Snack Mix 6 Ways (Friday Frivolity, Trail Mix Edition)

It's time for this week's edition of Friday Frivolity - the blog party for all things fun, funny, hopeful & happy!

Just wait until you see what we dug up for this week's theme...




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At last week's party, we marked the date Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D.

 Today is National Trail Mix Day, so I'm sharing some of my favorite snack mix recipes, which are perfect for the football season that's kicking off this weekend!

I've actually been planning to share these with you for a couple of years now. I usually whip up enormous batches of these mixes to give for Christmas gifts, but last year, I skipped the whole process, mainly because all those nuts were just way out of our budget.

 So I put the post off even longer to wait on photos, but I've decided that you need to have these recipes right now, photos or no photos.

 Besides, they all pretty much end up looking the same, anyway. 

 They turn out looking just like snack mix.


First, you need to decide what to include in your snack mix. You might not want to include fruits in a fiery mix, but I pretty much use whatever I have handy at the moment to create the flavor snack we're in the mood for.

 Second, you can run pretty fast and loose with the amounts of each ingredient, depending on whether you want your mix to be more carb/nut/fruit heavy... (I typically do a cup of nuts, a cup of fruit, then 6 cups of a combo of the other stuff, but we've also enjoyed an even nut/fruit/carb mix, as well.)

 The main thing to remember is to keep the snack ingredient-to-fat ratio at 2:1 (sort of). If you've got 8 cups of snacky stuff, you'll want 4 Tablespoons of oil or melted butter. Using 6 cups of snacky stuff? 3 Tablespoons of fat.

 You get the idea.

 Now, for each recipe, I'm giving you the seasoning amounts for 4 Tablespoons of fat, which will allow you to make adjustments based on how much mix you're in the mood to munch. 

Ideas for Snacky Supplies

  • cereal (plain varieties are best for this, like shredded wheat, Cheerios, Chex, or flakes)
  • nuts (peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, you name it -- or include a mixture of several!)
  • pretzels (twists, sticks -- whatever floats your boat)
  • crackers (Cheese-Its, goldfish, those yummy little toasted pumpernickel slices, croutons, oyster crackers, wheat thins, rice crackers -- whatever isn't too flavorful already and will add a satisfying crunch)
  • popcorn (plain, please)
  • dried veggies (dried peas are the most common, but anything dehydrated would work)
  • dried fruit (raisins and craisins are what we use the most, but again, anything diced up out of the dehydrator would work)


Seasoning Ingredients

Classic

1 envelope Italian or Ranch dressing mix, 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

BBQ

1 teaspoon sugar/honey, 2 teaspoons paprika, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke, 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 

Asian

1 Tablespoon sugar/honey, 1 Tablespoon curry powder, 1 Tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper, 1/4 teaspoon wasabi powder

Gingersnap

1/2 cup sugar/honey, 2 Tablespoons molasses, 2 teaspoon grated lemon peel, 1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Seafood

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice, 2 teaspoons Tabasco-type hot sauce

Deviled

3 Tablespoons sugar/honey, 1 Tablespoon paprika, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon curry, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon coriander, 1 teaspoon red pepper, 1 teaspoon salt


What You Do

1. Dump all your snacky stuff into a giant bowl. 

 2. Mix your chosen fat with any other liquids. Pour over the snacky stuff and mix it around and around and around until you've got everything as coated as possible. 

 3. Mix up all the dry flavor ingredients and shake over your snacky stuff. Stir this around and around and around until everything's coated as much as possible. 

 4. Pour the mix out into glass baking dishes or even onto baking sheets (how many you need depends on how much mix you're making, but you'll want it all in a fairly shallow layer) and bake at 300 degrees for at least 30 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes.

 **I also make these in the slow cooker. I like to use that option for several reasons: 1) Only one thing gets dirty. 2) It takes less energy to use than heating up the whole oven. 3) It's way easier to set my timer and walk over and stir the pot every quarter hour than to keep lifting pans in and out of the oven. You'll want to make sure to vent the lid while this cooks, to keep things from getting too soggy. (Also, I do find that this mix cools best when poured out onto baking sheets at the end, so I guess technically I end up washing other dishes, but it's not so bad.)

 5. How long you cook/bake everything for depends on how much you're making, but just keep stirring and checking on it all until it seems as crispy as you want it.

 6. Once you're done with the heat, give your mix plenty of time to fully cool down before packing it all into whatever airtight container you'll be storing it in. The main reason is because you don't want any moisture trapped in that bag or container, because a soggy snack mix is no fun.

So now I ask you, which one of these snack mixes do you want to try first? 

Now time for the new stuff!


The Hosts:



Host, Lisa, Friday Frivolity Superbowl / Football Memes Edition! (Sort of, Not Really... ;P) Plus the Friday Frivolity LINKY PARTY - the blog link-up for all things Fun, Funny, Happy, and Hopeful!

  Lisa is an awesomely hilarious and authentic writer who marches to her own drum on her blog Syncopated Mama, providing an "un-labelly spot" for all the happily off-beat folks out there who have been wishing to find kindred spirits. She shares her adventures building a natural home, teaching her adorbs daughter, establishing and refining positive communication skills, camping, creating, cooking, and so much more! Lisa recently wrote about her all the fantastic fun Peg + Cat-themed birthday party she threw for her daughter...you've gotta check it out!



Amethyst is a fantastically encouraging and thoughtful blogger, who shares new-mama adventures, self-care advice, book and product reviews and so much more over at One Sage Mama. Her most recent post is a review of a great new natural toothpaste.  


Twitter // Facebook // Google + // Pinterest

Lindsay is a fabulously fun blogger who shares her attempts at cooking, DIY, and trying to be a fashionable mom over at Crazy About Expresso. Her most recent post is sharing a review of her latest Stitch Fix Box. 




Calling all bloggers looking for an upbeat and supportive group of pals to join in hosting the weekly #FridayFrivolity par-tay!  We are hoping to add to our ranks of dedicated hosts and co-hosts, and would love for you to consider joining the fun!  Co-Hosts are welcome on a temporary basis (usually a month), while Hosts make a more ongoing commitment.  :)  Swing by here to express interest and ask any questions! 



Featured Post from Last Week:

In a fun twist, since we have multiple hosts and co-hosts we will also have multiple features.... but you will have to go check out the other blogs to see if you were featured there!  ;)    

     


The featured post for Syncopated Mama this week is........



The Perfect Vacation for an Imperfect Family, from MicheleMorin.com. My camping-crazy self is still shaking my head over this story -- it beats any we have, that's for sure!

 If you want your jaw to drop, pop on over and check it out.




Now, the new stuff! 


This a link-up for all things funny, fun, encouraging, hopeful, and happy. That includes free printables, giveaways, and other fun stuff to make us SMILE and start the weekend off on the right foot. If you're here in search of fun and uplifting reading materials, skip the rules and just start clickin'! Bloggy buddies, thanks for coming to par-tay! You are welcome to link up to 3 posts, and old posts are always welcome! 






We're so happy you're here! Let's have some fun!



What fun do you have planned for the weekend?  I'd love to hear!  Either leave a comment below or email me at lisahealy (at) outlook (dot) com.

Also, if you don't want to miss a single minute of great tips like this and all the fun around here, be sure to sign up for free updates and then look forward to having each post delivered right to your inbox.


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