I’d planned to post this on the 19th, but clearly that day sailed on past me without acknowledgement. I was even going to have a little Christmas post with Murdock covered in bows, but I couldn’t make it happen.

It pains me to remind you, but Cody and I are living with my grandparents right now (love them, don’t love being fake adults). My grandparents are hosting Christmas and New Years this year for my entire family (from out of town), plus their spouses and kids. We are stuffing 18 people into 6 bedrooms and it’s absolutely insane. I mean wonderful. Honestly, I love it, but I’ve been helping my grandma clean and coordinate and figure out how to feed 18 people for a week and a half and I underestimated the magnitude of the project. I also overestimated my ability to blog while I have babies to snuggle and beasts to roast and an infinite pile of dishes that need doing…counters that need wiping… Surely you understand.

Before the motley crew flew in from their respective corners of the country I had the good sense to make a gigantic batch of party mix, and it has done us well. It’s a perfect, substantial snack for those stretches of time between our breakfasts-at-noon and dinners, whenever they end up being. My version is punchy, with mustard and cayenne and a bag of french-fried onions because they’re awesome. Why should green beans have all the fun anyway?

Ultimate Party Mix

Ingredients:

-1 stick butter
-1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
-1 tsp dijon mustard
-1 tsp dry dill
-1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt (like lawry’s)
-1 clove garlic
-1/4 tsp cayenne
-5-6 cups rice chex
-4 cups cheez its and pretzels (together, NOT individually – in your preferred ratio)
-1/2 to 1 cup roasted almonds (I suggest naked)
-1 bag (or can) french fried onions
-3 cups pumpernickel bread, cut into cubes or sticks (or you can substitute bagel chips)

Method:

1. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, melt your stick of butter and add the worcestershire, mustard, dill, seasoning salt, garlic, and cayenne. Whisk together to combine and remove the pan from the heat.

2. In a really big bowl, stir together chex, cheez its, pretzels, almonds, fried onions, and pumpernickel bread cubes. You don’t need to worry about the bread being soft, it will dry out and become crunchy when the mix is cooked.

3. Drizzle the butter/worcestershire mixture over the mix and stir it well to combine and coat the pieces. Taste the mix for salt and add a little if it’s needed. The mix will taste vinegary before it’s cooked, but don’t worry because it will mellow out in the oven (or microwave).

4. You can spread the mix out on a sheet pan and bake it in a 300F oven for an hour or so (stirring from time to time until the mix is totally dry), OR if you use a glass bowl, you can put it in the microwave for two minutes at a time, three to four times (stirring well between each zap) until the mix is dry, then spread it out on a sheet of parchment to cool.

Eat it by the fistful and store leftovers in a plastic bag or covered bowl to keep it fresh. OMNOMNOM