Bits and Bites, Nuts and Bolts, this snack has a lot of names but my Nanna always called it Party Mix so I do too (even though that phrase could mean a LOT of things – trust me, that’s not lost on me).
Warning: party mix is addictive. I make double batches on the regular through the holiday season and keep it in giant ice cream tubs on the back porch outside the kitchen door. From early afternoon to late at night, I can hear that door creak open as someone tiptoes outside onto the porch to sneak some. Tip: hide some for yourself in a different spot so you don’t miss out!
One last note: change this up as you like – Life brand cereal was popular as an ingredient for a while, Cheese Nips crackers instead of Goldfish – you can add more nuts (be careful, some types burn quickly so you may want to add part way through), change the herbs. It’s a flexible recipe that you can easily make your own.
Party Mix
- 2 cups of each Shreddies, Cheerios, Crispix and goldfish crackers (less Cheerios is ok)
- 1 cup pretzel sticks (or any kind of pretzels that you like and more is ok too)
- 2 cups roasted salted peanuts (optional)
- 1/2 cup melted butter – melt this in a glass 2 cup measuring cup so you can mix all the other things in
- 1 tbsp soya sauce
- 2 tsp of each: garlic powder, onion powder, dried parsley and dried dill
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 250 F. Pour all the cereals into a large roasting pan (the big black turkey pan is perfect). Melt the butter and mix the other liquids and spices in, pour this over the cereal mix and quickly stir to the best coverage possible. Bake for 45 minutes, stopping to stir the mixture thoroughly every 15 minutes – if you don’t do this it won’t cook evenly and some pieces will burn.
This doubles very well, but will take longer to cook – two more round at 15 minutes or a total of one hour, 15 minutes, generally. You can tell when it’s done when the cereals are getting toasty and your mouth is watering from the smell that is all through your house.
Home on the Ridge 