I love Mary's snack mix!

I've had a potty training two year old at home this last week, so I decided to make her some fun snacks! One of my FAVORITE treats is the snack mix my Great Aunt Mary makes- I can't remember ever visiting them without enjoying some of it!

For this recipe you will need: Wheat Chex, Goldfish Crackers, Pretzels, Cheetos, Cheerios, Worcestershire Sauce, Butter, Garlic Powder and Nuts if desired. I leave the nuts out to make it kid friendly.

In a very large bowl, mix 4 cups of Cheerios, 3 cups of Wheat Chex, the whole bag of goldfish, the whole bag of pretzels and 3/4 bag of Cheetos. In a heatproof bowl, mix 1 1/2 sticks of butter with 1 TBS garlic powder and 2 TBS Worcestershire Sauce and pour over the mixture tossing well to coat.

Put the mixture onto a couple of large baking sheets and bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes- stirring every 15 minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container. I love this even more than Chex Mix!!! Don't take any shortcuts and try to microwave it instead, it makes the Cheetos stale. And beware...it's super addicting!

What I love today, I may not love tomorrow!

The other day, I was staring blankly in my cupboards and refrigerator trying to find something that sounded good for lunch. This varies greatly day to day!! On this particular day, I decided on Tuna Melts. They hit the spot that day...but haven't sounded good since! Pregnancy does such crazy things to your appetite. I keep my tuna melts pretty simple- Tuna, Cheddar, Whole Wheat Bread, Black Pepper and Tomato. Easy, Cheap and about 10 minutes from start to finish.

 Start by pre-heating the oven to 400 degrees. I throw two pieces of wheat bread right on the oven rack while it's pre-heating to toast it lightly.

Remove lightly toasted bread from the oven and split 1 can of tuna in water (drained) onto the bread.

Cover the tuna with a few thin-cut slices of tomato and grind fresh black pepper on top.

Top with very thin slices of Sharp Cheddar Cheese and bake about 7 minutes- or until cheese is melted.

Two open faced tuna melts with a Clementine totaled less than 400 calories for lunch and filled me up well! Hoping this sounds good again another day :)

I love shortcuts!

In 2006, I pulled a recipe from People Magazine for Christmas Bark. I made it for Christmas that year...and forgot about it! I came across that recipe in my binder recently, and decided it was time to make it again!!! It's basically just an easy way to make toffee :)

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay out saltine crackers to cover the bottom of the pan- I used 32 crackers.

In a saucepan, heat 2 sticks of butter with half a cup brown sugar. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes- stir constantly.

Pour over the saltines- don't worry about making this perfect. It bubbles up a lot and will cover everything! Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

The butter/sugar mixture gets nice and dark as it bakes!

While hot, sprinkle on one bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

After the chips start to melt, smooth over toffee with a spatula or knife.

The recipe calls for pecans, but I topped mine with some crushed almonds and some Heath Baking Bits...toffee on toffee = deliciousness!

Chill in the refrigerator for one hour and then break into chunks. This is so easy and crazy good!

These potatoes are easy to love!

I used to hate breakfast...now, I love everything breakfast! I also love everything potato...so why not combine the two?!

Start with one large potato per person...I used 3 small potatoes for 2 people.

Grate potatoes over a stack of paper towels.

Use a few additional towels to absorb all moisture from the potatoes.

Pre-heat a pan over medium high heat with a little oil. (I have a great non-stick skillet, so I used 2 tsp of olive oil). Add potatoes and cook 10 minutes over medium heat...or until golden brown. Sprinkle raw potatoes with salt and pepper.

If you get lucky, you can flip the whole pan of potatoes in one piece! Cook side two an additional 8-10 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. Serve in wedges...yum!

I love a fast fix!

Ever decide you need something sweet...and you want it right now?! I've found the perfect recipe for this problem. Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies. They make a small batch and only require 3 ingredients!

1 cup of peanut butter, 1 egg, and 1 cup of sugar.

  

Throw everything into a bowl...

Mix...

Roll into balls (They don't spread, so you can put the whole batch on one cookie sheet!)

Cross the tops with a fork and throw in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and enjoy! Could not be more simple....or delicious!

I love theme food for the holidays!

Fall is my most favorite time of year, and Halloween is my husband's favorite holiday. The last few years, I  have tried to make lots of themed food for Halloween. A family favorite- Mummy Dogs! Nothing healthy about these cute treats, but they sure are tasty!

You only need 3 ingredients for this recipe- easy! I always use the reduced fat crescent rolls.

Start by pre-heating your oven to 375 degrees. I like to use my pizza cutter for the dough- slice each triangle of crescent dough into skinny strips.

Wrap each little smokie with a strip of the dough, leaving a small space on the top for the mummy face.

Repeat process until you have used up all the dough- I usually get about 40 mini mummies. This can also be done with full sized hot-dogs, but these are super cute as a party appetizer or for kids. I did cut some of my mini dogs in half to make them kid-safe.

Bake for about 12 minutes- or until crescent dough is lightly browned. Use yellow mustard and a toothpick to apply "eyes" to each mummy.

I like mine served with a mixture of yellow and spicy mustard. Cute and tasty :)