I know I have mentioned this many times before, but in my family I’m the sweet lover, and my husband is the salt lover.  This really poses a problem those evenings when we sit down and are both looking for a snack to eat together.  Seriously.  Who thought it would be so hard!?  Here’s a typical conversation in our home one of those evenings:

Me: “What you would like for a snack, hon?”

Hubby: “Mmmm…do we have any microwave popcorn, or chips, or snack mix?”

Me: “No.  You ate it all.  How about some cookies or chocolate?”

Hubby: “Nah.”

(and of course it’s not romantic enough to each have your own snack)

Me: “Well…I can make some Muddy Buddy Popcorn?”

Hubby: “Alright”

Me: *I rush to the kitchen knowing that I secretly won this battle, but he’s happy just because it contains popcorn *

I am seriously a Muddy Buddy LOVER!  I could eat it all day and all night if it didn’t give me the terrible tummy aches that I get when I end up eating too many :/  However, I just don’t normally have chex cereal on hand.  It’s not really a staple in my house.  We don’t eat it, and literally the only thing we would use it for would be Muddy Buddies.

Now popcorn: that’s another story.  We have lots of popcorn at our house.  The microwave kind is sort of coveted (it’s more expensive, and more of a “treat”), but we always have a TON of popcorn kernels on hand.

One day, a few years ago, I thought I had the makings for Muddy Buddies, and I started making the chocolate/peanut butter mixture before pulling out the cereal.  All was well until I went to my cereal cupboard…and saw NO CEREAL!  AHHHH!!!  I needed a quick substitute, and thought that popcorn would do the trick, and that is how this recipe came about.  I have used it and loved it ever since.  I seem to make it about once a month, just for some good ol’ snackin’!  And the entire bowl full can never last more than a whole day….

Muddy Buddy Popcorn
Ingredients:
9 cups air popped popcorn
1 cup chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate, but semi-sweet will also work)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Remove all un-popped kernels from popcorn.  Place in large bowl.
2. Microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter for 1 min on 50% power.  Stir.  Continue microwaving at 50% power in 30 sec. intervals until melted and smooth.
3. Stir vanilla into chocolate.
4. Pour chocolate over popcorn and stir until evenly coated.
5. Add powdered sugar (add more or less as desired) and stir until evenly coated.  Enjoy!