Caramel Corn "trail mix"

   Happy Wednesday! We're more than halfway to another weekend and that's pretty cool.

   This past weekend I made a ridiculously delicious "trail mix" like one Brandon and I got from the Fresh Market a month or so ago. I made it for my parents and a friend for Valentine's Day...and also so we could have some.

Ingredients

homemade caramel corn with chocolate drizzle

mixed nuts

white chocolate chips

It was outragiously good.

Trail Mix

  Instead of going to school today I went to a workshop all about teaching reading. As much as I do enjoy teaching, it was so nice to just sit and listen to someone else talk, use the bathroom whenever I wanted, and get to actually leave for lunch for an entire hour. I'm excited to go back again tomorrow and then put all I've learned into practice on Monday.
  The location for the training is near one of my favorite places, Dollar General. I stopped by there on my way home and was pretty pleased with my purchase.
   Brandon and I love, love, love the "trail mix" types of mixes sold at The Fresh Market and Earth Fair but nine bucks a pound is a quite a bit to steep for us. Dollar General has great nut and dried fruit options so I gave in and bought a can of almonds, a can of honey roasted peanuts, a can of mixed nuts, a package of dried cranberries, and a package of mixed dried berries.

 

  For about five bucks Brandon and I now have a yummy jar of trail mix. 

From my little kitchen: Homemade Apple Chips

   Fruit chips have become on of my absolute favorite foods. Unfortunately the are pretty darn expensive, so I decided to try my hand at making my own. I started out with apple chips and they turned out surprisingly well.

Homemade Apple Chips

Ingredients

Fresh apples

Non-stick cooking spray

Directions

   First, preheat over to 200 degrees, then slice your apple(s) as thinly as possible.

   Spray a baking sheet with the non-stick spray and lay your apple slices on the tray so they overlap as little as possible.

   This is the tricky part. Bake for about an hour or so and then turn off the oven and let the slices sit until crispy like a potato chip. I still haven't totally perfected the cooking time.

   These are delicious alone, mixed with other fruit chips and nuts, or on top of a yummy salad. Happy Saturday friends!