Foodie Friday: The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora!

Muppets KitchenI headed to the Disney Studios yesterday in beautiful downtown Burbank to help celebrate the launch of The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora!

As a huge fan of Swedish Chefs and Iron Chefs, I was thrilled with the invite and opportunity. The Muppets Kitchen is a wonderful new online video series starring celebrity chef Cat Cora and Muppet Chef Angelo (who, with his thick Italian accent, is clearly not Swedish). However, Chef Angelo is a close friend and apprentice to the Swedish Chef and, as I quickly learned, is just as entertaining and lovable.  His cooking skills, however, are questionable.

The online videos, which are featured on Disney’s Family.com and Disney.go.com websites, are not only entertaining to watch but are filled with helpful cooking tips and ideas for little eaters. As a mom herself, Cat Cora has a ton of ideas for healthy and delicious food that even the pickiest eater will enjoy. There are no surprises and sneaky methods with her recipes. Cat believes that educating your children about what’s in their food and where it’s from is the best way to go. As she explained to the audience, knowing the ingredients of her food and trying everything at least once has not only expanded her own palate but helped her become the incredible chef she is today.

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Watching Cat Cora, Chef Angelo, and Pepe explain how to make trail mix popcorn

Cat and Angelo demonstrated how to make a delicious snack called Trail Mix Popcorn. You can make the popcorn with the nuts and dried fruit on their own or add the melted sugar, corn syrup, and butter for an extra treat. Either way, it’s going to taste great! It’s a Moms and Muppets approved snack. Check it out!

Cat Cora and Chef Angelo’s Trail Mix Popcorn

Yield: About 10 cups

Ingredients

    1 (2.9 oz.) bag microwave popcorn, popped according to package instructions (or 6 oz. store-bought pre-popped popcorn)
    1 cup raisins
    1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
    1/2 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries
    1 cup granulated sugar
    1/2 cup light corn syrup
    2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
    1/4 cup finely chopped pecans, walnuts, or peanuts
    1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

  1. In a large bowl sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, add the popped popcorn along with the raisins, apricots and cranberries. Set aside.
  2. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the sugar and corn syrup. Once melted, stir in the butter, nuts, sunflower seeds, and cinnamon until combined. Remove the pan from the heat.
  3. Carefully drizzle the melted sugar mixture over the popcorn, stirring constantly until all ingredients are fully combined and coated.
  4. Allow to cool completely before serving. Note, the popcorn will be a sticky treat.

Please click on the video to see more of Cat Cora and Chef Angelo in action!

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