This year we decided to leave Santa our Spicy Party Mix and Ranch Oyster Crackers instead of our biscotti. Even though Santa likes biscotti — a lot! We thought that after snacking all evening on sweets and drinking gallons of hot cocoa he might appreciate the spicy party mix and oyster crackers.
We came to this decision after we received a text from Mrs. Claus. She revealed that Santa’s suit has become a little tight and, well, when he finally got home last year and landed, he was still flying high from all the sugar. He was so noisy Ho! Ho! Hoing! That he woke up all of the elves and then it was a free-for-all.
It took her better than four hours to get them all settled down. Poor Mrs. Claus!
But that’s not all. . . . there was more . . . .
. . . . how did we find out?
Well . . . . Mrs. Claus simply broke down and told us the entire story.
Here I’ll just let you read for yourself the letter we left for Santa . . . .
. . . . it’ll give you an idea of what happened and what Mrs. Claus is up against.
We’re sure you can see we had to do something . . . . we simply couldn’t let him finish the night with more sugar and then get behind the reins!
We left him the note next to his snack fully explaining what we were doing. We put an extra sack of Party Mix next to the reindeer’s organic carrots with green tops. We thought Mrs. Claus might like a little something in way of appreciation for sharing Santa with us every year. We also included the recipe for both the Party Mix and the Ranch Seasoned Oyster Crackers in the sack – we thought Mrs. Claus might like to make the snacks for the elves.
Oh! You want us to give you the recipes for the snacks and show you how we make them?
Well sure! It isn’t difficult.
Here is a picture of the main Party Mix ingredients . . . .
. . . .then all it takes is vegetable oil and spices . . . . that’s what gives it the special spicy taste. You don’t have to use these brands — just something similar.
Then we get two very large aluminum roasting pans and evenly divide the ingredients between the two. For the next step you”ll need a blender — it’s easier that way.
You put the oil in the blender plus all of the spices — push the button and blend away. Divide the oil evenly between the two roasting pans. We heat the oven to 250°F.
Then we take the contents of each roasting pan and put in a five-gallon food safe bucket and we put the lid on and rotate the bucket around 20 – 25 times. Yes! The bucket is as old as it looks. It has seen many batches of Party Mix. There were years when we made two to three batches in one Christmas season.
The contents go back into the roasting pan and we do the second roasting pan in the same manner. Every 20 minutes we take the Party Mix out of the oven and dump it back into the bucket and rotate it again about 20-25 times. It goes back into the roasting pan and again in the oven. The other batch gets the same treatment. We do this for two hours and when the two hours are up we let the Party Mix cool in the roasting pan. Once it’s cool the spicy treat can be stored in the bucket.
Now, we have to admit we have two ovens and we can make both roasting pans of Party Mix at once. If you only have one oven then you’ll have to do this in two stages — but that’s okay — it’s well worth the effort. In fact, our oldest grandson loves our Party Mix so much he wanted it for his birthday — his birthday is in June. 🙂
The Ranch Oyster Crackers are super easy — 2 bags of oyster crackers, original ranch powdered dressing, oil, garlic powder, and dill.
How easy is that ??!!
We hope you enjoy our family recipes — we’ve been making them for decades and they are wonderful to have on hand. Not only are they great to pull out as appetizers and snacks — you can give them as gifts. Stock up on cute tins and then plan on sharing the delicious snacks.
Buon Natale a tutti e un Felice Anno Nuovo!! Alla prossima.
Spicy Party Mix
Ingredients
- 1 Box Cherrios {small size}
- 1 Box Wheat Chex {small size}
- 1 Box Rice Chex {small size}
- Pretzel Sticks {large bag}
- Pretzel curls {large bag}
- 2 Box Cheese Nips {regular size}
- 1 Box Fish Crackers {regular size}
- Large Can Mixed Nuts { 3 pounds}
- 2 Tablespoons Cayenne Pepper
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Onion Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons Celery Salt
- 3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- Tabasco Sauce -- several squirts to taste -- depending on how much heat you like
- 2 cups vegetable oil - we prefer peanut oil
- 2 large aluminum roasting pans
- 5 gallon food grade bucket or container with lid
Instructions
- Heat oven to 250 F.
- Divide cereals, pretzels, crackers, and nuts evenly between the two roasting pans. Mix the spices and the oil in a blender making sure it is well blended.
- Pour the oil evenly over each roasting pan.
- Put the contents of one of the roasting pans in the bucket and cover with the lid. Rotate the bucket or container about 20 to 25 times. Pour the cereal contents back into the roasting pan and slide the roasting pan into the heated oven. Repeat the same procedure for the second roasting pan.
- Every 20 minutes remove each roasting pan, pour the contents into the bucket, cover with lid, and slowly rotate the contents 20 to 25 so that the seasoning is well distributed.
- After 2 hours, remove the roasting pans and let cool on cooling rack. Once the party mix is cooled it can be stored in the 5 gallon bucket or container you used to mix it. Keep in a cool place and it can last quite a while -- ours never has.
Nutrition
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Ranch Flavored Oyster Crackers with Dill
Ingredients
- 2 Bags Oyster Crackers {12 ounce size}
- 1 teaspoon dill weed
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 package original Valley Dressing {1 ounce}
- 1 cup vegetable oi { We use peanut oil}
Instructions
- Heat oven to 325 F.
- Line a baking pan with aluminum foil.
- Put the crackers in a large pan or container with lid.
- Mix the oil and seasoning in a blender then pour over the crackers. Cover the container with lid then rotate the contents so that the oil and seasoning covers the crackers evenly.
- Pour the contents onto the lined baking sheet.
- Bake until lightly browned around 30 to 40 minutes.
Nutrition
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