Nana's Snack Mix

I initially saw a post for "Hot Buttered O's" on Pinterest and thought, "why not up it a notch?"  So, I thought of some of my favorite noshing nibblies and came up with the following recipe:

6 Cups Cheerios
1 Pkg. Craisins (or any dried fruit)
1 Pkg. Vanilla Yogurt Covered Raisins
1 Pkg. Goldfish (I used 'Whales" you get from DG)
1 Can Honey Roasted Peanuts
1/2 stick of butter (4 Tbsp)
Salt & Cayenne Pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a skillet and add the Cheerios.  Stir on medium heat until all the butter is absorbed by the cereal and the O's are slightly toasted.  Take off the heat and add salt & cayenne to taste.

Stir until cool.  Add the remaining ingredients and voila'!

Recipe can be doubled and altered to include your favorite snacks (I usually always double it)!  Store in a air-tight container and enjoy at will!

Fill a baggie for the kids' lunch box, a trip to the park, your office drawer, birthday party favors, class outtings, or enjoy a bowl full with your favorite TV show!  I have no idea how long they last in the container, because they don't last long at my house!  Enjoy!

Recipes

Crab Pasta Salad

I have to say, my "Mystery Dinners" have happily evolved over the last few years to dishes that are actually edible!  No, let me rephrase that.  Not just edible - deliciously edible!  "Mystery Dinners" around my house are usually the result of searching through the pantry and fridge, hoping to find something I can morph into a tummy-full.

So, tonight's treasure hunt yielded some crab meat, about a cup of uncooked pasta, a can of sweet peas, a block of cream cheese, a tub of sour cream and some basic salad veggies.  And, voila'!

I cooked the pasta and drained it.  Then, in the same dry pan, I melted a tablespoon of butter and added a diced stalk of celery.  Once the celery had softened, I added back the pasta, and melted in about 3 tablespoons of cream cheese and a couple of tablespoons of sour cream.  Once the cheese had melted, I tossed in half the can of sweet peas and half the package of crab meat, or about 4 ounces.  Add that to a bed of lettuce, tomato and boiled egg wedges and there you have it!  A delicious, light, summer meal for two!  Oh, and the plate you see above is what's for lunch tomorrow.  :)

Yard Sale Bargain

  So, last weekend my little town had a city-wide yard sale.  I knew I got a late start, but I thought might get some good deals that way!  To keep from spending too much, I told myself I was only looking for bookcases or bookshelves and maybe a little table and chairs for my grandchildren.  I mostly drove around, only stopping every so often to check out stuff I couldn't see from my car.  I didn't find any bookcases or shelves, and the grandbabies' table and chairs couldn't be found, but I did make a few other discoveries, one in particular that I couldn't believe when I saw it! 

  Well . . . did I come across a find, or what??!!

 

This is a Vintage Cosco Rolling Kitchen Cart with Electrical Outlet.  I was surprised, but pleased to find the original sticker on the bottom that told me what make and model it was.  So, I priced them on the internet and found they go for anywhere from $128 to $183!!  And can you guess what I paid?  I bought this little jewel for...are you ready?  $5.00!!!  Yep!  I knew I had a steal, but I didn't realize just how much of a steal!  It was in the original old avocado green color and other than a few scratches, in great condition!  But, I wanted to upgrade it a little so, I gave it a little paint job and, voila'!

  I don't know how much you can tell, but I painted it with a silver metallic spray.  Then, I discovered my wooden cutting board fit the top perfectly!  

  Here's the finished product!  All that's left to do is arrange my small kitchen appliances on it and roll it into the laundry room!  ...until I need them, that is.  :)

I Like Marshmallows in my Coffee

I love Saturday mornings when I don't have a thing to do!  I brush my teeth, start the coffee, and usually flip to the Food Network.  I'm a foodie, I admit it!  All the chefs cook so effortlessly and aren't referring to recipe cards every couple of minutes---it just makes me so jealous!  I love to cook, but being a "single-again" woman,  I don't have the opportunity to cook for anyone very often.  I'm relegated to family dinners, church gatherings and holiday get-togethers.  My son and his family - wife, Liz; daughter, Eva Grace (age 4); and Baby Isaac (age not-quite-3-months) - live 320 miles away, so I only get to cook for them every 2-3 months.  But, when they're here or I'm there, I'm so busy trying to soak in some Nana-Love, I get distracted and don't spend as much time in the kitchen as I plan in my mind.  But I digress, so back to Saturday mornings...

I don't know why I don't buy marshmallows on a regular basis, other than the fact I'd actually begin to eat them like popcorn!  What's not to like about a marshmallow?  They're soft and squishy - - sorta like me! :)  With just a few seconds in the oven, they transform to a crunchy and gooey treat!  Add a Hershey Bar (or a half of a Reece's Candy, if you like peanut butter) and a graham cracker, and I'm immediately time-transported back to my second year of Girl Scout camp, where our leader insisted on having S'mores every night around the campfire, sharing her "secret stash" of fixings with all of us!  I can't remember her name, but I can bite into a s'more, close my eyes, and still smell the campfire.  Ahhh.....

And who doesn't like marshmallows in hot cocoa?  Being from the South, we didn't put whipped cream in our hot chocolate, we put marshmallows...and lots of them!  I love the creamy film they make on top, when they've melted and you sort of have to bite through the marshmallow film to get to the warm, delicious cocoa.  The trick was trying to save enough marshmallow for every sip!  Hot chocolate always transforms me to my childhood home in wintertime, sledding down the snow-covered hill my parents lived on, laughing and sharing good times with my friends.  The hill my parents live on is on a side-street, so the traffic wasn't very heavy, and the hill was just long enough to enjoy a good ride, but not so long you got worn out climbing back up it!  We'd build a fire across the street on the empty lot and Mom and Daddy would bring out mugs of hot chocolate (made with real milk, too!) for everyone!  All our friends sledded and slipped and gathered there when we were kids, and lots of their parents too!  Everyone in the neighborhood knew their kids were okay if they were at our house.  With six kids of their own, my parents were virtually the adopted parents of every kid in the neighborhood!  And marshmallows were always served for roasting or floating in your cup.

So, why not keep marshmallows around the house always?  I don't make hot chocolate much, but do enjoy my morning coffee, and for some reason, I never think to put them in my coffee until wintertime.  So this morning, I'm floating marshmallows in my coffee and smiling as I remember good times, the laughter, and the warmth associated with this simple sweet confection.  And I'm going to start sharing them with Eva Grace and Isaac when they come to visit - hoping to incorporate fun ways to enjoy them along the way!  

Why don't you try some in your coffee too?  :)