Screw it, I made popcorn.

I forgot to defrost the fish. The kids and I were exhausted from swimming for 4 hours and then dance class. I made popcorn on my stove top and then we're going to go to bed early. And here's the thing, the Mom police are not going to come and get me. My high school nutrition teacher will never know. The kid's teeth will not fall out from scurvy, nor will they spontaneously develop rickets from one meal of popcorn. I get a nice break and the kids get to have a treat that they can eat, smack dab in the middle of the living room watching "Wizards of Waverly Place". This has been a super busy week and I think we are all a little worn out.

A note on the popcorn; I make mine on the stove-top because I think it tastes better, I can control the salt and oil content, and it is way cheaper to buy a jar of kernels than bags of microwave popcorn. It doesn't take significantly longer either, though you do need to be there for the entire time.

How to Make Stove Top Popcorn:
Place a few tablespoons of oil in the bottom of a heavy bottomed skillet. Add 1/2 C of popcorn kernels to the pan and place it on medium high heat. Put a lid on it. Wait till you hear popping sounds and start gently shaking the pan back and forth. When the popping stops (more than 3 seconds goes by between pops) remove from heat and serve.

My dad would take the fresh popcorn and put it in a clean paper bag from the grocery store with salt and small pats of butter and then close the bag and shake the heck out of it! This distributed the salt and butter very evenly. I don't usually have any paper bags handy, so I add half the popcorn to the bowl, pour on some melted butter, shake on the salt and then add the other half of the popcorn to the bowl and stir it up. This works almost as well.

What is your favorite, No-Cooking Dinner? Cereal? Sandwiches? Cheese and crackers? Does your family look forward to these breaks from the routine or is everyone sad you didn't cook?