I’ve always been a big party animal on Friday nights.  I mean super big. You know, like putting on my slippers and sweatpants and drinking all the Coke in the house. I go all out. It’s wild. Sometimes I even watch two movies.   Honestly, since I’ve been out of college Friday nights are not that exciting. I’m EXHAUSTED by that time. Even before my little dumpling came along, that’s how I’ve been.  My husband too.

We tease, because in the house that we live in, each family member has his/ her own floor. I am upstairs. My husband is down. My kiddo is in the middle and bops from floor to floor to make a disaster of each. And we are all couch potatoes on Fridays. And that’s Ok. Sometimes it’s good to lay like vegetables.  Mind you, we don’t get to do this every week.

So today, I made popcorn for all of our couchness this evening.  Cinnamon popcorn. It’s kind of like kettle corn, only better. Only more cinnamony. Yum.  I found it over here at Tasty Kitchen. I like it there best, because the pictures are best, and I’ll be honest, if I find a recipe without a picture, I rarely will try it.

I used my popcorn maker for the first time for this one. My brand new, in the box, from a garage sale, $1 popcorn maker. Yes I scan garage sales. I know, it may surprise some of you. I’m an interesting girl for sure. I will spend $90 on an awesome skirt and then turn around and find a vintage necklace to go with it for $3.  It’s how I roll.  Anyway, I forgot how AWESOME popcorn makers are. Just watching it, listening to it, smelling it…brought back so many memories from my childhood. And my popcorn scarfing big brother. I recommend picking one up. They are much healthier for you anyway.

Cinnamon Popcorn

• 8 cups To 10 Cups Popped Popcorn
• ½ cups Unsalted Butter, Cut Into Pieces
• ⅓ cups Granulated Sugar
• 1-½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 2 pinches Kosher Salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Pop popcorn and spread onto a large cookie sheet. (I used a hot air popcorn popper.) Melt butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a microwave-safe bowl until sugar is dissolved and butter is melted, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in vanilla extract. Spoon butter mixture over popcorn and sprinkle with salt. Toss to coat as many pieces of popcorn as you can.

Place in the oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely. If storing (not likely!), place in an airtight container.