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Making Easy Homemade Microwave Popcorn

Popcorn, anyone?

On movie night (every Friday in our house!) popcorn is practically a requirement. I mean, how can you dig into a good flick without a big buttery bowl of popcorn? There’s something big to be said for traditions like that. The kids get so excited for our Friday movie and popcorn.

‘Course, making popcorn in our house means really making it. No microwave popcorn here. After reading the ingredients list, I just couldn’t — too many unpronounceable things. But give up popcorn altogether? Never. Instead, we usually pop it in our air popper. That’s not always practical though. Sometimes you want easy — easy cooking and easy cleanup

This week’s recipe from The Food Matters Project was popcorn, which actually worked out really well because I learned a whole new way of making popcorn at home. And it’s super easy. The popcorn recipe in The Food Matters Cookbook calls for it to be either cooked on the stovetop or in the microwave. I opted for the latter since it didn’t require oil.

Bittman’s microwave popcorn is a total home hack to have your popcorn fast — without mess, fuss or bags of weird-smelling packaged microwave popcorn. Score. The process is so simple.

How to Make Homemade Microwave Popcorn

How to Make Homemade Microwave Popcorn

Yield: yield varies

Forget store bought. Making homemade microwave popcorn is a cinch — and only requires one ingredient.

Materials

  • Popcorn kernels
  • Salt
  • Paper bag

Tools

  • Microwave

Instructions

  1. Place 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels in a paper bag with a 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
  2. Roll the top over a few times and then microwave for 2-3 minutes, until the popping slows.
  3. Toss with desired seasonings.

See? Couldn’t be easier.

Then the only question is how to season it. For the kids, I sprinkled grated parmesan, dried basil and salt into the bag and shook it all up. Will declared one of his favorites ever. For me, I sprinkled the hot popcorn with five spice and brown sugar. I loved the sweet-savory take on standard popcorn. It was just perfect.

What do you like on your popcorn?

To learn more about this recipe over to Cookie and Kate, this week’s Food Matters Project host.

Cookie and Kate

Wednesday 15th of February 2012

So glad you and your kids enjoyed the popcorn recipe! Please don't forget to comment on the Food Matters Project site so all the members know how to find your post!

Donna

Tuesday 14th of February 2012

What great timing - my old school air popper just died! Thanks for this helpful post!

Rachel @ Not Rachael Ray

Tuesday 14th of February 2012

I've been wanting to try this!

Joanne

Tuesday 14th of February 2012

Five spice and brown sugar popcorn sounds like a total addiction waiting to happen!

Kate

Tuesday 14th of February 2012

Popcorn is my favorite food in the world. The only way I don't like it is when it's ruined by turning it to caramel corn!

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