Great Lakes And Great Food!

Ready for another food trip across the United States? This week we are visiting the Great Lakes region and the states next door to it. First stop: Cheese Country!

Wisconsin: known for it's cheeses and love of cheese...Embrace your inner cheese freak and try our Cheesy Ham and Potato Bake.

Cheesy Ham and Potato Bake

Michigan was a bit of a surprise. I had no idea they were so fond of pasties and pastries. Having no pastie recipes on hand, I settled for sharing our homemade Sugar Glazed Doughnut recipe.

Homemade Sugar Glazed Doughnuts

Illinois must be a super fun state to visit. A state whose favorite food is Chicago Style Pizza truly is one of the most food fun places in the US. Here's our Calzones recipe to try, (hey - it's in the pizza family).

Calzones

Indiana is a bit of a mystery to me. They favorite food is popcorn. Although, there are several ways to dress up blase popcorn into a tasty masterpiece. Give our Caramel Popcorn recipe a try.

Caramel Popcorn

I had know idea Ohio was so enamored of Cincinnati Chili. Each to his own right? Try our chili recipe and find out what all the chili love is about.

Chili 2

I hope your enjoying this food journey across all 50 states. We've got a few more states to visit over the next couple of weeks. Connect with us on Facebook to share your favorite state food or favorite recipe, or visit Alicia's Recipes for more inspiring free recipes to try.

Looking for our other weekly food trips across the US? Check them out here:
Northwest Regional Favorites
Pacific & Southwest Regional Foods
East of the Rockies
Midwest Favorites Part 1
Midwest Favorites Part 2
Gulf Coast Guilty Pleasures

Popcorn Recipes & Tips for National Popcorn Day

January 19th is Popcorn Day. Though we can't seem to find any origin to this declaration, some sources think it ties in with the Super Bowl. Makes sense I guess, parties, food, snacks, popcorn just fits right in! Popcorn has been enjoyed for much longer than you would think though. Many native tribes used it not only for eating, but for making celebratory necklaces. Ah yes, glorious popcorn!

So let's celebrate Popcorn Day by making some tasty treats! Try one of these recipes, or visit our site for more popcorn recipes.

Butter Pecan Popcorn
Caramel Corn
Cranberry Popcorn Balls
Honey Butter Popcorn Balls
Red Hot Popcorn


Popcorn Tips & Recipes

by Amanda Formaro

Popcorn has been around for a lot longer than many of us thought. Did you know that natives used to spear corn cobs on large sticks and cook them over an open fire? The kernels would pop and stay on the cob, making popcorn on the cob! I'm still a little amazed at that one and would love to try it myself one day.

For now though, I'll stick with the good old fashioned method of popping corn. After all, you can't buy cobs of corn ready for popping, but you can buy bags of it, and relatively cheap too. There are a couple of different fool proof ways of making homemade popcorn:

Microwave Paper Bag Method
Believe it or not, all you need is a brown lunch bag, some unpopped popcorn kernels, and some tape or staples. Open the brown bag, pour in enough kernels to cover the bottom of the bag completely. It's alright if a few of the kernels overlap, just make sure you cover the bottom of the bag. Next, fold the top of the bag closed and either tape or staple (they will not spark) it shut. Place the bag on its side in the microwave and cook it just like you would store bought microwave popcorn. Because all microwaves vary, the time it takes to cook your popcorn is going to be individual to your oven. Generally between 2 and 3 1/2 minutes will do it.

Want to read the rest of this article? 
Visit Popcorn Tips on Alicia's Recipes to read the rest!

Be sure to check out all of our popcorn recipes!

Halloween Candy Corn Popcorn Balls

Today's recipe is...

Halloween Candy Corn Popcorn Balls

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 (10-1/2 ounce) bag miniature marshmallows
1 small box gelatin, any flavor
12 cups popped popcorn
1 cup candy corn

Microwave butter and marshmallows in large microwavable bowl on HIGH for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or until marshmallows are puffed. Stir in gelatin until well mixed.

Pour marshmallow mixture over popcorn and candy corn in large bowl. Mix lightly until well coated. Shape into 15 balls or other shapes with greased or wet hands. Wrap each ball in plastic wrap and tie with raffia or ribbon, if desired.

Yields 15 popcorn balls

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More you might like:

Halloween recipes
Bisquick Recipes
Jello recipes

Red Hot Popcorn Firecrackers

Today's recipe is...

Red Hot Popcorn Firecrackers

1 quart unsalted popped popcorn
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup red cinnamon candies
String licorice

Keep popcorn hot and crisp in a 300-degree Fahrenheit oven. Butter sides of a heavy saucepan. In it, combine sugar, water, corn syrup, vinegar and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Clip candy thermometer to pan. Cook syrup to 250 degrees (hard ball stage) over medium heat.

Remove from heat; add vanilla and candies; stir until candies are partially melted. Pour slowly over popcorn, stirring just to mix thoroughly. Butter hands lightly; quickly form popcorn into shape of king-size firecrackers. Insert a short piece of licorice in end of each one for a fuse.

Yield: 4 to 6 firecrackers.

Click the recipe name to:

• Get a printer friendly version
  
• Leave a comment
  
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More you might like:

Halloween recipes
Bisquick Recipes
Jello recipes