Theresa's Mixed Nuts: Winter Staycation With Pop Secret & Pillow Forts #PopSecretForts

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Winter Staycation With Pop Secret & Pillow Forts #PopSecretForts

Disclosure:  Today’s post is sponsored by Pop Secret, by my love for their popcorn is all my own!


When we are in the heart of winter, we have to get a little creative with the boredom busters. We aren't big fans of the cold, so we don't travel around much this time of year. On the weekends we pretend we are having a staycation and stay wrapped in blankets and jammies. We try to come up with fun themes to pass the time. Movie night, game night and craft night have been some recent favorites. This weekend, we decided to have a camping night! We rounded up all of the spare blankets and pillows to build a pillow fort, then grabbed some Pop Secret popcorn for delicious camp snacking.

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Pop Secret has been a family favorite for many years. We love the Homestyle popcorn because it pops up light and fluffy, and with just a hint of butter and salt, it is so perfect for the mix ins we like to use to turn a delicious snack into something just a bit more decadent. This weekend we whipped up some Jackson Pollock popcorn for our camping adventures.

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Our Jackson Pollock popcorn is a scrumptious mix of popcorn drizzled with caramel, and white and dark chocolate. Combined with the touch of salt and butter already on the kernels, it's a taste explosion on your tongue!

Ingredients

2 bags Pop Secret popcorn
½ cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp baking soda
½ cup white chocolate
½ cup dark chocolate

Directions

Pop popcorn according to package directions. Once popped, pour into a large bowl. Remove any unpopped kernels.

In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once mixture is boiling, stop stirring, but continue to boil on medium heat for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and baking soda. This will create your caramel mixture. Pour the caramel over popcorn in the bowl. Using 2 spoons, toss the popcorn to coat with the caramel mixture. Spread popcorn/caramel mixture evenly over 2 cookie sheets.

Using double broilers, or 2 glass bowls placed over simmering water, melt chocolates. Using a spoon, drizzle chocolates over the caramel popcorn mixture.

Allow 1 hour for chocolate to cool and harden on popcorn. Once cooled and set, break into small pieces and serve.


The girls had a blast getting their Jackson Pollock on, making a delicious mess all over the popcorn.

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 While our popcorn was setting, we set up camp. Building a pillow fort was something I loved do to as a kid, so getting to build one with my daughters was not only great for bonding, it took me back to the days of my childhood when I would spend hours carefully constructing my own pillow fort. Using dining room chairs as our base, we draped over all of our spare blankets, filled it with pillows, and named it Camp Kernel.

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Allison immediately settled in with a stash of books and some tasty Pop Secret!

Get in on the action yourself! Pop Secret is your perfect snack companion on trips into the uncharted reaches of your imagination.

Go to the Pop Secret Facebook Page to download printable Pop Secret Pillow Fort Flags and get a valuable $1 coupon for Pop Secret Popcorn!  

Pop Secret knows that fun, like popcorn, is better when it’s shared. Send Pop Secret your Pop Secret pillow fort stories and pictures on Facebook. You can upload them right to the Pop Secret timeline and tag them #PopSecretForts. They might just share a little something back!

Did you enjoy making pillow forts when you were a kid? Do your kids build their own pillow forts now too?



72 comments:

  1. That does look good. It looks like your family all enjoyed making it and eating it. :)

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  2. Popcorn is our snack of choice for sure, but you definitely get more creative than I do. I want to come hang out at your house.

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    1. We don't get too creative either. We end up using some seasoning and thats about it.

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    2. We usually just add old bay seasoning. This looks way better!

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  3. those look nom nom and lovely photos as always! You should get into photo business professionally

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    1. PS what's that ugly wooden fence behind the girls?

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    2. Don't mind the ugly fence. It was a quick toss together to pen the dogs inside the mud room when we have company over. I bought the wrong stain for the wood and it didn't stick. It will get redone to look prettier this spring when I can do it outside so we aren't breathing in those nasty fumes.

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  4. When I was a kid I loved making them. I would take the rope from the chair that was holding up the tent and tie it somewhere across the room. Then I took the top part of my pretend Fisher Price shopping cart off, and put it on the rope. My dolls would zip line across the living room. We'd also get out clothes pins, and pin up our doll's clothes like it was a clothes line. We'd sit and play under out pillow fort for hours.

    Now my kids like when Travis sets up a legit tent in the living room.

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    1. I was an idiot when I was a kid. I would make an elaborate fort with every single blanket that we had. Then I would try to sleep in it at night and wouldn't have a blanket to cover up with, but instead of tearing down even a section of my fort, I would freeze all night lol.

      Your fort sounds so cool! I don't think you can top zip lining dolls!

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    2. I did this too and would end up underneath all the pillows LOL

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  5. I used to make Pillow Forts for my son and daughter when they were younger and loved it. This popcorn from Pop Secret is so delicious and I really love your recipe. I am going to have to try it!

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    1. Us to the whole living room would be full of pillows and they each would have a fort!

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  6. I absolutely love popcorn. What I love even more is popcorn with yummy stuff drizzled over top! This looks delicious.

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  7. I love popcorn and pillow forts. Life could not get any better. I will have to try this recipe out on one of our movie nights. It looks so yummy!

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  8. There's really nothing better than a movie, some popcorn, and a pillow fort. It's the trifecta of awesomeness.

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  9. We are making forts almost daily at my house!!! Nothing better than a fort, popcorn and a movie!!

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  10. My kids love to build forts and they are 13 and 16! Add popcorn and a movie and we are all set!

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  11. Okay, that Jackson Pollock popcorn looks amazing!!! And I love the pic of your daughter at the fort :)

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  12. I used to enjoy building forts when I was a child also! That is some scrumptious popcorn you have there--chocolate and Caramel -YUMMY

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  13. Love popcorn and love forts. Good times.

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  14. Great recipe! Will have to try it as we are always eating popcorn!

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  15. Man, your recipes are always the best :)

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  16. Chocolate and caramel drizzled on popcorn...yum! I want to crawl into a fort RIGHT NOW to watch a movie.

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  17. that was how my sisters and I made our fort too! With the chairs as bases and draping covers over and filling the inside with pillows. Oh what lovely memories!! And goodness, that popcorn sure looks yummy!

    Ai @ Sakura Haruka

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  18. We like to make forts here too. I'm headed over to download my coupon. Thanks for sharing it!

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  19. I missed getting here, but I love Pop Secret - it is the best no matter what you put on it!
    But, by the way... yum!

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  20. PopSecret popcorn and a pillow fort? Sounds like the perfect combo to wait out the winter.

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  21. You guys built an awesome fort! Watching a movie with this popcorn in a cozy fort sounds great.

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  22. That popcorn sounds AMAZING. I need to try your recipe immediately.

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  23. I did love a good pillow fort when I was a kid. Oddly, my kids have not made them. This popcorn looks amazing.

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  24. Forts are big fun at my house. I love the idea of making Pop Secret popcorn & a pillow fort. It'd keep the kids smiling through the bad weather we're having.

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  25. Yum yum, this looks amazing! I put caramel sauce on popcorn sometimes, but this must be even better!

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  26. I hope people on the East Coast have plenty of popcorn and caramel and chocolate for the next few days.

    slehan at juno dot com

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  27. How fun,My kids are always asking for popcorn when it is movie time,as for pillow forts it has been a really long time since we have made one.

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  28. What a great idea! I bet they had a lot of doing this! Haven't tried this popcorn brand, but it's worth checking it out.

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  29. Yum looks so good! We don't have pop secret here in Canada I don't think, I'll have to check. This would be a great treat!

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  30. YUM! Please send some popcorn over to me :)

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  31. Wow that popcorn looks amazing, Definitely for munching under a pillow fort!

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  32. That looks delicious! Pop Secret is already so good, I bet it's amazing with those additions.

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  33. How I miss those days of pillow forts. That popcorn looks so good. Pinning!

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  34. I used to eat Pop Secret because they had the best butter flavor. Then we purchased and air popper and now I don't buy microwave popcorn anymore.

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  35. I loved making forts as a kid. We need to make one this year and enjoy the recipe for the popcorn you shared.

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  36. Look at all the fun the girls are having, we love pop secret popcorn. I will have to try this recipe for my husband.

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  37. I tried making a pillow fort for the kiddo in his room the other day when we changed the sheets and he didn't understand why I did it. So we got him one of those pop-tents for his room to play in and now we can't get him to leave it.

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  38. Oh how delicious, gourmet popcorn making! And what a fun evening to boot, forts included

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  39. That looks really good. I love this kind of pop corn.

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  40. Great photos! I love what you did with the popcorn. We are addicts.

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  41. I can practically taste it, and it's orgasmic.

    I also love the photos of pajama time, indoor camping.

    Keep spreading cheer, Theresa. xo

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  42. I could eat popcorn all day, and that looks amazing!

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  43. What a grand time! I love kids in the kitchen. The for idea is right on perfect for Pop Secret. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

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  44. Well doesn't this look delightful! Now I'm craving popcorn.... off to the kitchen!

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  45. I am a fort building pro. I used to build them when i was a kid. My kids have been building them there whole life. This popcorn looks great. I will have to try some.

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  46. Hmm...that looks delicious! My kids are popcorn fans..I am sure this would blow their mind and crave for more and more :D

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  47. That is like a more awesome version of caramel corn! Yummy!

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  48. That popcorn sounds delicious! I would love some of it right now actually. It also looks like they really did have a lot of fun making it.

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  49. Love Pop Secret popcorn. This recipe and way of making it sounds delicious.

    My kids always made forts too. Lots of fun...but then you have to clean up. ;)

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  50. That looks delicious and fun! I will have to give this a try this weekend when we have movie night!

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  51. What a yummy way to enjoy popcorn! It's so much fun staying home and creating yummy treats like this and building forts.

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  52. What a fun time that looked like. Now I want to make some popcorn. Lol

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  53. I'm eyeballing the popcorn in my pantry now- but I don't have the dark chocolate or caramel. I'm drooling now!

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  54. I don't think I have tried the homestyle variety before. I love how you sweetened it up. What a nice treat!

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  55. What fun! I like how you made popcorn much more fun! Great ideas!

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  56. What fun! I like how you made popcorn much more fun! Great ideas!

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  57. How fun! That popcorn looks delicious. It looks like something you'd buy in a store!

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  58. Our littlest ones are discovering fort making right now. Everything they can crawl under is fair game and the blankets are starting to be draped over things as well. Add some popcorn and you've got a great night!

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  59. the popcorn looks so good. So fun to eat. I love the fort!

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  60. We also had a fort building weekend last weekend. Popcorn and chocolate (salt and sweet)... sounds delish.

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  61. Avoiding the cold is a great thing indeed. Always enjoyed making forts too. Finally caught up as stupid blog roll just updated for you haha

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  62. I can't stand microwave popcorn anymore

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  63. I am happy we are all about pillow forts around here. Now I need to make your popcorn recipe!

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  64. My kids love making tents and forts! I never thought of making it a family affair! And who doesn't love Popcorn?! Your popcorn looks delicious!!

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Thanks for your comments! I appreciate every one of them :) Except promotional posts with added links. Those will be deleted.

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