Crock Pot Ranch Corn Chips

I had a bag of Fritos that were headed toward expiration.  I bought them for the winter and the snow day that never was where I was going to sleep in and then make frito pie.  But....summer is almost here, so I'll get over the lack of snow now and look forward to the sun.  I saw this recipe via recipesthatcrock and decided to give it a go to jazz up these little corn chips.  

Ingredients:  9.75 oz bag of corn chips, 1/2 c butter (melted), 1 pkg dry ranch dip mix

Instructions:  Pour corn chips into a 6 qt crock pot.  Mix the melted butter and ranch dip.  Pour over the chips and stir as you pour (until well coated).  Cook UNCOVERED for 2 hrs, stirring every 20 minutes or so.  Spread them on wax paper or foil to cool.  Store in airtight container.  

Sweet and Spicey Snack Mix

This summer I discovered one of my pals is a genius snack mix maker.  I had her share her very favorite recipes with me.  I tried out this one for a work get together and...yum!  I love the sweet with just an undertone of spice you probably wouldn't even notice if you didn't know it was in there.  The original recipe calls for just 6 cups of crispex, but she said she does 8 so it's not overly saturated, so I followed her steps because I trust her judgment on these matters....I've had her other mixes!  

Ingredients:  8 c. crispix cereal, 1 c. pecan halves (unsalted), 1 c. pretzels (any shape), 3/4 c. brown sugar (lightly packed), 1/2 t. cayenne pepper, 1 1/2 sticks of butter (3/4 c).  

Instructions:  

1.  Place cereal, nuts, and pretzels into a big bowl and toss together.  

2.  Melt butter in a small pan over the stove on medium.  Add brown sugar and cayenne pepper.  Stir together and bring to a boil.  Let boil for 1 minute.  

3.  Pour butter mix over crispex mix and toss together.  

4.  Pour mix  on a lightly greased cookie sheet (I covered mine with foil to help with clean up).  Place in preheat 350 degree oven.  Bake for 8 minutes.  Stir around.  Return to oven for another 8 minutes.  

5.  Pull out and let cool for at least 45 minutes before storing in an airtight container for up to two weeks.  

1

1/2 tsp

cayenne pepper

1 1/2 stick

butter

Susan's Cracker Mix

Last June I headed to a retreat and the gal we put in charge of bring some snacks did NOT disappoint.  This recipe made a huge bowl....and we put it to good use.  This is a recipe I'm not losing!  It sounds so simple, but it is soooooo delicious!

Susan's Cracker Mix

Ingredients:  2 boxes of chedder ritz bits, 1 boxes of white cheddar cheese its, 1 box of wheat thins, 1 c. of canola oil, 1 (1 oz) pkg of dry ranch seasoning mix.
Instructions:  
1.  Take a large pan (like a disposable turkey pan) and mix the crackers, oil and seasoning.
2.  Bake at 225 for 2 hours (stirring every 30 minutes) and then leave the crackers in the oven over night (or for a few hours) to dry.
3.  Store in an airtight container.

Reindeer: Cinnamon Sugar Reindeer Pretzel Mix

 I found these little reindeer buckets at Target and I decided to make a mix that looked like deer antlers and red noses for some of the staff members at my work....if you are creative....and being creative is a good thing you can imagine this is reindeer trail mix. 
For the Cinnamon Pretzel Mix....
1/2 c. sugar (divided), 2 t. cinnamon, 1 stick butter (melted), 16 oz pretzels, red M&Ms. 
 Preheat oven to 250. In a large bowl whisk half the sugar, all the cinnamon, and the melted butter.
 Add the pretzels and toss.

 Put the pretzels in a single layer on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and sprinkle with the remaining half of the sugar. Bake for 10 minutes.

 Cool. Add red M&M's and enjoy.

Teacher Appreciation: Wormy Apple Snacks

I guess this isn't exactly a teacher gift, but it's a cute school idea, and I just couldn't not post it.  I saw this idea a few months ago here.  I love apples and peanut butter, and I guess I need to add worms to that list too b/c the whole package is yum!  I sliced an apple in half, cored out the seeds with a melon scoop, and created a little hole for a worm (you can do this with a fat straw (like the slurpee straw, but I just used a knife).  I then added about 1 T. of Peanut Butter to the center. 

I then popped the lid back on to the apple, and I ate it.  If I wanted to save this for a few hours before eating/giving it away, but prevent the apple from turning, someone gave me the great tip that you can dip apples in sprite or 7-up to keep it from turning, but avoid the bitterness of the lemon/water bath. 

Homemade Strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups

I saw this recipe for homemade fruit roll-ups here. I love dehydrated fruit everything. I know, I know....more calories blah blah blah....but it doesn't stop me from loving it!!! When strawberries went on sale, I went down and grabbed a few pounds. I actually halved the recipe, but I'll share the full recipe, and some adjustments I'll be making next time. I messed this up enough that I almost didn't share it, so stay with me for the 'don't do this if you like this idea' part or you will hate me, BUT it was soooo tasty...I had to share. I'm keeping this recipe, and I'll be making the adjustments I'll include below next time I do make this...which will be the next time strawberries go on sale!
Ingredients:
4 pounds of strawberries
1 c. of sugar
Juice of one lemon
Parchment paper
Instructions:
1. Remove the hulls from the strawberries (all the pictures you see are half of the ingredients, so...imagine this doubled if you want to do the whole recipe).

2. Place strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar in a blender...and blend until smooth.

3. Place blend into a sauce pan. Bring it to a boil, stir the whole time. Skim the white 'stuff' off the top after you lower it to a simmer.

4. Continue to simmer for about 45 minutes. I check it every 10 minutes or so, did a little more 'white stuff skimming'....stirring....and watching. Once it is about the same thickness as apple sauce....it's ready for the next step.

5. This is the first step I'd do differently. I laid down on sheet of parchment paper across a pan. I would cut long strips (imagine the 'fruit by the foot parchment paper'....or smaller squares so that things cooked more evenly. I'd then spoon the mix along my strips of parchment paper. Leaving a little white on the edges. It was thick enough that it didn't spread so much that it spilled, so that's good. Here is what I actually did....

The problem with this is it didn't cook evenly, and the sides got a little overdone while the center was finishing baking. As you can see, 2 pounds covered an entire baking sheet, so you'd need even more room for 4 pounds.
6. Bake for 7 hours at 170 degrees. Yes, you read that right...7 hours...so, overnight. I actually had to bake it about 4 hours longer so the middle would not be sticky, but I think if I make it in smaller strips that won't be a problem. When you can touch the middle, and it doesn't come away as a liquid, they are ready to come out.

7. Cook, and roll. (I had to roll, and then cut mine apart, which left them less neat than the example. I also had to trim off the edges.) This recipe is very yummy, it's worth another try in my book. Half the recipe made 10 width to width, rolled up fruit leathers.