White Trash

A wonderfully easy holiday snack, this is a favorite in our house. You can change up the recipe to fit your tastes ... add M&Ms, Reese's Pieces, different pretzels, etc... Whatever makes your munchers happy!

Toss in a large bowl:
2 cups Crispix
2 cups peanuts (I use dry roasted)
2 cups Cheerios
2 cups small pretzels
1/2 - 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Melt 2 cups of white chocolate wafers in a microwave-safe bowl. Pour over dry mix and toss to coat. Spread out on wax paper to dry ... then break apart. Store in an air-tight container (if there's any left over!).

A side note ... making this recipe is similar to making Rice Krispy bars. However, melting wafers set up a little slower than melted marshmallows, so you have a bit more time to get your cereal mix coated. Check out the Wilton web site for tips on melting chocolate wafers.

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Sheila's Granola

At a recent work conference my friend Sheila made this wonderful granola. I don't know about you, but any granola recipe I've ever tried has had 20+ ingredients and took hours to cook at a low oven temperature. This recipe, on the other hand, uses just six ingredients and is done in 45 minutes. You can change it up with your favorite dried fruits to give it a little zing. I make it about once a week and have enough for 4-5 breakfast meals (if I can keep my son out of it!).

OVEN: 300 degrees

2 cups quick oats
1 cup sliced or slivered almonds
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
1 cup shredded coconut
1 can fat free condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Bake for 45 minutes ... stirring every 15 minutes. Allow to cool until the granola is dry. Store in an air-tight container. It tastes great with milk, though I prefer to mix it into fat free French Vanilla yogurt. Yummy!

Based on how long it's been since I've posted a new recipe, it's obvious that I need some quick-to-make recipes like this one!

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Beanless Mexican Dip

March Madness is in full swing around here. Our family has always enjoyed good college hoops (GO S.U.!!). One of our favorite game-time snacks is this variation on a traditional Mexican bean dip.


1 - 15 oz can Hormel No Bean Chili
1 - 8 0z brick cream cheese (softened)
Shredded cheese for topping (we really like shredded Monterey Jack/Colby mix)



Spread softened cream cheese evenly in bottom of a glass 8 x 8" baking dish.



Spread No-Bean Chili over top of cream cheese layer.



Sprinkle shredded cheese evenly over top of the chili layer.



Cook in microwave oven for 3 minutes at high power (until cheese begins to melt and chili bubbles through). Serve with favorite tortilla chips.

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