On Snow Days, Movies and the Very Best Popcorn You’ve Ever Had!! #Giveaway

This week we had a super special awesome kind of day.  A self imposed snow day with all the trimmings!  We ignored the phone, turned off the internet, and built a roaring fire.  We stayed in our PJ’s all day long, pulled out some vintage board games and began a marathon of Monopoly and Scrabble.  We chatted, laughed and then prepared some epic snacks, intent on introducing our girls to some classic movies.  Filling in some much needed movie education!

The first step in any good movie education?  You can’t have a movie day without popcorn!  Lots of popcorn.  This was the perfect opportunity to get out my Kettle Style Popcorn Popper by Hamilton Beach Canada.

This Kettle style popcorn maker is a crowd pleaser.  It’s easy to use and quickly pops up to 24 cups per batch.  Yes, twenty four!! My girls adored that it popped up just like at the theatre.  Spilling out of the bucket, filling the house with the unmistakable movie house smell, and requiring a quick turn of the handle at the end of popping to fill the great big bowl.  

In a matter of minutes we had popcorn for all, and I can now guarantee this popcorn maker pops up to three time more than many other theater style models! (Important to note:  This is a life saver when there is a massive sleep over, or a sudden influx of teens dropping in on a Friday night!)  Full confession; it’s also just plain great for my family of four who just happen to be true popcorn lovers!  The Hamilton Beach Kettle Style Popcorn Popper  is more than just a pretty little kitchen appliance, it’s also user friendly.  It has a unique design, comes with easy to follow instructions and fill lines for both oil and kernels, and pops that fluffy popcorn into it’s very own serving bowl.  Easy to use is important when you have kids in the house who want to create their own popcorn dishes.  Just be warned, as it says right in the instruction manual, the top does get hot.  How else would it pop all that popcorn at once!

When you’re all done, the whole top opens up for easy cleaning and storing!  Adding to the popcorn making perfection; it’s dishwasher safe!

This much popcorn screams for some new recipes!  One I had to give a try was a little something called Baked Cinnamon Toast Popcorn,  Oh yes! Here is is, the recipe for the very best popcorn you have ever had.  You can thank me later.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 tbs of butter
• A dash of vanilla
• 10- 12 cups popped popcorn.
• (which translates to 1-1/12 tbs of oil and just over 1/2 cups of unpopped popcorn in your popcorn popper)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

In a small saucepan over low heat, combine butter, sugar, cinnamon, the dash of vanilla and salt, and stir gently until the butter is completely melted.

Pop your popcorn!  Once your butter mixture is melted, In a large bowl, drizzle the cinnamon mixture over the popped popcorn and toss well to evenly coat.  (I used a big wooden spoon)

Cover two cookie sheets with aluminum foil, then spread the popcorn mixture evenly between the two sheets.  Bake for just under 15 minutes, stirring every 3-4 minutes, until the cinnamon mixture is crispy on top of your popcorn.

Inhale!  Your house, it will smell like JOY! Let the popcorn cool (keep stirring while it cools) and enjoy.  Any leftover popcorn (if there is such a thing) can be stored in an airtight container for 2-3 days making this a great make ahead treat!

Oh my goodness, so, yum!! My recommendation, double this batch right away!

More of a popcorn purist?

You can’t go wrong with good old butter and salt, extra treats on the side!

I’m looking forward to many more snow days, PJ Days and movie marathons that are just a little bit more fabulous thanks to the Hamilton Beach Kettle Style Popcorn Popper.  It’s found a permanent place in my home and is truly one of my new favourite things!   Want to learn even more about this wonderful product?  Connect with Hamilton Beach Canada socially on their Website, on Facebook, via Twitter and their new Instagram account!

Fancy winning one of these gorgeous products for yourself?  Thanks to the generous people of Hamilton Beach, I have one to give away!!  ARV $129.99  Yes, one lucky reader of How To Survive Life In The Suburbs will win a Kettle Style Popcorn Popper.  Open to residents of Canada only.  Contest closes March 7, 2015.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter form below.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Hamilton Beach Canada. In exchange this review, I have received special perks in the form of products and compensation. All opinions on this blog are my own.