This Chex Mix contains no Chex…details, details.  Here’s why.

I wanted to create an “Old Bay” flavored snack mix with hints of a crab boil–ick, sorry–like corn and potatoes. So here is my thinking on ingredients: upon learning yesterday that original Bugles are vegan–yes!–I decided to use them in place of Corn Chex. Potato sticks and oyster crackers were no brainers.  As for the Cheerios and pretzels, well, I love them in traditional Chex Mix for their shapes, textures, and flavors. Peanuts and pecans were my choices of nuts becsuse they are just so darn southern.

My stroke of genius–if I do say so–was the vegan mayo and pickle juice whisked into the butter mixture.  I LOVE (vegan) tartar sauce and these ingredients lend just the right flavor notes.

I gave away all of this mix as gifts…but writing this post is making my mouth water and I wish I had just a tiny bit to satisfy my craving.

1/2 cup vegan butter

1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise

Juice of 1/2 large lemon

2 tablespoons sweet or dill pickle juice

1 teaspoon Liquid Aminos or vegan Worchestershire Sauce

2 tablespoons Chesapeake Bay Seasoning (or Old Bay Seasoning)

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

6 cups Cheerios

2 cups original Bugles

2 cups potato sticks

2 cups pretzel sticks

2 cups oyster crackers

1 cup lightly salted and roasted peanuts

1 cup lightly salted and roasted pecan halves and pieces

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Place butter in large roasting pan, slide pan in oven, allow butter to melt, and remove pan from oven. Whisk in mayo, lemon juice, pickle juice, Liquid Aminos, and spices. Then stir in remaining ingredients, in order, coating evenly with butter mixture. Roast for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes, remove from oven, cool completely,  and store in airtight containers.
Continue reading “Vegan Chesapeake Bay Chex Mix” →

If anyone’s counting, this is my 7th iteration of Chex Mix of 2017.  After some unsuccessful experiments adulterating my mother’s hallowed “Texas Trash” recipe (aka Chex Mix) years ago, I let it go for a number of years because all of the ingredients are expensive and the batches big.

But I’m back with a vengeance, and think I have discovered the way to make magic.  Hope you agree.

Though the weather is warming up, it is still February and I think the aroma in the air from someone’s fireplace on a recent cool night planted the seed for a maple-mustard iteration, a flavor combination that I associate with winter.

This may not be my most colorful version, but it may well be the richest.  Just try staying out of this one…it should come with some kind of warning.

3/4 cups vegan butter

3 tablespoons pommery mustard

3 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon Liquid Aminos

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1-6 ounce can roasted pecan halves

1-5 ounce packages potato sticks

1-6 ounce package crispy onions (like old timey cooks use to top their green bean casserole; French’s is a popular brand)

2 cups crunchy corn kernel snacks (I found these in the grocery store packaged in a clear plastic carton with other crunchy snacks like sesame sticks, pepitas, etc.)

3 cups Cheerios

2 cups wheat Chex cereal

Optional (but delicious) 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Place butter in large roasting pan and place pan in oven for a few minutes or until butter is melted.  Whisk in mustard, maple, garlic powder, and onion powder.  Then stir in all remaining ingredients in succession, gently stirring after each addition to coat with the butter mixture.  Roast for 1 hours, gently stirring up from the bottom every 15 minutes.  Remove from oven, stir well, allow to cool completely–it will crisp even more as it cools–and package for eating or giving.  Note: I don’t find the mixture too buttery for an indulgent snack, but if you prefer to absorb a little of the oil, spread the mixture on brown paper bags or paper towels to cool.  

You know those crispy onions on top of green bean casserole from “back in the day”?  Well, they are vegan, and they aren’t just for casseroles anymore…

As I explained in my previous post, one of my mother’s Christmas traditions was to make an enormous Tupperware container of “Texas Trash,” aka Chex Mix every Christmas.  Gone for two Christmases now, my father, sister, and I haven’t been very good about maintaining the tradition which may explain why I am craving it in January and keep thinking up new iterations upon which she would frown in keeping with her “why mess with perfection” philosophy.

But mess I do, and I think you will approve, though you should feel free to do your own “messing around” with this recipe.  There is nothing sacred about it, but it is outrageusly delicious as is.  I simply fantasized about some of my favorite ingredients in Thai curries, and those that are sold in a dried form were in: cashews, peas, potatoes, onions, and rice.  Cheerios are included for shape and texture contrast and because I adore they way they soak up the buttery seasoning.

1 1/2 cups vegan butter (it sounds like a lot BUT this recipe makes a lot and this amount is needed)

1-1.75 ounce packet of Taste of Thai Green Curry Paste (sold in a pouch inside a cardboard cover)

16 ounces salted or lightly salted cashew halves and pieces

2-5 ounce packages Wasabi peas

2-5 ounce packages potato sticks

2-6 ounce packages crispy onions (like old timey cooks use to top their green bean casserole; French’s is a popular brand)

1-14 ounce box Chex Rice Cereal

1-14 ounce box Cheerios (NOT the sweet ones)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Place butter in large roasting pan and place pan in oven for a few minutes or until butter is melted.  Stir in sesame oil, soy sauce, seasoning packets, Nori powder, orange zest, and seasoning salt.  Add remaining ingredients in succession, gently stirring after each addition to coat with the butter mixture.  Roast for 60 minutes, gently stirring up from the bottom every 15 minutes.  Remove from oven, stir well, allow to cool completely–it will crisp even more as it cools–and package for eating or giving.  Note: I don’t find the mixture too buttery for an indulgent snack, but if you prefer to absorb a little of the oil, spread the mixture on brown paper bags or paper towels to cool.  

Every Christmas, my mother made a vat of her famous “Texas Trash” or what some folks know as “Chex Mix.”  She has been gone for two Christmases now and, though my father and sister made a batch in 2015, none of us did this year. Perhaps that explains my near obsession of late with various iterations of this childhood favorite.  Although–and I mean no disrespect–she is probably “rolling over” at what I’ve done to her traditional recipe.  Mother never quite understood my endless adaptations.  If a recipe tasted good as it was, she saw no reason to tinker with it.

I feel quite the opposite.  So enjoy this version inspired by furikake, the Japanese seasoning wildly popular in Hawaii, that contains an indescribably addicting combination of seaweed, salt, sesame, and sugar, though I leave out the sugar because the wasabi peas have a slight sweetness to them.  If you have an aversion to heat, never fear because, though you’d think they would ignite your taste buds, the peas are really quite mild.   To round out the flavors, I add a few other “secret” ingredients like dried orange zest because there was a popcorn I loved, which I can’t find anymore, that contained orange along with the traditional furikake flavors.  Plus, hardly a purist, I nod in the direction of China with a few of my other ingredients.

Contrary to what my mother may think, recipes are made to be adapted, so feel free to monkey with this one.  I won’t take offense or shake my head like she would have.  But, I have to admit, it is darn good “right like” it is, as we say down south.

1 1/2 cups vegan butter (it sounds like a lot BUT this recipe makes a lot and this amount is needed)

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 teaspoons soy sauce

2-1 ounce packages of a vegan Chinese seasoning pouch (I found one for “Beef and Broccoli” that was vegan and I loved the flavors, but any would do nicely)

2 teaspoons Nori powder (simply place torn pieces of Nori sheets in a coffee or spice grinder and grind until fairly fine)

2 teaspoons dried orange zest

1 to 2 teaspoons seasoning salt

8 ounces salted or lightly salted cashew halves and pieces

8 ounces sesame stick and nut mix (sesame sticks, peanuts, and cashews)

2-5 ounce packages Wasabi peas

1-5 to 6 ounce package Chow Mein noodles

1-14 ounce box Chex Rice Cereal

1-14 ounce box Cheerios (NOT the sweet ones)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Place butter in large roasting pan and place pan in oven for a few minutes or until butter is melted.  Stir in sesame oil, soy sauce, seasoning packets, Nori powder, orange zest, and seasoning salt.  Add remaining ingredients in succession, gently stirring after each addition to coat with the butter mixture.  Roast for 45 minutes, gently stirring up from the bottom every 15 minutes.  Turn off oven, leave door closed, and let the mix sit for a final 15 minutes.  Remove from oven, stir well, allow to cool completely–it will crisp even more as it cools–and package for eating or giving.  Note: I don’t find the mixture too buttery for an indulgent snack, but if you prefer to absorb a little of the oil, spread the mixture on brown paper bags or paper towels to cool.  

I love healthy whole foods as much as the next gal, but I do have my guilty pleasures.  And my late mom’s “Texas Trash,” the 1960s version of “Original Chex Mix,” is one.  But I can never leave well enough alone and, over the years, I have experimented with various flavored iterations.  This Taco-Fajita version is worth sharing.  I can’t keep this stuff in the house, so I made it for contractors renovating my kitchen to thank them for helping beautity my home.  But I had my share of tastes to satisfy my craving before I bagged it up for gift-giving. The fajita seasoning adds a nice citrusy lime flavor, but if that’s not your jam, just use two packages of Taco seasoning.  However, don’t even think about omitting the “cheese” crackers.

6 cups (about 12 ounces) Chex Cereal: wheat, rice or corn (I actually used Cascadian Farms Organic Whole Grain Squares–wheat, rice and corn combined–from Whole Foods so that I didn’t have to buy several boxes of cereal and have leftovers, as I am not a cereal eater)

1 1/2 cups vegan butter (it sounds like a lot BUT this recipe makes a lot and this amount is needed)

5 to 6 cups pecan halves (a bit over a pound)

1-1 ounce package Taco seasoning (be sure it’s vegan)

1-1 ounce package Fajita seasoning (be sure it’s also vegan and substitue another taco seasoning packet if you prefer)

1-14 ounce box Cheerios

8 ounces pretzel sticks (any shape is fine, but I like this shape for contrast)

1-6 ounce box Earth Balance Vegan Cheddar Flavored Squares (purchased at Whole Foods)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Place butter in large roasting pan and place pan in oven for a few minutes or until butter is melted.  Stir in seasoning packets followed by pecans and toss well to coat.  Add remaining ingredients in succession, gently stirring after each addition to coat with the butter mixture.  Roast for 45 minutes, gently stirring up from the bottom every 15 minutes.  Turn off oven, leave door closed, and let the mix sit for a final 15 minutes.  Remove from oven, stir well, allow to cool completely–it will crisp even more as it cools–and package for eating or giving.  Note: I don’t find the mixture too buttery for an indulgent snack, but if you prefer to absorb a little of the oil, spread the mixture on brown paper bags or paper towels to cool.