GCC: Our Party Mix

Okay, okay so this is definitely one of our "lower brow" contributions as the Foodie Couple to date. But this month for Gutsy Cooks Club given how incredibly busy this time of year is for both cooking, entertaining and gatherings our weekly assignment is to share holiday favorites. Perfect, because we are currently making 'our' holiday favorites.

This is one of our traditional favorites that G requests year after year and that it's made as soon as the turkey leftovers are finished. Yes, it's Chex mix. And everyone has their own personal take on making this party snack mix their own.

For us, you may not be surprised to learn, our version has got some KICK! Pretty much if your mouth isn't experiencing a little heat reaction after your first few bites you can be sure it's not our version.

We basically add the usual and then a little extra...

yep, you guessed it habanero sauce, chipotle pepper and cayenne are all included (as you can see I pretty much emptied the chipotle bottle with after this batch.)

We start off traditionally with a cube of butter melted with a bit of Worcestershire sauce...then the spicing begins with a few dashes of habanero sauce. We let that all melt and meld together before adding generous dashes of onion & garlic powder then a some a bit of chile & chipotle powder, cayenne and Extra hot Mrs. Dash.

Once all the flavors are married we add the pretzel sticks and cheese crackers (some times Cheez Its, some times goldfish, sometimes both), melba toasts ( A requirement for G), and then corn, rice & wheat Chex cereals. No peanuts or sweet candies for us. Usually the pretzels and melba toasts are the first to be gone.

It truly is a favorite around here, great to take along for the ride home from the mountain, great for a snack after a long day of shopping and a great treat to enjoy while trimming the tree. We just made our first of at least 2-3 batches of the season!

G&T's Version of Party Mix (no exact measurements here, it's pretty much different each time, but essentially this is what we use)

1 cube butter

3-4 Tblspns Worcestershire Sauce

A few dashes of habanero sauce

3-4 Tblspns both Garlic & Onion Powder

A few dashes Extra Hot Mrs. Dash

 A  dash or so cayenne pepper

Another dash or so chipotle pepper

A dash of chile powder

2 cups pretzels

1 cup melba toast

1-2 cup cheese crackers (cheez its or goldfish or combo of both)

3-4 cups Chex cereal combination

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Melt butter and liquid sauces in large  roasting pan. Once melted add spices, pretzels, crackers & cereal. Cook 15 and then mix. Do this 3 more times (approximately an hour cooking time.) Place to dry on paper towels. Enjoy!