Monthly Archives: January 2013

Celebrate the Super Bowl With Popcorn: Make DIY Football Popcorn Jars!

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Popcorn Served in Football Mason Jars for Super BowlThe big game has finally arrived! In a mere five days, the 49ers and the Ravens will duke it out for the Super Bowl XLVII championship title. But before your favorite players hit the field, you’ll need to supply your Super Bowl party guests with loads of munchable goodies. The best treat for watching those great plays? Popcorn, naturally! Suit up everyone’s favorite snack with these fun and easy-to-make football popcorn jars. They’re sure to score a touchdown with your biggest fans!

San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens NFL Popcorn TinsWhat You’ll Need

Mason jars (one for each guest)
Brown construction paper
White construction paper
Pencil
Ruler
Scissors
Glue
Adhesive tape
Twine
The Popcorn Factory Super Bowl popcorn

Directions

Cutting a Football Sleeve out of Brown Construction Paper

  1. To make the football sleeve for your mason jar, lay a sheet of brown construction paper flat on a table. Using a ruler and a pencil, trace a rectangle onto the construction paper. The rectangle should be wide enough to wrap all the way around your jar and tall enough to cover the jar from top to bottom. The mason jar we used is about 2 ¾ inches in diameter and 4 inches tall, so we cut a rectangle that measures 2 ¾ inches by 9 inches. Carefully cut out the rectangle.
    Cutting Football Laces out of White Construction Paper
  2. Now it’s time to make your football laces. Use your ruler and pencil again to trace six very small, thin rectangles onto the white construction paper. They should be small enough to fit onto the brown rectangle and create a football lace pattern. One of the white rectangles should be longer than the other five. Our longer lace measures ¼ inch by 2 ½ inches, and our five shorter laces measure ¼ inch by 1 ½ inches each.
    Laces Glued onto Football Sleeve
  3. Lay your brown rectangle horizontally on the table. Using glue, attach your long construction paper lace vertically in the center of the brown rectangle. Then, attach each of the five remaining short laces horizontally right on top of the long lace. Make sure to evenly space out your short laces.
    Football Sleeve Wrapped Around Mason Jar
  4. Your football sleeve is ready! All you have to do now is tightly wrap it around your mason jar and secure it with some tape along the back. If you want your football to look even cuter, tie a piece of twine around the mouth of the jar. Repeat steps 1 through 4 for each mason jar.
    Football Mason Jars Filled With Popcorn
  5. Fill the jars with your favorite football popcorn flavors and serve to your pigskin-loving friends! We used Cheese, Buffalo Ranch, Chocolate Drizzle and Almond Pecan.

What other kinds of football-shaped food will you be serving at your Super Bowl Party?

How to Make a Popcorn Heart for Valentine’s Day

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Valentine's Day Popcorn HeartsValentine’s Day is slowly sneaking up on us, so that means it’s time to have some crafty fun with the snack that makes everyone’s heart beat fast with excitement! Whether you give it away as a cute alternative to the typical box of chocolates or use it to decorate your house with some love, this popcorn heart will be your favorite DIY project for V-Day. Why? Because kids and adults of all ages can have a ball making it, and it only requires two simple materials: popcorn and floral wire. So go ahead; make some adorable popcorn hearts of your own and put your ticker on display!

What You’ll NeedValentine Kettle Corn

One canister of Valentine Kettle Corn
Floral wire
Glitter spray (optional)

Directions

Floral Wire Cut Into Two Even Pieces

  1. Depending on how big or small you want to make your popcorn heart, cut two even pieces of floral wire to the length of your choice.Popcorn Strung Onto Floral Wire
  2. String the Valentine Kettle Corn onto both pieces of floral wire, leaving a couple of inches of exposed wire on each end. You can string the popcorn in any pattern you like. Try red and white; all red; or all white. You can even make all three!
    Strung Popcorn Shaped Into Two Halves of a Heart
  3. Bend each piece of popcorn-threaded wire so that it looks like a half of a heart.
    Twisted Floral Wire to Attach Two Halves of Popcorn Heart
  4. Tightly twist together the two exposed pieces of wire at the top of the heart to connect the two halves. Do the same with the exposed wire at the bottom of the heart.
    Exposed Ends of Floral Wire Covered With Popcorn
  5. Stick one piece of popcorn onto each twisted end to cover up the exposed wire, and make your final adjustments to the heart shape.
    Popcorn Heart Decorated With a Gift Bow
  6. If your popcorn heart is only going to be used for décor—not for snacking—give it a little bit of romantic bling by spraying it with glitter. Hang it on your wall to make some dreamy V-Day art, or wrap it in cellophane and tie it with a lovely ribbon or bow to create a one-of-a-kind Valentine’s Day gift.

Who will you give your beloved popcorn heart to this Valentine’s Day?

Fun Facts to Celebrate National Cheese Lover’s Day!

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Cheddar Cheese Popcorn

Calling all cheese heads! January 20 is National Cheese Lover’s Day, so mark your calendars! In honor of everyone’s favorite dairy delight, take a look at these fun facts about cheese while you’re chowing down on The Popcorn Factory’s cheddar and white cheddar treats. (After all, no snack captures the deliciously creamy flavor of cheese better than popcorn!)

  • No one really knows when cheese was first made. Some say that cheese-making first started in 8,000 B.C., when the tribes in Central Asia stored milk in animal skins during their travels. Popular belief has it that the bacteria in the animal skins caused the milk to form the first cheese curds.
  • Scientists have found what they believe to be the remains of cheese buried in 4,000-year-old Egyptian tombs. Archaeologists have also discovered ancient Egyptian murals depicting the cheese-making process, which date back to 2,000 B.C.
  • Many ancient Roman homes featured a separate kitchen that was solely used to make cheese.
  • In the 17th century, people thought that eating cheese would make you, er, less intelligent.
  • The nickname “big cheese” was first used to refer to people who could afford to buy a wheel of cheese.
  • More than 900 types of cheese exist in the world today.
  • Americans eat about 31 pounds of cheese a year each, but they’re not even close to holding the world record. The Greeks consume the most cheese on a yearly basis: almost 60 pounds per person!
  • The U.S. does produce the most cheese in the world, though, and most of it comes from Wisconsin and California.
  • Wisconsinproduces about 2 billion pounds of cheese per year, and it’s the home of 126 cheese plants.
  • Ten pounds of milk are needed to make 1 pound of cheese.
  • The world’s largest piece of cheese was made in Quebec, Canada, in 1995. It weighed in at more than 57,000 pounds, and more than 540,000 pounds of milk were used to make it.
  • Eating certain types of cheese—such as cheddar, Swiss, bleu and others—right after a meal is said to help prevent tooth decay and help you sleep.

What kind of velvety cheese will you be munching on to celebrate National Cheese Lover’s Day?

National Popcorn Day Recipe: Tuxedo Chocolate Chip Cookie Popcorn (Plus Fun Family Activities!)

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Tuxedo Chocolate Chip Cookie PopcornHear ye, hear ye: We’re overjoyed to announce that January 19 is National Popcorn Day! To help you celebrate the world’s yummiest and most fun snack, we’ve gathered a list of exciting National Popcorn Day activities for you to enjoy with your kids. Plus, we’ve even put together a spankin’ new recipe just for you: Our Tuxedo Chocolate Chip Cookie Popcorn is perfectly dressed for the occasion. So get ready; this is going to be one pop-tastic holiday for the whole family!

National Popcorn Day Activities for the Family

  • Help your kids carefully string together some popcorn to create garland. Hang up your delish décor anywhere in your house, or turn it into an outdoor bird feeder by covering it with birdseed.
  • Test your kids’ knowledge with a pop quiz! Search the Web for some little-known popcorn facts, and then use them to create a flash card game. At the end of the game, each contestant gets a special popcorn treat as a prize.
  • Go to the library and take out some popcorn-themed books that your kids can read while they munch on their favorite snack.
  • Print out a bunch of popcorn coloring sheets and let your kids show off their inner pop-casso. Help them proudly display their artwork on the fridge or in a handmade Popsicle stick frame. (Tip: Decorate the frame with glitter and popcorn!)
  • Or, make a different kind of pop art: Grab some construction paper and glue, plus a few fun popcorn flavors and colors. Help your kids glue the popcorn to the construction paper to create a masterpiece.
  • To end your holiday on a very sweet note, try our special National Popcorn Day recipe below!

Recipe: Tuxedo Chocolate Chip Cookie Popcorn

What You’ll Need

8 chocolate chip cookies with white and milk chocolate chunks
8 cups Peanut Brittle Popcorn*
2 cups semisweet or milk chocolate chips
½ cup white chocolate chips

*Peanut Brittle Popcorn adds a hint of saltiness that perfectly complements the chocolately flavor of the cookies. But if anyone in your family is allergic to peanuts, use another sweet Popcorn Factory flavor instead, like caramel or kettle corn.

Directions

  1. Pour the Peanut Brittle Popcorn into a large mixing bowl.
  2. Crumble the cookies into tiny bite-sized pieces and add them to the bowl of popcorn. Then, add the white chocolate chips and lightly stir the mixture until the popcorn, cookies and chocolate are well-blended.
  3. Place the semisweet or milk chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it in the microwave until it is melted, making sure to stir the chocolate every 30 seconds.
  4. Once the chocolate has melted, pour it over your popcorn mixture and gently stir it to get an even coating.
  5. Pour the popcorn mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and spread it out into a thin layer. Cool it in the refrigerator for 5 minutes or until the melted chocolate has completely hardened.
  6. When it’s ready, break apart your Tuxedo Chocolate Chip Cookie Popcorn into big chunks and enjoy! Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

How will you and your family celebrate National Popcorn Day?