OK, I feel like an idiot. All these years, I’ve had every possible contraption for popping my own popcorn, from the air popper to those weird over-the-stove contraptions. We finally settled on the Alton Brown method for making it, but I didn’t like using up aluminum foil every time. I’ve heard of the paper bag method, but again, didn’t want to waste that.

So when I saw this pin on Pinterest for a product specifically designed for popping popcorn I thought, ‘Well then why can’t you just do that with ANY glass bowl?’ So I took on the challenge, came up with my own strategy WITHOUT buying any special contraptions, and it worked out GREAT! Now I will be throwing away my air popper and with that extra space for an appliance, maybe I will treat myself to a donut maker!

So for the first step, I put about 1/4 to 1/3 cup popcorn kernels n a glass bowl. I put mine in this awesome Pampered Chef bowl I got as a wedding gift (LOVE this bowl), but you can use any bowl:

Then put some kind of lid loosely on it. It needs to be loose because of the air pressure. You could use the top of a Tupperware container and rest it on top, or even an empty cereal box. I just used my lid and didn’t secure it on all the way:

I put mine in for 4 minutes and just listened for when the popping finished. I tried the popcorn setting on the microwave, but found it needed a little more time than that:

And then…..? MAGIC! Be careful, the container may be hot.

I sprinkle on some popcorn salt (and sometimes butter if I want to splurge), pop the lid back on, and give it a shake. The popcorn salt is just salt that I put into the blender and blend until it is a powder.

And then serve it up to the family.

So, are you feeling as silly as I am for not knowing this all these years?

Please do not hold me liable if this doesn’t work or you have some kind of popcorn explosion in your microwave. I can only say it worked for me and I hope it does for you!