Microwave Popcorn

Here it is almost midnight and my brain won't shut off. So I blog. I am thinking of the make-it take-it I have planned for the 15th of this month. I really want to have air popped popcorn for the event. I want the lightest, fluffiest, fullest kernels of corn for our activity. I don't want the popcorn to be weighed down by the slight bits of oil that may cling to them when they are popped on the stove top. (There is NO WAY I would use microwave popcorn. Such NOT a penny pincher thing to do!)

So I was remembering a science project I did in the 6th grade. I wanted to see if brand made a difference in popcorn kernels. We had a ridged plastic popcorn popper that was made for the microwave. I very scientifically counted out 100 kernels for each test batch and put them in said popcorn maker, popped them for the alloted time etc. My POINT being that I was wondering if there was a way I could do popcorn in the microwave! I am sure the aforementioned popper has long been disposed of and I was NOT finding an air popper to borrow or one with the price point I wanted to purchase.

Turns out you CAN pop popcorn in the microwave!!! After a bit of goggling I discovered that all is needed is a paper bag. ( And loose popcorn kernels.)

1. Use a clean brown paper lunch bag.
2. Pour 1/4 cup of loose popcorn kernels into the bag.
3. Add 1 Tablespoon of oil of your choice ( I would be using peanut...but not for the MITI application)
4. Add any seasoning you want. Salt, Pepper, Parmesan cheese, chili powder, Old bay seasoning, etc.
5. Fold over bag several times. Make sure it is tight. OR staple it with a staple. (your microwave will not catch on fire)
6. Shake bag
7. Microwave on high for 2 minutes or until there are 5 seconds between pops.
8. CAREFULLY remove the bag from the microwave, shake and CAREFULLY open and enjoy!


There you go. I can now go to sleep (I hope) and you can have a penny pinching snack of microwave popcorn with out all the additives that the commercial microwave popcorn bags give you.