Tip Me Tuesday - Microwave Popcorn

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Welcome to Tip Me Tuesday! The Blogisphere is full of wonderful people, willing to share great advice. We just have to ask for it. That is why I have started Tip Me Tuesday. An easy way to ask for tips and suggestions about any problem you might be having. Nothing is off limits and everyone is welcome to participate. Or just share a great tip of your own. Just make your own Tip Me Tuesday post and return to leave the link below...



  My family loves to eat popcorn. I used to own a wonderful hot air popper that I received as a wedding gift, when I married my first husband. I lost it when I left my second husband. He used it on a daily basis and hid it from me when I packed my things. LOL

  A couple of years ago, I bought the mother of all popcorn poppers. This sucker was like $50.00! Luckily, I had some gift cards to cover the cost. It was a popper and a roaster for nuts and coffee beans etc... Well, this machine manages to turn popcorn into little balls of chewy rubber. After experimenting with different brands and still getting the same results, I parked this contraption on the pantry shelf and there it has remained. Too bad I'm not a big roaster of nuts and coffee beans...

  So, I was left with two options. One- place the kernels in a pot and dance the Electric Boogaloo, pot handle in one hand, pot lid in the other, almost giving my self Shaken Mommy Syndrome, over a hot stove, OR...
Two, buying pre-packaged microwave popcorn by the trunk loads. Well, I hate option one for obvious reasons and option two can be expensive and I would really like more control over what goes into my popcorn.

  Well, remembering back to my evil step-father #1, who was an alcoholic and an abuser but also a very intelligent man, I knew that it is possible for one to DIY microwave popcorn. We had a microwave in the house when hardly anyone else did yet and ES-F#1 used to teach a microwave cooking class at the local high school. Though I was only 8 or 9 and can't remember exactly how we kept the bag closed, we used to microwave popcorn in a paper sack. This was way before one could buy microwave corn at town. So, a couple of months ago, I decided to give it a shot.

  Using a 1.5 qt. Pyrex bowl w/ the tight fitting lid it came with, I placed just enough popcorn inside to cover the bottom of the bowl ( a couple of TBS or less) and added a teaspoon of oil. I placed the lid on tightly and placed it into the microwave. I wound up hitting the popcorn button 4 times, which is what it usually takes for a bag of the store bought stuff. The result was beautifully popped popcorn! The other day, I popped over 6 qts this way and used it to make homemade caramel corn and it turned out great.

  Here are some things to keep in mind...
-I'm not suggesting you try this. Merely telling you my experience.
- The bowl got really hot!! I needed pot holders and switched out bowls every other batch to allow each one time to cool before going back into the microwave.
- I tried this with the lid vented and the popcorn came out chewy.

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