Caramel Drizzle Popcorn

I like my caramel popcorn gooey. You know the stuff in tins at Christmas that is rock solid and too sugary? Bleh. I like to drizzle this caramel sauce through the popcorn, toss it, then drizzle some more. It's not too sweet and it's always gooey, the way it should be:) I love this recipe because it doesn't call for corn syrup (who has karo on hand anyway?) and uses honey instead. The pinch of salt is perfect. Just don't get your sticky fingers on the tv remote ok?

Husband Rating: 5 stars

5 cups popcorn

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/2 tsp. salt

4 Tbsp. butter

In a saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar, honey and salt. Stir constantly until smooth and caramel like, just before the mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and drizzle over popcorn. Tastes delicious warm or cold.

You could get creative and mix in pecans, walnuts, almond slivers, peanuts, chocolate chips, m&ms, dried fruit, anything!

Let me also give a quick shout out to my favorite microwave popcorn popper. It was like $12 at walmart and works like a dream. Thank you, Orville Redenbacher

Banana Muffins

I found the perfect recipe for when you have bananas browning on your counter. My husband eats at least 1 banana a day, but sometimes they go bad way too fast! After this delicious recipe though, I think he might "accidentally" forget about them and let them go brown on purpose. These are some easy muffins that I whipped together in a few minutes. Be creative too, you could toss in walnuts or chocolate chips.

Husband Rating: 4 1/2 stars (he says it's still not as good as banana bread, but banana bread takes forever to bake, hehe, so I like these!)

From Taste of Home Annual Recipes 1999

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 large ripe bananas (I used 3 medium)

1 egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Stir in egg, oil and vanilla, mixing well. Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups half full. Bake at 375 for 17-20 minutes.

Yield: 18 muffins

Ritzy Chicken Nuggets

These are amazingly delicious, trust me. The are so flavorful, we seriously ate the whole pan. Next time I make these I'm going to make triple and freeze some. They are golden and crunchy and taste better than fast food nuggets. Yes, the mayo kind of ups the calories here, but compare these to any fast food chicken and you win. Baking instead of frying saves on fat here, but you aren't compromising on the taste. Your children will thank you! P.S. Be on the look out for coupons for Ritz Crackers. I couponed 4 boxes at Albertsons a few months ago, just don't pay full price!

Husband Rating: 5 stars

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
25 Ritz Crackers (crushed)
1/2 cup Mayo
3 TB milk
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. Mrs. Dash garlic and herb seasoning
Dash of black pepper
1/2 tsp. sesame seeds (optional)

Preheat oven to 400. Slice chicken into bite-size pieces. In a shallow bowl combine mayo, milk, garlic salt, onion powder, Mrs. Dash and black pepper. In another bowl add crushed Ritz Crackers and sesame seeds. Dip chicken into mayo mixture and then coat with crackers. Place chicken on a greased baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes, turning halfway. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Toasted Tuna Sandwiches

Are there recipes that remind you of your mom? This is my "memories of mom" recipe. During elementary school and junior high I would walk home for lunch and at least once a week these delicious sandwiches would be waiting for me. I can remember my mom making stacks of them for her 5 kids to gobble up. I don't know why we smear mustard on top, but it's just part of the tradition! I started making these for my husband and have since converted him to the true way to eat a tuna sandwich. These are good with any kind of bread from whole wheat, to white, to sourdough. This recipe is easy to double, triple or even half. Enjoy!

Husband Rating: 4 stars

2 cans (5 oz.) chunk-light tuna
1 1/2 TB mayo
16 slices bread
Butter
Mustard

Drain and flake tuna. Stir in mayo until moist. Spread tuna on bread and make sandwiches. Spread butter on the outside of both slices of bread. On a warm skillet toast sandwiches until golden, about 2 minutes on each side. Spread mustard on the top of each sandwich and slice diagonally.