Hot Crackers and Chex Mix spice up the night

By Heather Holland
Western Herald

My friends, roommates and I have begun to gather as a group for game night on Saturday evenings, which basically means my friends and I are too cheap to go out to eat or hit the bar. My roommates and I try to have something to munch on during heated rounds of “Scene It” so the guys stop whining about losing to a team of girls.

Chips and salsa or hummus and pita chips are simple to serve, but I would rather feed my friends something homemade and wash everything down with a communal batch of margaritas or a box of wine.
I know that these crackers may sound unusual, but the kick from the red pepper flakes is addicting! Dip them in homemade ranch dressing to cut the heat.

(Heather Holland / Western Herald) Hot crackers and Chex Mix

Hot Crackers

1 ½ cups oil
1 packet ranch dressing mix
2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes

Mix together and combine with one box of unsalted Crispy saltines. This dressing is great with veggies, as a chip dip or on a salad.

Grandma’s Ranch Dressing

1 quart regular mayo
1 quart plain yogurt
1 envelope powdered ranch-dressing mix
1 tablespoon dill weed

Mix all together. Add ranch dressing mix while tasting to adjust flavor.
Using a packaged seasoning mix may seem like cheating, but it really does yield the best result.

The Original Chex Mix

6 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 Chex party mix seasoning pack
3 cups corn chex cereal
3 cups rice chex cereal
3 cups wheat chex ceral
1 cup mixed nuts
1 cup pretzels
1 cup garlic-flavor bite-size bagel chips

Heat oven to 250 degrees. Melt margarine in large roasting pan. Stir in contents of seasoning pack. Gradually stir in remaining ingredients until evenly coated. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container. Makes 12 cups.

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=1015

Posted by HeraldAdmin on Oct 1 2008. Filed under Recipe, Weekend Scene. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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