snacks

Nuts for Christmas (and I don’t mean crazy)

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rosemary mixed nuts

It is only December 2, and I already feel like a crazy person. Every year, I decide to make all kinds of Martha Stewart-ish holiday treats (cocoa kits, reindeer food bags, gingerbread houses…) and then get testy with everyone in my house because they interrupt my projects when they want something– like dinner. Even though I had about 6 loads of laundry to do, several sets of school papers to grade, and various other weekend chores, I chose to mix up a batch of Buttered Nuts with Rosemary and Orange, print cutesy labels, and bag them using one of the clear gift bags I have in my vast collection.

This morning’s project is super fast and will be going to some of my husband’s co-workers or given as a thank you sirsee to the hosts at the (few) holiday parties we are attending if I run out of cocoa kits.

rosemary and orange mixed nuts

Ingredients

  • 2 cups lightly salted roasted mixed nuts can (an 11.5 oz can)
  • 1 T. unsalted butter
  • 2 T. sugar
  • 1 T. fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 1 T. thinly sliced orange zest

Directions

  • Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the nuts, sugar, rosemary, and zest. Cook, tossing, until the sugar is melted and the mixture is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.  Let cool on a baking sheet.

NOTE: Recipe can be doubled easily. I added an additional 1/2 c. of pecan halves and 1/2 c. of plain almonds and a few extra mixed nuts, then doubled the seasonings and butter.

Star Snack

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Miss Priss earned kindergarten Star of the Week last week. Since all students receive this prestigious award at one point during the year, I am not so sure it is a terribly big honor, but she was excited. Requirements? Send in several pictures of your family (= work for me). Send in special show and tell (= monitoring from me). Send in special snack on Friday (= opportunity to get carried away for me).

If you read about the Dill Dip, you know that I take kindergarten snacks very seriously, and my daughter has a much better sense of what is appropriate. Nevertheless, she was Star of the Week, and I thought it deserved something special– Heath Bar Apple Dip with pretzels and apple slices. The first time I tasted this stuff, I practically fell down. Let me know if you think it is as delicious as my family does.

Ingredients

  • 1 8-oz block cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 3/4 c. brown sugar
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 1/2 bag Heath toffee bits (or crushed Skor bar)
  • Apple wedges (I like Granny Smith apples, peeled)
  • Snyder’s Dipping Stix or Snaps (optional)

Directions

  • Cream together cream cheese, sugars, and vanilla
  • Stir in Heath bits with a spoon
  • Serve with apple wedges and/or pretzels
  • Note: cut apples into pineapple juice to keep from turning brown

Kindergarten Snack Debut

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Dill Dip with Snyder’s Pretzel Snaps and mini carrots. Recipe below.

This week is our first turn at kindergarten snack. Every student is assigned one day to bring a snack, and it rotates alphabetically. We will probably end up with snack duty about once a month. Any guesses as to how long I have been planning our debut kindergarten snack? Yep, that’s right. The day we got the snack calendar at kindergarten orientation back in August.

I have been envisioning mini servings of some sort of kid friendly dip with a few dipping choices. Kindergarteners eat lunch at 10:10 (am!) and are starving at snack time around noon (real lunchtime). I wanted to send something slightly substantial. My daughter, Miss Priss, squashed my dip idea after seeing the finished product. Apparently, it was too fancy!

Well, I don’t do not-fancy very well, but I also do not want to rock Miss Priss’ kindergarten boat. So, I sent in special snack to my daughter’s teachers; I sent in special snack to the teachers at the school where I work; I sent dill dip in my daughter’s lunch because it is her favorite, and I bought three boxes of chewy granola bars for the class. Should I tell my daughter about the ghoulish granola mix I have planned for October’s snack or just spring it on her at the last minute?

Ingredients

  • 2 c. sour cream
  • 2 c. mayonnaise
  • 3 T. chopped fresh dill
  • 3 T. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
  • 2 T. grated onion
  • 1 T. seasoned salt

Directions

  • Combine ingredients and chill at least one hour or overnight.
  • Serve with raw vegetables, pita chips, pretzels, etc.

Bitty Birthday Cupcakes

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We are sending itty bitty cupcakes (recipe below) to my son’s class at school in honor of his birthday this year. As a teacher, I spend more time on the distribution side of class birthday treats, and I have some guidelines for any newbies to the school birthday treat circuit. Sending birthday treats for the class starts in nursery school, and the rules don’t change too much no matter how old you are.

  1. If possible, let the teacher know ahead of time about the type of treat you will be sending and what day. It helps teachers plan for a special snack time and anticipate any food allergy alerts (always send nut-free items just in case).
  2. Send enough for the whole class AND the teachers. Let me repeat– send enough for the teachers.
  3. Send small treats. Rather than a whole donut for each child, send donut holes (two to three Munchkins per child). Rather than regular cupcakes, send mini versions.
  4. Send items that are pre-cut, pre-packaged, or individually wrapped to make sharing the snack easier.
  5. Don’t forget paper napkins, paper plates, and plastic utensils if needed.
  6. You do not have to send an edible treat. Kids love fun pencils, Japanese erasers, crazy straws, stickers, etc.
  7. In my experience, sending birthday treats begins to taper off around the 4th grade. By 5th and 6th grade, maybe a quarter of the students send in birthday snacks.

I love this recipe for Perfect Cake-Mix Cupcakes courtesy of Hello, Cupcake!. I like the frosting recipes in the Hello, Cupcake! book too, but I totally cheated this time and used the pre-made Betty Crocker Cupcake Icing in the squeeze cans with the decorative tips. I used gelatin shot cups to make the super mini size. I found the tiny cups in the paper product aisle at my grocery store.

Ingredients

  • 1 box (18.25 oz) cake mix (French vanilla or yellow)
  • 1 c. buttermilk (in place of the water called for on the box)
  • vegetable oil (the amount on the box, usually 1/3 c. for yellow cakes)
  • 4 large eggs (in place of the number called for on the box)

Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Set out paper gelatin shot cups on a tray with a lip. The gelatin cups stand on their own, but they will also fit into mini muffin cups if you are worried about them tipping over. The recipe makes 24 regular sized cupcakes, so you should get ~48 mini cupcakes.
  • Follow the box instructions, putting all of the ingredients in a large bowl and using the buttermilk in place of the water specified, using the amount of vegetable oil that is called for, and adding the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer until moistened, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and beat until thick, about 2 minutes longer.
  • Fill gelatin cups a little less than 2/3 full. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Chex Cereal, the Cadillac of Snack Ingredients

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I never thought I would have a recipe box dedicated to one ingredient, but I am becoming dangerously close to having just that with my Chex Party Mixes. They are so versatile, and you can make them in large quantities for nursery school snacks, birthday parties, and adult get togethers. The almighty Chex cereal (and its distant cousins– Crispix and Golden Grahams) are the perfect base for sweet or salty snacking.

tijuana tidbits chex party mix

The neighborhood card sharks met in our backyard office Saturday night, and I made Tijuana Tidbits. This is the newest member of my Chex Party Mix recipe box. Watch out, it has a kick!

Do you have any Chex Party Mix combos I can add to my arsenal? I have many sweet Chex recipes like the Dinosaur Chex Mix, but I am looking for some more savory combinations.

Ingredients

  • 4 c. Fritos original corn chips
  • 4 c. Crispix cereal
  • 1 bag microwave popcorn (remove “old maids”)
  • 1 8-oz can mixed nuts
  • 1 c. cashew nuts
  • 1/2 c. light corn syrup
  • 1/2 c. margarine, not butter
  • 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
  • 1 T. chili powder
  • 1/3 t. cinnamon
  • 1/2 t. cayenne pepper

Directions

  • Heat oven to 250 degrees.
  • Combine chips, cereal, popcorn, and nuts in a large bowl and mix gently.
  • Combine corn syrup, margarine, brown sugar, chili powder, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper. Heat to boiling and pour over Frito mixture. Stir until coated.
  • Pour coated mixture onto a roasting pan (sprayed with Pam). Bake 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and turn onto waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container.