Ooey Gooey Popcorn Treat For My Young Women

Back To School Centerpiece and Young Women Back To School Send-Off Treat Recipe (It involves Sweetened Condensed milk....enough said!

At Church last Sunday, we had a "Back To School" Send Off for the Young Women. When the girls entered the Young Women room, this Centerpiece was on the table with some Back To School Decorations. It is just Die-Cut School Busses attached to wooden skewers. I stuck them in a basic green plant and voila! It created the tone for the Send Off! I also used smaller Die-cut School Busses for Gift Tags on the individual for each girl.

We held regular class which was dismissed 5 minutes early so the girls could gather again for their Send Off and Treat. I made Ooey Gooey Popcorn (recipe below) and placed it in brightly colored Chinese Take Out style containters for each girl. Each leader and teacher wrote a personal note to the girls in their age group. The notes were attached along with a School Bus Die Cut (same as the centerpiece) with each girl's name of the School Bus. The School Bus Die Cut was attached to a card that said :

"We Wish You A School Year 'Popping' With Fun Excitement, and Learning

Our Love and Prayers Go With You Every Day"

Love, Your Young Women Leaders and Teachers

Our Young Women President gave the girls a beautiful Back To School Send Off message and away they went... another school year. It was like a "Spiritual Pep-Rally" to remind the girls of how much we love and support them as they make daily choices during this school year.

As I was writing the notes to my 12-13 year old girls, I was contemplating a small gift I could give each one of them in addition to the popcorn. The one gift I knew I was to give them was prayer. I committed to each girl that I would pray for her, by name, every school day this year. There can never be too many people praying for a person. It is amazing to me how much love I feel for each girl as I pray for her by name. This is how service is, we love those we serve!
Ooey Gooey Popcorn

2 Cups Brown Sugar

1C Light Corn Syrup (Like Karo)

1/2 Cup (1 stick) Butter

1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk

8-10 Quarts Popped Popcorn (Air-popped is best)

Combine Brown Sugar, Corn Syrup, and Butter in small saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat to a boil. Bring to Soft-Ball Stage (drop a small amount of the hot mixture in to a cup of cold water, if it forms a soft ball, it is done) Remove from the heat and add Sweetened Condensed Milk (Yes!!!) Stir well and pour a little at a time over the popcorn, stirring to coat each piece with the mixture. This is very very stick (hence, ooey-gooey) and become soggy quickly. To make it less sticky, spread coated popcorn on 2 large baking sheets. Place in 250* oven for about 10 minutes-watch closely and stir every 2-3 minutes. As soon as you see the popcorn turning light gold, remove it. This last step also helps the popcorn last a few days without getting soggy. Store in airtight containers. ENJOY!