Homemade Chex Mix

My dad wasn't one to bake or cook, for that matter. But, there was one time of the year that he would cook. That was the day of our "Cookie Day" that we have once a year around Christmas. My dad (and later, and sometimes, with the help of my brother) would make homemade Chex Mix. Let's just say we always double or triple the recipe because it's that good. 


Because this is the first Christmas without my dad I figured I'd carry on the tradition and make the Chex Mix. I was ready to do it the old fashioned way until I read the box and realized they had a microwave way! Let's just say, I was excited!


Without further ado here is the microwave version of homemade chex mix:


First gather all your ingredients:

3	cups Corn Chex cereal
3	cups Rice Chex cereal
3	cups Wheat Chex cereal
1	cup mixed nuts
1	cup bite-size pretzels
1	cup garlic-flavor bite-size bagel chips or regular-size bagel chips, broken into 1-inch pieces--i didn't have them so i just omitted them :)
6	tablespoons butter or margarine
2	tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2	teaspoons seasoned salt
3/4	teaspoon garlic powder
1/2	teaspoon onion powder First mix together the 3 cups of Corn chex, 3 cups of Rice Chex, 3 cups Wheat Chex , 1 cup mixed nuts, 1 cup bite sized pretzels in a large microwavable bowl like so:

Next mix together all the other ingredients and place in a (smaller) microwavable bowl and microwave for 40 seconds. Until everything is melted. Mine took about a minute. Then take it out and stir it. Until it looks like so: 

Now pour the liquid seasoning mixture over the dry mixture. Stir until combined. Then place the large bowl into the microwave for 2 minutes then stir. then another 2 minutes then stir. then another 2 minutes then stir. (6 minutes; stopping to stir every 2 minutes). Then place in a single layer on paper towels for an hour like so:

Then store in an airtight container. ENJOY! :) 


This recipe is from the Chex website. Here's the link:Chex MIx

Sugar Cookies

This year we didn't do our typical "cookie day." Quite frankly, Mom didn't want all those sweets around. But I just couldn't let the season go by without making any Christmas cookies. I found this really awesome recipe for sugar cookies: here.

They came out spectacular. This was my first time with egg-whiteless royal icing and I will never again use egg-whites. It came out perfect!

M and I made these, we didn't realize we had NO Christmas colored sprinkles. We got by with the purple, blue and pink sprinkles. I swear we can make anything work ;)

Then next day I decided to whip up another batch (because thats just how easy they were!) and I had spare time on my hands. I was more methodical this time. I made three colors of icing: red, green and white. And I only used 3 cookie cutters: christmas trees, light bulbs and stockings. This made it much easier! Here are the beautiful results:

Not too shabby, eh? It was a lot of fun. We ended up giving 80% away so mom was okay keeping the remainder in the house because they were just that good!

Happy Baking!

Swedish Apple Pie

One word for the above picture.

Delicious.

As may or may not know I worked for about 4 years at an after-school program at a local elementary school. Each year we would host a "Thanksgiving Feast." Year after year a sweet mother of one of our after-schoolers would bring in this AMAZING Swedish Apple Pie. After begging for the recipe she finally gave in and gave it to each and every staff member.

I won't lie, it makes me wish I was Swedish. The crust forms an almost sugar cookie topping that is to die for! And its SIMPLE! I'm talking, super simple! As with any apple pie, the hardest part is peeling and slicing the apples. But no worries, it won't disappoint.

And so that you can make all your family wish they were Swedish...

Swedish Apple Pie:

4 or 5 large apples (I used Cortlands); peeled, cored & sliced thin

3/4 cup of melted butter (1.5 sticks)

2 T water

1 C flour

1 C sugar

1/2 t salt

1/2 C walnuts (if desired)

1 T cinnamon

1 T sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix together the 1 T sugar and the 1 T cinnamon with the sliced apples. Pour apples into a pie plate. In another bowl mix the remaining ingredients and spread over the apples. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Oh and...Happy Turkey Day All!