Spicy Snack mix

I’m celebrating Halloween with The Secret’s in the Sauce for a chance to win a sweet camera. Today it's all about something we made for Halloween. Enjoy!

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Halloween is all about candy.  Lots, and lots of candy. The holiday itself is practically a piñata, bursting at the seams with chocolate bars, caramels and tootsie pops. But what about those of us with a salty tooth? The sort of people who would happily down a plate of nachos over a bowl of ice cream? The weird ones who top their chocolates with salt? The annoying dates like yours truly that go out for dessert and coffee and end up ordering fried mozzarella sticks and beer? What does Halloween have to offer these people?

Well, among the caramel apples and the cider mill donuts and the overflowing bags of candy, there’s one salty treat that I couldn’t get enough of this year.

Now, I’m not huge a fan of popcorn. And I loathe pretzels. Cereal sans the milk? Blah. And let’s just say in my opinion, plain ‘ol peanuts are much better suited for peanut butter than straight-from-the-jar popping. But all mixed together and coated with a garlicky, spicy, buttery sauce and baked to crispy perfection? Delicious.

So, I hereby give to you, a falltastic snack that will satisfy even the biggest salty snack addicts out there, and may even lure in few sweet freaks for a much needed sugar high hiatus.

 

And while it may have been the perfect snack for toting under butterfly wings or witch capes to a hopping Halloween party, it’s also delightful for munching on any day of the year, whether in front of the TV, behind a hand of cards, or on top of a pillow during a slumber party gossip sesh.

And to make things even better, the recipe is wicked easy, although I did make a few alterations to the original recipe. I added the protein-packed peanuts so I could pass it off as a meal (ha!), reduced the popcorn and maybe...just maybe... I cheated and used butter-flavored popcorn when I was supposed to use popcorn "without fat." So sue me.

Try it. You’ll love it. It’s like Chex Mix, but way better, healthier and cheaper than the bagged stuff. And far better for our poor post-Halloween bodies than raiding the candy stash of those younger and weaker than us. Although, I say go for both: salty and sweet. Bite of candy. Bite of snack mix. Smile. Just leave a few tootsie rolls for the kids.

Spicy Snack Mix

Yield: 4 cups (serving size: 1 cup)

Cooking Light, January 1993

Ingredients: 

3  cups  popped corn (air or microwave popped without salt or fat) 

(I reduced the popcorn and added dry-roasted peanuts) 

1  cup  crispy corn cereal squares 

1  cup  tiny salted pretzels 

1  tablespoon  butter, melted 

1  teaspoon  chili powder 

1/4  teaspoon  ground cumin 

1/4  teaspoon  garlic powder 

1/4  teaspoon  salt

Preparation:

Combine first 3 ingredients in a large zip-top heavy-duty plastic bag; set aside.

Combine butter and remaining ingredients in a small bowl; add mixture in bag. Seal the bag and shake to coat.

Spread mixture evenly into a 15- x 10- x 1-inch jellyroll pan. Bake at 275 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring twice. Cool completely; store in an airtight container.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 64 (25% from fat), Fat: 1.8g (sat 0.3g,mono 0.6g,poly 0.8g), Protein: 1.4g, Carbohydrate: 10.8g, Fiber: 1g, Iron: 0.7mg, Sodium: 256mg, Calcium: 6mg.

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