Recipes

[Honeybit]

'Tis the season for Chex Party Mix, and I got involved in a search for the ORIGINAL "Original" Chex Party Mix from back before Bagel Chips were invented.  I'll include what I found here, but I'd like to know what are your favorite snack mix recipes to make and serve during the Holiday Season?

                                          *  *  *

"The true original recipe came from an ad that ran in the June 1952 edition of Life Magazine. Yes, back then people actually read physical magazines, so all it took was one ad like that to spur a revolution which has now lasted six decades and counting. Not to mention, spawning sweet versions like puppy chow and more recently, spicy versions with cayenne pepper and sriracha and chai tea.

Rumor has it that the inventor of the first recipe was the wife of a Ralston Purina executive (the company who made the cereal, before General Mills bought it). She brought the mix to a holiday function in St. Louis, or so the story goes. And the rest is history -- or at least myth!

From the Life Magazine ad:

Wonderful Nibbling at Snack-Time

Try this new PARTY MIX.

Melt 1/3 cup butter in shallow baking pan. Stir in 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.  Add 2 cups Wheat Chex, 2 cups Rice Chex, and 1/2 cup nuts.  Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp garlic salt; mix well.  Heat 30 minutes in 300° oven, stirring every 10 minutes.  Cool.

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This recipe debuted in the 1950s. The version here is from the back of a box of Corn Chex cereal from the 1970s (which included a picture of those wonderful "Uncola" upside-down 7UP glasses).

CHEX PARTY MIX RECIPE

6 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 cups Corn Chex cereal

2 cups Rice Chex cereal

2 cups Wheat Chex cereal

1-1/2 cups Planter’s mixed nuts

Melt butter or margarine in shallow pan over low heat. Stir in seasoned salt and Worcestershire.  Add Chex and Planter’s mixed nuts.  Mix until all pieces are coated.  Heat in 250-degree oven for 45 minutes.  Stir every 15 minutes.  Spread out on absorbent paper to cool.

Makes 7-1/2 cups.

Then serve with plenty of light, refreshing 7UP.

[QVCkitty1]

I've. made this for years. A couple of years ago I found these unsalted mixed nuts  at CVS. And I used them instead of the salted variety. I liked it better and no one seemed to notice.

[Kachina624]

I've tried all kinds of versions of this mix,  but I always go back to the original and like it the best.   I was just thinking I'd like to make some this year. 

[Desertdi]

If you want a real diet-buster..........my grandma used to fry pecans in salted butter.......................

[Sassy7356]

Ranch Oyster Crackers

Ingredients

• 2½ tablespoons freshly chopped dill (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 16-oz. box oyster crackers (5 cups)
• 1 1-oz. packet Hidden Valley Original Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix
• ¼ teaspoon lemon pepper (optional), and/or garlic powder

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 250°F.
2. In a small bowl, add the oil, Hidden Valley Original Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix, dill, and lemon pepper and/or garlic powder. Stir until mixed through.
3. In a 1-gallon-size baggie, add the crackers and oil mixture.
4. Seal the bag and toss until well-coated.
5. Arrange the crackers on an ungreased half-sheet pan in a single layer.
6. Bake the crackers for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden.

[mustang66lady]

@Honeybit

I've lived in the St. Louis area most of my 60 years.  I can't confirm or not the claim that Chex Party Mix was created here in St. Louis but I do know that we love it here!   I don't know anyone who doesn't do their own version of party mix.  I made my own twists for it when I was 16 and have made it every year since.  DH was just asking when am I going to make "The Mix?!"   It's a huge production here as I make all the cereal and mix in's up-I hated having several open boxes of cereal and snacks sitting around. 

Muddy Buddys or Puppy Chow is also a big deal and so are all the versions that come along.  I also make a mix called White Christmas Trash that contains the Chex cereals, holiday M&M's, pretzels and peanuts all covered in white almond bark.  St. Louis is a town all about the Chex! 

[susielong]

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@Sassy7356 wrote:

Ranch Oyster Crackers

Ingredients

• 2½ tablespoons freshly chopped dill (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 16-oz. box oyster crackers (5 cups)
• 1 1-oz. packet Hidden Valley Original Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix
• ¼ teaspoon lemon pepper (optional), and/or garlic powder

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 250°F.
2. In a small bowl, add the oil, Hidden Valley Original Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix, dill, and lemon pepper and/or garlic powder. Stir until mixed through.
3. In a 1-gallon-size baggie, add the crackers and oil mixture.
4. Seal the bag and toss until well-coated.
5. Arrange the crackers on an ungreased half-sheet pan in a single layer.
6. Bake the crackers for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden.

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Love these and have also made it using pretzel rods broken into inch size pieces 

[Cookie2025]

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@Desertdi wrote:

If you want a real diet-buster..........my grandma used to fry pecans in salted butter.......................

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... or try to justify the pecans and salted butter as being good for you since they 'protein'  not Carbs   - The Atkins Diet !  

[ID2]

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@Sassy7356 wrote:

Ranch Oyster Crackers

Ingredients

• 2½ tablespoons freshly chopped dill (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 16-oz. box oyster crackers (5 cups)
• 1 1-oz. packet Hidden Valley Original Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix
• ¼ teaspoon lemon pepper (optional), and/or garlic powder

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 250°F.
2. In a small bowl, add the oil, Hidden Valley Original Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix, dill, and lemon pepper and/or garlic powder. Stir until mixed through.
3. In a 1-gallon-size baggie, add the crackers and oil mixture.
4. Seal the bag and toss until well-coated.
5. Arrange the crackers on an ungreased half-sheet pan in a single layer.
6. Bake the crackers for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden.

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I've made a variation of these for years! Aren't they good? Yummmm

[cookinfreak]

Love the ranch crackers also. I always throw in some cocktail peanuts too.

cookin