Made Up Popcorn Stuff

I previously posted about the peppermint popcorn munch that I'm planning to make a version of for my nephews on Christmas.  Then, my mom sent me a recipe for some other yummy sounding chocolate covered popcorn stuff.  So, I decided to combine the two and produced this:

Made Up Chocolate Popcorn Stuff.

I learned several lessons while making this, which I'd like to share with you now:

• Don't have someone help you clean your kitchen and then make really messy stuff with melted chocolate 2 hours before your company shows up.
• Do not try to stir the ingredients up while on the cookie sheet like the original recipe says.  Trust your instincts and use a big bowl.
• If you try to use the chocolate almond bark disks, then get a lot of them because they do not go very far - or just scrap them all together.
• Do keep some of these in your pantry in case of emergency, because they will save you from popcorn fiasco:

• Reserve your silpat or parchment paper lined cookie sheets for letting the popcorn dry once you've stirred everything up in a bowl.
• Beware of stray unpopped popcorn once eating this stuff.  In my attempts to not burn the popcorn and to work quickly, I wound up with a lot of kernels in there.
• Watch out for precious faced sneaks that hang out at your feet in hopes of falling pretzels and popcorn.  Don't let them get the chocolate.  Who, me?

My prayer ladies and my super-baker coworker have approved this easy recipe for consumption, so here it is:

2 bags popped popcorn

1/2 bag of pretzel sticks

1 cup toasted pecan pieces

1/2 bag of dried cherries

1/2 bag of Jet Puff marshmallows (I was going to go generic, but the lady in Winn Dixie pointed out that their generic ones clump and the Jet Puff do not, so they are worth the price difference.  I can tell it was worth it in this recipe to have well dusted, individual marshmallows.)

1 bag chocolate chips of your choice (I used dark and it's a nice compliment to the sweet, tart, and salty).

Pop the popcorn

Toast the pecans in a skillet on the eye just until toasty (I usually go by smell.  Be careful to not let them burn).

Stir up the dry ingredients

Melt the chocolate (according to directions in a clean, dry microwave safe bowl!)

Pour the chocolate over the ingredients

Stir

Pour out onto lined cookie sheets to dry

Break up and put in treat bags