Party Time Mix

Nothing says "Party!" like a big heaping bowl of Chex Mix®.  Or Chex® Party Mix, I should say.  Did you know that some lawyer-types have designated the term "Chex Mix®" for the ready-made bagged variety, while "Chex® Party Mix" is supposed to only refer to home-baked varieties?  I didn't.  At least not until recently.  In any case, I'm pretty sure most of you are so familiar with the tradition of baking up Chex® Party Mix during the holidays that you don't really need a recipe for it.  However, I've also recently learned that for some reason or another, the baked version is now being listed as an alternate means of preparation--taking back seat to the "Zap it in the Microwave" style.  Curious.  I don't have any microwave-safe bowls large enough to accomodate a batch of Chex® Party Mix, so I've never made it that way.  Anyone out there swear by using the microwave directions?  How does the texture compare to the baked variety?

Today I'm sharing with you my large-scale version of Chex® Party Mix, which I'm now dubbing "Party Time Mix" to do away with technicalities and the fact that I didn't actually use Chex® (oh, the horror!).  Gone are the nuts and bagel chips, but you won't miss them once you catch sight of the Goldfish® and cheese crackers!  I formulated the ratios of cereal with the intention of using up the entire three boxes of cereal, but feel free use all one type or change up the ratios.  The base recipe below will make a whopping 45 cups of snack mix, which fills three gallon-size zip-top bags.  I'd estimate that this would serve 45 people, but according to the nutrition folks at Chex® a serving size is half a cup...so then I guess 90?  Seriously?  I personally don't know of anyone who'd be satisfied with a half cup serving of party mix!

Unbaked mixes, waiting for their butter & flavoring bath!

You'll need a large roasting pan and three gallon-size baggies (I used a large foil turkey roasting pan); bake up one bag at a time, or do all three! It's up to you :)

 

Party Time Mix (Makes three 15-cup batches)

Dry mix:

14 oz. box toasted wheat cereal

14 oz. box toasted corn cereal

12.8 oz. box toasted rice cereal

6.6 oz. bag Goldfish® crackers-I used original (plain) flavor, but any would be good

3 cups cheese crackers

6 cups mini pretzels

Assemble mixes:  Line up three gallon-sized zip-top bags on your counter.  Into EACH bag, place:  2 cups toasted wheat cereal, 4 ½ cups toasted corn cereal, 4 ½ cups toasted rice cereal, 1 cup Goldfish® crackers, 1 cup cheese crackers, and 2 cups mini pretzels.  (You'll end up using the entire boxes of each cereal as well as the whole bag of fishies.)  At this point, the mixes can be stored in your pantry until you're ready to bake.

For EACH gallon-sized bag you'll need:

½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted

4 Tbl. Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp. seasoned salt (I used Tony Chachere's® Creole Seasoning)

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

Preheat oven to 250°F. Spray a large roasting pan with non-stick spray. Pour one bag into the pan (save that baggie for storage of the finished mix!). Combine butter, Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, garlic powder, and onion powder in a small bowl or measuring cup. Stir. Pour over cereal and cracker mix, the mix thoroughly to evenly coat. Place in 250°F oven and bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely before storage.