorn balls depending on)
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 2 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1 TBS butter
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 6 quarts of popped popcorn
Instructions
Bring the first 4 ingredients to a boil, stirring regularly. This may take awhile since sugar’s boiling point is high.  Add desired food coloring.
Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp baking soda. Stir well.
Pour mixture over popcorn and mix in with a large spoon. (You might need two large bowls for all of the popcorn.)
Put butter on your hands and carefully form popcorn into balls, pressing together firmly. You will need to work quickly before the sugar mixture cools completely.
*Note* sugar mixture will be hot!!
Powered by Recipage

I call this treat semi-healthy since popcorn is very low calorie and has a high fiber content….not entirely healthy of course since they are coated in sugar.

Add food coloring if you want colored popcorn balls! 🙂

These are prized treats…and are usually fought over.

It’s okay though, we made about a zillion of them.

PS How cute are the beer bottles one of the aunts brought?


*~Amanda aka Semi-Health Nut~*

What kind of eats were on your plate over Christmas?

More of my WIAW posts here.

My other Christmas posts this year:
Christmas Baking Party #1
December Eats
Christmas Baking Party #2
Teach Me Tuesday Link-Up Christmas Edition

Linking up to Jenn’s WIAW at Peas and Crayons:


Related

Filed Under: SHN Eats Tagged With: Christmas

About Amanda R DeWitt

I’m a writer, chocolate chip cookie baker, blog designer, power walker, Instagram fiend, peanut butter toast lover and copious coffee drinker living in Nebraska with my husband and three cats. (also a fan of a good run-on sentence)

Previous Post: « {Teach Me Tuesday Link-Up} Merry CHRISTmas
Next Post: {Thursday Thoughts} Holiday Pressure »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Carla

    December 26, 2012 at 4:13 pm

    This looks terrific! Your popcorn balls look great. I read the directions a couple of time but I’m not sure how you are getting the color. Can you tell me what I’m missing?

    • Amanda aka Semi-Health Nut

      December 27, 2012 at 12:44 am

      You’re right! I forgot to say food coloring! That’s how they get their color. 🙂

  2. CarliAlice

    December 26, 2012 at 9:13 pm

    This looks terrific! Your popcorn balls look great. I read the directions a couple of time but I’m not sure how you are getting the color. Can you tell me what I’m missing?

  3. Amanda @ Semi-Health Nut

    December 27, 2012 at 5:44 am

    You’re right! I forgot to say food coloring! That’s how they get their color. 🙂

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