Got the Munchies?

I love, love, love munching on crunchy, salty, nutty stuff. While I have nothing against the standard Chex Party Mix, there are many other options for crunchy snacking. I almost never buy any type of premade snack mix. They are too salty and don't have much flavor - and they never, never put enough nuts in for me. The regular packaged Chex Mix doesn't have any nuts. What's up with that?

Here are a few of my favorite snack mix recipes. They are all quick and easy to make, and they taste really great. Try one (or all of them) to snack on or to give as gifts.

Oriental Cashew Crunch
I cut this recipe off my cereal box many years ago. It's my favorite snack mix recipe.

1 16 oz box (8 cups) Quaker Oat Squares Cereal
1 3 oz can chow mein noodles
1 1/2 cups cashews
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

Heat oven to 250. Mix cereal, noodles and cashews in a 13 x 9 pan. In a small bowl, mix oil, soy sauce, garlic powder and onion powder. Pour over cereal mixture tossing to coat. Bake at 250 for one hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Cool.

Sweet and Crunchy Nuts
This recipe came from a Splenda magazine ad. You can also use the same amount of regular sugar instead of the Splenda.

3/4 cup pecan halves
3/4 cup walnut halves
1/2 cup whole, blanched almonds
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/3 cup Splenda (or sugar)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300. Spray a 15 x 10 x 1 jelly roll pan with cooking spray.

Combine pecans, walnuts and almonds in a mixing bowl. Add egg white and toss to coat. Combine splenda (or sugar) and cinnamon; sprinkle over nuts; toss to coat. Spread mixture evenly in prepared pan.

Bake 30 minutes or until nuts are toasted, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool on waxed paper. Store in an airtight tin.

Mexican Munch
I don't remember where this recipe came from. It's got all kinds of goodies in it and a bit of a kick. Try some of the different seasoning mixes like chipotle flavor for a change from the standard taco flavor.

1 4 oz can shoe string potato sticks
1 3 oz can french fried onions
2 cups Corn Chex cereal
1 cup Cheerios cereal
1 cup chow mein noodles
3/4 cup peanuts
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1/4 - 1/3 envelope taco seasoning
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 250. Combine all ingredients, except seasoning and butter in a 9 x 13 pan. Stir seasoning into butter and pour over cereal mixture, tossing to coat. Bake at 250 for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool.