Oven Caramel Corn

This takes a little bit of time but worth the work! Makes great gifts!

Oven Carmel Corn

8 or 9 quarts of popped corn

2 cups of Brown Sugar

1 cup butter

1/2 cup white Karo Syrup

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Boil all ingredients except corn for 5 minutes, mixing well and stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Pour over popped corn, mixing well. ( I used four cookie sheets to place the popcorn on) Place in 250 degree over for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Store in air tight container.

Toasted Chickpeas

Well, to be totally honest, I have COMPLETELY forgotten to post on Recipeasy lately! I will blame it on the pregnant brain, ok?

Speaking of being pregnant, I have been told that I am anemic (low iron). Its happened with each of my pregnancies, but its never affected me until this one. I think this is one of the reasons I have been SO exhausted.

Besides my vitamins and extra iron supplements (which upset my tummy) I have been trying to look for ways to add iron to my regular diet. Liver isn't recommended in pregnancy (not that I like it particularly) and we just don't eat a lot of red meat. Not really any to speak of, actually.

By doing some research I found that Chickpeas are a good source of iron. I LOVE hummus. And chickpeas in chili and other things are great. I had a can in my pantry and some dried ones. So, here's what I did:


Toasted Chickpeas

Preheat oven to 350

Toss one can, drained, (or approx 2 cups of presoaked dried) Chickpeas with 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 minced cloves of garlic and the juice of half a lime/lemon.

Spread on a cookie sheet (next time I will cover mine with foil and spray it).

Bake for about 30min, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle salt to taste.


Not only does this make the house smell SO good, they are addictingly great to munch on. My husband and kids loved them too!

Sweet Potato Sticks

4 sweet potatoes
olive oil
paprika
salt


Cut the potatoes into spears, kind of fat. Spread them out on baking sheets. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and paprika. Bake in a preheated oven that's 400 degrees for 40mins-1 hour, checking to see they are cooked through and turning slightly brown.

My family LOVES these and they are just so darn good for you too!

Lori's Granola Bars

How about a snack?

These granola bars are SUPER easy and my guys LOVE them! They are perfect for ski trips or baseball/soccer practice!

Ingredients

1 stick butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 cups instant rolled oats

1/4 cup pancake syrup

Preparation

Melt butter in a microwave safe pan (approx. 8x8). Mix in sugar, syrup and oats. Microwave until bubbly. (It takes 5 minutes on high in my microwave.) If you like them soft take out sooner than later! Also, you will need to cut them before they set, but not immediately after removing from microwave.

This is what they look like uncut... straight from the microwave.

My sister added raisins and used honey instead of syrup. She said it worked great. I tried Chocolate chips and they didn't work... but I think it would if I practiced on it more!

It may take some practice to get them just like you like them!