Amish Caramel Corn

I love giving homemade food gifts to family and friends for the holidays. This week I've been testing different recipes to see which ones I think will be perfect for the Christmas goody baskets that I make up.

I found a great recipe for Amish Caramel Corn. It was easy to make and Greg gave it thumbs up! This would be perfect to put in a cute holiday tin. Are you making any special gifts for the holidays?


Here's the recipe: "My Amish Friend's Caramel Corn"

Ingredients

• 7 quarts plain popped popcorn
• 2 cups dry roasted peanuts (optional)
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup margarine
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Place the popped popcorn into two shallow greased baking pans. You may use roasting pans, jelly roll pans, or disposable roasting pans. Add the peanuts to the popped corn if using. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, margarine and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring enough to blend. Once the mixture begins to boil, boil for 5 minutes while stirring constantly.
3. Remove from the heat, and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. The mixture will be light and foamy. Immediately pour over the popcorn in the pans, and stir to coat. Don't worry too much at this point about getting all of the corn coated.
4. Bake for 1 hour, removing the pans, and giving them each a good stir every 15 minutes. Line the counter top with waxed paper. Dump the corn out onto the waxed paper and separate the pieces. Allow to cool completely, then store in airtight containers or resealable bags.

Greg's Favorite Quiche

This Swiss Cheese & Onion Quiche is one of Greg's breakfast favorites at the log cabin. Sometimes I will add 1/2 cup of cooked turkey bacon to it (trying to keep it somewhat healthy.) You can also add ham too. I found this recipe at allrecipes.com.

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons butter, softened, divided
1 (9 inch) unbaked pastry shell
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 cup half-and-half cream
1/4 teaspoon salt


DIRECTIONS
Spread 1 tablespoon butter over bottom of pastry shell; set aside. In a skillet, saute onion in remaining butter until tender. Spread in pastry shell. Toss Swiss cheese with flour; sprinkle over onion. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, cream and salt. Pour evenly over cheese.
Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees F; bake 30-35 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.