What's Poppin' for Dinner?

Okay so I might be weird but I like to read...

...read cook books that is 

(well, really almost all books I like to read)...

so anyways, I was reading my "Dinner Doctor" cook book that I got for Christmas (Thanks Julie) a few weeks ago and came across a Popcorn Soup recipe...

okay, must have read that wrong, can't make soup out of popcorn...

rewind...

yep, it said Popcorn Soup...

after reading the recipe I realized that the name was a little tricky because it's actually a corn soup/chowder that you top with popcorn right before serving...but had to give it a try...

AND...the meal ONLY took 10 minutes, that's right 10 minutes!

...the hardest part was opening cans and listening for the microwave popcorn so it didn't burn!

Popcorn Soup

2 cans cream-style corm

1 can corn kernels, drained

2 cups half & half

1 chicken-flavored bouillon cube

1 tea sugar

2 Tbl butter

Black pepper

2 cups popped popcorn

Hot Pepper Sauce (Optional)

1. Place the cream-style corn, corn kernels, half & half, and bouillon cube into 4 quart saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly for the first few minutes.  Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the soup thickens and is hot, but not boiling, 10-12 minutes total.

2.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sugar and butter.  Season with pepper to taste.  Ladle the soup into serving bowls.  Top with popcorn* right before eating. Pass the hot pepper sauce for the adults that want to spice up their soup...

*You may want to give it some time to cool down for the kiddos.  

The popcorn shrinks up pretty fast and then just gets soggy...

we ended up giving the kids a bowl of popcorn and having them add a few pieces, eat that, and then add a few more...it was a fun dinner..

oh...minus the fact that we learned that the girl child doesn't like corn (not so fun when the entire meal revolves around corn)

but she did good, she ate the popcorn and the broth and didn't make too many weird faces...

oh, and what do you serve with Popcorn Soup?  We had a plate of cheese and Beau was craving chips and salsa...the recipe book also suggests some sliced fruit and bread...maybe cornbread? (or is that overkill?)

Next time we may try a few things...
*one, I realized once I sat down to type up this recipe that it also called for 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth that I completely left out (didn't see it when I read over the recipe 3 times!), but not having the chicken broth gave it more of a chowder than a soup feel and it didn't seem like any liquid was missing.  If you want to add the broth you add it at the beginning with the corn and half & half.
*some crisp bacon would be nice tossed on top and maybe even some shredded cheese.
*pieces of left-over deli chicken mixed into the soup for some added protein
*steamed broccoli
*I thought some crab or shrimp would add to the chowder feel of it, but my family all said NO...bummer!