Gifts for Teachers

I wanted to share the gifts that we made for the teachers at the Preschool. 

I had some scrap material from another project, and I decided to sew up little baggies.  The boys helped me make some goodies to fill it with.  We made some homemade granola, modifying this recipe from 100daysofrealfood.

From the same website, we also made Cinnamon Glazed Popcorn Mix. YUMMY!!!  I will be making this one again as a snack in our house!  Here's the recipe--you will definitely want to try this!

Ingredients

• 4 cups plain popcorn (about ¼ cup of kernels)
• ¾ cup raw cashews
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• ½ teaspoon dried cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Parchment paper recommended for baking

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a small pot over low heat melt the butter and honey together. Mix in the cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
3. Put the cashews in an extra large mixing bowl. Coat them with about a tablespoon of the butter/honey mixture.
4. Spread the coated nuts onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake for 6 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in the same large bowl evenly coat the plain popcorn – minus any unpopped kernels – with the remaining butter/honey mixture.
6. After the cashews have been in the oven for 6 minutes, take out the tray, add the popcorn to it, and mix it all up together. Stick the tray back in the oven and set the timer for 4 minutes.
7. After 4 minutes open the oven and stir or shake the mixture around on the baking sheet. Set the timer for 2 more minutes.
8. Once again open the oven and stir/shake the mixture so there are no hot spots that could get burnt. Set the timer for 1 more minute at which point the mixture will once again need to be checked/stirred.
9. Repeat the process of checking/stirring the popcorn mixture every minute then take it out of the oven once it turns a dark brown (it can burn easily toward the end!). My total bake time was 6 minutes for the nuts then an additional 7 or 8 minutes once I added the popcorn.
10. The popcorn and nuts will be slightly wet right out of the oven, but will harden as they cool.