DIY Doughnut marquee by Popcorn and Chocolate

DIY Doughnut Marquee Light

DIY Doughnut Marquee | Popcorn and ChocolateLearn how to make his doughnut marquee sign for your home by reading below!

Over the past couple of years I’ve become quite obsessed with doughnuts. I kind of forgot about them between the ages of 8-22 but have rekindled the love. The doughnut that brought back this love affair was definitely the Oreo peanut butter chocolate one from Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland. It was all downhill from there.

DIY Donut marquee by Popcorn and ChocolateThere’s nothing quite like a good ol’ doughnut. That’s where the inspiration for this marquee sign came from – my love of doughnuts. Though this marquee doughnut is not edible it does light up and makes for quite the unique home accent.

DIY Doughnut marquee by Popcorn and ChocolateI went for a strawberry frosted doughnut with extra sprinkles but you can certainly choose whatever flavor and sprinkle amount you prefer ;)

DIY Doughnut marquee by Popcorn and Chocolate

Materials:

  • Foam board
  • Poster board
  • Paint in various colors (I used light brown and pink)
  • Globe lights
  • Electric drill or nail and hammer
  • Hot glue gun
  • String

Doughnut marquee instructions:

  1. Start by drawing a large circle on your foam board and then a smaller one within that.How to make a doughnut marquee by Popcorn and Chocolate
  2. Cut out around the large circle and the small circle so you have a doughnut shape.How to make a doughnut marquee by Popcorn and Chocolate
  3. Cut out strips of poster about 2 inches thick and as long as the poster board.How to make a doughnut marquee by Popcorn and Chocolate
  4. To make the holes in the doughnut, first count out how many lights you have on your string lights (mine was 30) then on the back of your doughnut draw a dot everywhere you want to drill for a light. Make sure that you measure the distance between each light and don’t put the dots too far apart. How to make a doughnut marquee by Popcorn and Chocolate
  5. Taking a drill, carefully drill a hole everywhere you marked. Or, if you don’t have a drill, you can take a hammer and a thick nail (one as thick as the wire on the light bulb) and nail a hole everywhere there is a dot – just make sure you don’t nail it all the way through so it sticks to whatever is underneath your doughnut.How to make a doughnut marquee by Popcorn and Chocolate
  6. Paint your doughnut and the strips of paper a light brown color. For the poster strips make sure you paint both sides. I found that using a circular foam brush looked the best as it didn’t leave any paint streaks.
  7. Once the brown is dry paint over the inside of the doughnut in pink creating the frosting.How to make a doughnut marquee by Popcorn and Chocolate
  8. Once your doughnut is painted you can attach the poster board  strips to the sides of the doughnut so it stands out. Using a hot glue gun, glue along the sides of the doughnut and then carefully place one of the poster board strips on it so that half is on each side. Continue doing this until your poster board strips cover the whole outside of the doughnut. Then do the same with the inside circle.
  9. Glue a piece of string  into a loop onto the back of your doughnut so you can hang it up.How to make a doughnut marquee by Popcorn and Chocolate
  10. Take off the balls on your globe lights so you can place the lights through the holes you drilled. Thread each of the lights through the holes and then replace the ball onto the globe light.How to make a doughnut marquee by Popcorn and Chocolate
  11. Tape down the battery pack to the back of your light.
  12. Hang on your wall and admire your handy work!

DIY Doughnut marquee by Popcorn and Chocolate

Doughnutcha wish you had this marquee sign in your home?? This DIY definitely was a fun one to make and surprisingly easy.

Make sure to check out our Home DIY Pinterest board to find other fun DIYs for your home!

DIY Doughnut marquee by Popcorn and Chocolate

Copper writing Thanksgiving plates

Thanksgiving Plates with Copper Lettering

Copper Thanksgiving dinner platesI can’t wait for Thanksgiving to be able to pile these witty copper Thanksgiving themed dinner plates high with all sorts of scrumptious food. Usually, in years past, I have started planning for Thanksgiving in October but for some reason this year I am way behind the times. What side dishes will I make?? Is turkey necessary?? How many desserts do we need???

Copper stuffed Thanksgiving dinner plates

I’ve got some serious Pinterest pursuing ahead of me in the next couple of days. I feel like I do different recipes every Thanksgiving. Partially because I can’t remember what I made last year and partially because everything looks so good and I want to try it all! Do you have any go to Thanksgiving recipes you always follow?

Copper writing Thanksgiving plates

Anyways, these copper lettered plates are the perfect thanksgiving plates to fit the copious amounts of food I will sure to have on my plate come Thanksgiving. To learn how to make these plates visit Homedit! Let us know in the comments below what you typically make (or eat!) for Thanksgiving.

Copper writing Thanksgiving plates

To find the full tutorial on how to make these Thanksgiving themed copper plates head on over to Homedit.

 

Thanksgiving Copper Dinner Plates

thanksgiving holiday printable | Popcorn & Chocolate

Free Thanksgiving Table Printables

thanksgiving table decorations | Popcorn & Chocolate

Did everyone have a fun and spooky Halloween? If you missed the pool float costumes we made, go check them out! But now that Halloween is (sadly) over, it’s time to start thinking about Thanksgiving: food, guests, what we are thankful for, etc. We made some free Thanksgiving printables for you to start planning out your Thanksgiving with. And keep your eye out for more posts to come to set the whole table for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving printable | Popcorn & Chocolate

My favorite part of Thanksgiving is definitely getting to cook. We are people who eat Thanksgiving dinner at a normal dinner hour, so I find myself antsy during the day, anticipating this exciting meal, so to distract myself, I like to take over in the kitchen.

I am thankful for list | Popcorn & Chocolatethanksgiving grocery list | Popcorn & Chocolate

One of the Thanksgiving printables we made for you is to organize your grocery list. This is great if you want to simply make a list organized by recipe so you know which ingredients are a part of which dish. This printable is also great if you have guests who may have food allergies. You can write all the ingredients in each of your dishes so everyone can see! I filled mine out with the recipes that I like to use, which I’ll share at the bottom of this post.

Thanksgiving shopping list | Popcorn & Chocolate

The other printable is for you to put at each person’s plate so your guests can jot down what they are thankful for. The automatic settings on your printer will try to fit the printable to the page, but I recommend printing it scaled down somewhere between 80-100% (mine is 85% in the photos). This way it will fit nicely on a plate without taking over.  I love going around the table and talking about what we are all thankful for, but I always feel really uncreative while everyone else has such clever thoughts to share! I’ll have to start thinking up a few this year to put on my place card. It’s fun to have a mix of some serious ones and a few silly ones. What are you guys thankful for this year?

Thanksgiving recipes printable | Popcorn & Chocolatefall thankful printable | Popcorn & Chocolate

 

Attached here are the Thanksgiving printables:

(1) I am thankful for…

Thankful Printable | Popcorn & Chocolate

(2) Thanksgiving dinner ingredient list

Thanksgiving Grocery List Printable | Popcorn & Chocolate

If you want the ingredient list with extra space and a line like mine for hole punching (you can easily hole punch the one without the line as well, there’s enough room), that one is here: Thanksgiving ingredient list to hole punch

Rose’s Thanksgiving dinner:

  1. Stuffing is my favorite. I love to make this pear sausage stuffing from Martha Stewart. The fennel and the pear are so delicious with everything else on the thanksgiving plate! Note: if you buy a pre-stuffed bird, try to remember to half the stuffing recipe or you’ll have wayyy too many leftovers (unless you’re cooking for a huge crowd)!!
  2. We always make two different cranberry sauces too: this classic slow cooker cranberry sauce and Madhur Jaffrey’s cranberry chutney. I think we often like the chutney best but it’s fun to have both. Plus one is in the slow cooker so it doesn’t use up a pot or a burner on the stove and it can stay warm right up until dinner.
  3. I always roast a huge pile of veggies: Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, parsnips, carrots, beets, almost every root veggie in the grocery store. I’ve used different seasonings in the past, but the preferred is classic rosemary, salt, and pepper (sometimes with a hint of maple syrup or maple sugar).
  4. Last year I made these pumpkin blondies from The Healthy Maven and an apple galette.

What are your favorite thanksgiving recipes?  Anything I should try this year?

Free Thanksgiving Printables | Popcorn & Chocolate

Fourth of July Popcorn | Popcorn & Chocolate

Popping 4th of July

Fourth of July Popcorn | Popcorn & ChocolateHello popcorn lovers! Can you believe it’s already almost the 4th of July? What are all you doing? For me every year is different. When I was little, my family used to go to the local park and watch the fireworks with our close friends. I always loved this since they set up a carnival and rides beforehand. My dad and I used to bike down early in the day so I could play on the rides. I always remember one year he bought me a balloon and just as we left, the balloon popped because it was so hot out! I was sad so we went back and got another. We got half way home on the bike with this balloon before, POP! We ended up just going home, and my dad drove back later and got me a new balloon. I kept this one until it got small and pruney. Thanks dad :)

Strawberry Pie Flavored Popcorn | Popcorn & Chocolate

Holiday Popcorn | Popcorn & Chocolate

More recently I prefer to grill up some good food, make a refreshing drink, and watch the Macy’s fireworks on TV. I know that’s lame, but it’s always fun to watch! Plus, then you can pop up a huge fresh batch of popcorn and eat it right out of the bowl. And lately I’ve been dreaming up this delicious red white and blue inspired sweet treat for your 4th of July get-together. This strawberry pie popcorn is sweet and decadent without being too over the top. The best part is that it’s not too messy, so you could pack it up in tupperware with your picnic and bring it to share with whoever you watch the fireworks with. But be warned, you might want to hoard it all for yourself. It’s that good. Plus, it’s very allergy friendly – there’s no dairy, nuts, peanuts, shellfish, or gluten here! Just freeze dried strawberries, coconut butter, coconut oil, salt and sugar. Simple and delicious! What are you waiting for? Let’s get popping!

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Ingredients: Serves 2 hungry popcorn lovers or a group of 3-4

  • 1/4 cup Freeze dried strawberries  (we bought them at Target, but Trader Joes also has a good selection)
  • 1.5 tablespoons slightly melted Coconut butter
  • 1.5-2 tablespoons melted Coconut oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla sugar (if you don’t have vanilla sugar you can just use the sugar of your choice)
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/4 cup kernels

Instructions:

  1. Pop up your kernels either on the stove top or in an air popper and then lay out on parchment paper on top of a baking sheet
  2. Preheat your oven to about 200 degrees Fahrenheit
  3. Grind the freeze dried strawberries, the vanilla sugar and the salt together in the food processor for a couple of seconds or until the strawberries are a fine powder
  4. Mix together the coconut butter, 1.5 tablespoons of the coconut oil, and about half of the strawberry mixture in a small bowl
  5. Drizzle the remaining coconut oil over the popcorn and then sprinkle the remaining strawberry mixture on top of it
  6. Drizzle the coconut butter mixture on top of the popcorn
  7. Pop in the oven for about 5 minutes – you don’t want it to burn!

Strawberry pie fourth of July popcorn | Popcorn & chocolate

Strawberry Pie Fourth of July Popcorn | Popcorn & Chocolate4th of July popcorn recipe | Popcorn & Chocolate

Coconut Milk Key Lime Ice Cream | Popcorn & Chocolate

Vegan Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

Vegan Key Lime Pie Ice Cream | Popcorn & ChocolateAs the weather gets warmer, all I want to eat is ice cream. Every single day. All day long. I have one of those problems where if I don’t buy ice cream then I’m fine and I wont really want it, but once it’s in the freezer, I can’t stop thinking about it and I must eat it. I have to. It calls out to me from the depth of the freezer, begging to be eaten. And I just cannot say no to that.5 Ingredient Ice Cream | Popcorn & Chocolate Especially this ice cream. This ice cream right here is so refreshing and tastes exactly like key lime pie. I can’t get enough of it. Plus it has a secret ingredient that is too good to pass up: Oreo’s! Golden vanilla Oreo’s are crumbled through the ice cream to mimic the beloved pie crust in key lime pie.Key Lime Pie Ice Cream with Oreo's | Popcorn & ChocolatePlus, plus it is super easy to make and only uses 6 ingredients. That sounds like a winning combination for ice cream to me. So what will you need? Read below to find out!

5 Ingredient Easy At Home Ice Cream | Popcorn & Chocolate

Ingredients:

  • 1 can of coconut milk
  • coconut sugar
  • juice from 4 key limes
  • vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt
  • Golden Oreo’s

Directions:

  1. In a small saucepan over low to medium heat, combine the first 5 ingredients. Stir occasionally to combine.
  2. Let the mixture cool for a couple of minutes and then pour into an ice cream maker. Make sure that the bowl of your ice cream maker has been in the freezer for several hours beforehand.
  3. Once the mixture turns thick, you can crush the Golden Oreo’s and sprinkle in as it continues to churn for a couple of minutes.
  4. Store in the freezer to let harden or enjoy straight away! Note: it takes a couple of minutes to thaw, so if you are planning on serving it later, just leave an extra 5 minutes for it to thaw!

 

IMG_0687Mmmm what ice cream is easier than that? Six ingredients, all vegan, and even a bit healthy by subbing in coconut milk and sugar for regular milk and sugar. That’s my kind of dessert. Go ahead and give this 6 ingredient vegan ice cream a whirl and tell us what you think.

Coconut Milk Key Lime Ice Cream | Popcorn & Chocolate

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream Recipe | Popcorn & Chocolate

Comment below what your favorite flavor of ice cream is! Mine is probably Oreo ice cream if you hadn’t caught on to that by now… 🙂

Chai Tea Oatmeal | Popcorn & Chocolate

Chai Tea Oatmeal

Chai Tea Oatmeal | Popcorn & ChocolateWe are back! It has been an amazing vacation and it has taken us a little while to get back into the swing of things but we are back to share some more yummy recipes and fun DIY’s with you. We just spent nice long weekend visiting my parents in NH where we could relax and plan a few things for the future (stay tuned!). Whilst we planned and crafted we also enjoyed trying some new recipes, one of which we are here to share with you today. This is no ordinary oatmeal. What makes it so special you ask? Well, this delicious pile of oats is made with chai tea.Chai Tea Oatmeal | Popcorn & ChocolateI love a good bowl of oatmeal in the morning and I also love a good cup of tea in the morning. Why not combine the tea with some chai tea oatmeal?! This oatmeal is warm, spicy, and energizing; the perfect thing to wake you up in the morning.

Chai Tea Oatmeal | Popcorn & Chocolate

Ingredients:

Serves 1

  • 1/2 cup oats
  • 1 cup milk or water (we used almond milk)
  • 1 chai tea bag
  • Toppings of your choice such as honey, nuts, fruit

 

Directions:

  1. Boil 1 cup of milk or water in a saucepan over medium heat.
  2. Add the oats and the tea bag and stir consistently for 5-10 minutes or until the liquid is gone.
  3. Take the tea bag out and top your oats with whatever you like!

 

Chai Tea Oatmeal | Popcorn & ChocolateThat’s it! A super simple recipe to change up your morning oats. We made ours with almond milk and found it creamy and delicious but feel free to just use water. If you prefer stronger chai tasting oats then you could put two tea bags in. We drizzled ours with some honey and pecans but you can throw on any toppings you prefer.

Is it excessive to also have a cup of tea with this oatmeal? Nah…Chai Tea Oatmeal | Popcorn & Chocolate

Tell us, what are your go to oatmeal toppings?

Lucky Charms Popcorn | Popcorn & Chocolate

Lucky Charms Popcorn

Lucky Charms Popcorn | Popcorn & ChocolateDid you know that the marshmallow bits in Lucky Charms are called marbits? In 1963 when Lucky Charms first came there were green clovers, pink hearts, orange stars, and yellow moon marbits. There have been numerous limited edition marbits since their release including a whale and crystal balls. Since 1963 only the pink heart remains from the original mar bit lineup.Lucky Charms Popcorn | Popcorn & ChocolateJust thought I would share some Lucky Charms factoids with you all. Sometimes I like to google random information to learn about the history…Lucky Charms Popcorn | Popcorn & ChocolateWant to know something else I learned in my “research”? In 1975, Lucky the Leprechaun almost got replaced with Waldo the Wizard. Imagine going to the grocery store to pick up your favorite cereal Waldo Charms with the blue whale and green pine tree marshmallows you love.Lucky Charms Popcorn | Popcorn & ChocolateFortunately for you, we aren’t here to just tell you random tidbits of information about Lucky Charms that I learned from the internet. We are actually here to share this delicious Lucky Charms popcorn recipe perfect for a little extra luck on St. Patrick’s day.Lucky Charms Popcorn | Popcorn & ChocolateThis popcorn is crunchy and sweet and just magically delicious! Give it a try, you will not be disappointed. We added some extra marshmallows to our bowls because everyone knows that’s the best part. Pots of gold and rainbows and the red balloon! Comment below on what your favorite cereal is and if we should turn it into popcorn! Also, let us know what marbit shape you would make if you could! Lucky Charms Popcorn | Popcorn & Chocolate

Lucky Charms Popcorn | Popcorn & Chocolate

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Green Smoothie | Popcorn & Chocolate

Grapefruit Green Smoothie

Grapefruit Green Smoothie | Popcorn & ChocolateRose and I sometimes like to play this hypothetical game where we choose a color and then list the types of food we would be able to eat if we could only eat foods that color. For example if the color was red you could eat red apples, strawberries, red peppers, tomato sauce, etc. etc. It’s rather fun and addicting although sometimes the yummiest colored food don’t lend well to a very healthy spectrum of foods (i.e. brown for nut butters and chocolate except what fruit or veg is brown..? Potatoes? lots and lots of potatoes).Grapefruit Green Smoothie | Popcorn & ChocolateGreen would be pretty nice to have because you would get some leaves, avocado, green apples, Brussels sprouts, pesto… lots of fresh foods, although sweets would be difficult to come by (Avocado pudding??). Although, now that I think of it if you like green apple flavored things you would be able to have those lollipops and hard candies. Green apple was my go to flavor for candy – especially with jolly ranchers, so I would be pretty smitten.Grapefruit Green Smoothie | Popcorn & ChocolateAnd if you chose green you would get to drink green smoothies, like this refreshing grapefruit green smoothie we have here. I mean just look at that lovely shade of green – doesn’t it make you so thirsty? There is something so refreshing about a green smoothie, especially after a workout – I can just feel the health benefits running through me. Sometimes I wonder if I’m too healthy at times… then I go eat chocolate and forget what I’m thinking about.Grapefruit Green Smoothie | Popcorn & ChocolateAnyways, back to green foods, in particular this green smoothie. It has spinach, grapefruit (yum!!), some banana and some mango and some coconut water and that’s it! Grapefruits are fast going out of season so I wanted to take advantage of them while I can, so I’ve started adding grapefruit juice to my smoothies. It adds a nice twist to the whole smoothie, and I wonder why I’ve haven’t been doing this all winter.Grapefruit Green Smoothie | Popcorn & ChocolateGrapefruit Green SmoothieRecipe_GrapefruitGreenSmoothie_P&C

Simple as simple can be. I guess I could do pretty well if I only had to eat/drink green foods…

Grapefruit Green Smoothie | Popcorn & Chocolate

What color of food would you chose if you could only eat one color of food?

Pina Colada Cashew Mixture

Pina Colada Cashew Mixture

I’ll spare you all and not start singing the song that always comes to mind whenever some says Pina Colada. I have a beautiful singing voice so you really will be missing something wonderful. Oh what the heck I’ll just go for it: “If you like Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain……” That’s all I know from the song. I think that’s all everyone knows from the song? If I’m wrong please tell me what comes next so I can continue to sing using my beautifully in tune voice. Rose is currently covering her ears wondering why someone brought a dying cat into the building..

Game Day Cashew Mixture

I do enjoy Pina Coladas. Not so sure about the second part of that lyric though.. Coconut, pineapple, what isn’t to love?

Plus, our Pina Colada mixture has bananas in it. I love me some bananas! And with 24 different health benefits of bananas I love them even more!

Pina Colada Cashew Mixture

With winter creeping in we have created a way to transport yourself back to the beach or pool or lawn chair in the 5 feet of grass you have on your lawn. Plus, with football season in full swing you can put this healthy snack out and munch on it and daydream away while your football loving spouse/friends/family yell profanities at the T.V. My kind of snack.

Pina Colada Cashew Mixture

For this healthy and tasty treat all you will need is:

  • 1 cup cashews
  • 2 teaspoons coconut oil
  • 1/2 cup sliced dried pineapple
  • 1/4 cup shredded coconut
  • 1/2 cup banana chips

To make:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
  2. Spread cashews out on a baking dish and evenly spread the coconut oil over them.
  3. Bake for 8-10 minutes total, flipping them halfway. They should be slightly browned.
  4. Toss together the cashews, pineapple bits, coconut, and banana chips

Pina Colada Cashew Mixture

There you have it: a tasty treat that only takes a couple of minutes that will allow you to enjoy the game just as much as the football fan you are living with. Of course you can also bring this mixture as a snack to work or school and dream of sunshine and blue skies while having to write up that paper you are working on. So if you like Pina Coladas… (don’t worry I’ll just sing it in my head this time) or if you just want a healthy treat full of delicious and health-packed foods you should make this treat!

Pina Colada Cashew Mixture

apple pie cookies | Popcorn & Chocolate

Apple Pie Cookies

 

IMG_9303Just over a week ago I was on vacation… sitting by a warm fire, relaxing in front of the tv with a warm cup of tea. And now is the first week back at work and it’s just as rough as I thought it would be. I did have one thing to look forward to: the new season of The Bachelor. With my friends at work, we pick Bachelor fantasy teams and earn points for different things that the contestants do each episode. It makes it that much more fun to watch, so I was pretty excited to see the premier last Monday with my, as it turned out, less than rock-star team. I won’t give away any spoilers in case you haven’t watched yet, but am I the only one who is surprised by some of the girls Ben sent home?? Anyways, that really got me through Monday.

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And now I’m sitting in my apartment on the coldest day of the winter so far (windchill put us at -2 this morning) dreaming of these deliciously warm apple pie cookies. For Christmas, I made these eggnog snickerdoodles, these healthy thin mints, and these chocolate chunk gingerbread cookies. But that wasn’t enough, so I came up with these apple pie cookies as a lighter sweet treat.

apple pie cookies | Popcorn & ChocolateThey are cinnamony and appley and soft. I made them at home and my mom was dipping them in toffee sauce, which was delicious! So feel free to add toffee to these if you want. Also, I rolled these cookies in cinnamon and white sugar before baking since I didn’t have raw sugar on hand, but if you want to make them refined sugar free, use raw turbinado sugar instead. These cookies are perfect to satisfy your sweet tooth but still keep you on track with your healthy new years goals.

apple cookies | Popcorn & ChocolateYield: 10-12 cookies; Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1/3 cup chopped apples (about half inch cubes)

Cinnamon Sugar Dip:

  • 2 tablespoons white sugar (or turbinado sugar)
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients until well combined (flour through coconut sugar). Stir in the vanilla extract, applesauce, coconut oil, and honey until combined. Finally, fold in the chopped apples. The dough will be sticky. In a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon to dip the cookies into. Use a spoon to gather tablespoon sized balls, flatten, and carefully roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture, then place on the parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

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