Christmas Snacking Trash
In full disclosure, I should call this “Never the Same Way Twice Trash”. The mechanics are the same for me, but the dry ingredients vary every time I make it, and absolutely nothing will be exact by measure. Now, if you want the VERY best version of this deliciousness, I’ll need to refer you to my sister-in-law Sandy. But good luck with that. Sandy has given the rest of us all of her secrets and hers still tastes better than ours. We measure all trash against Sandy’s. What follows will just be my best effort at replicating this old family favorite.
*A sample of my basic snack mix ingredients:
Cheerios
Chex Mix
Rice Mix
Bugles
Beer Nuts Bar Mix
Oyster Crackers
Gardetto’s Snack Mix
Cajun Snack Mix
Pretzels
Mixed Nuts (the more nuts the better at our house!)
*The last couple of years I’ve begun emptying my pantry of any open box that even comes close to the above goodies while I’m mixing, and I’ve been known to toss in other options that strike me when I’m gathering my supplies at the store. Just combine your family favorites, using as much or as little as you want. I give Christmas snacking trash as gifts, so I’ll use two to three bags or boxes of each of those I’ve listed and I commander Phil’s farm cooler to combine it.
I use one recipe of dry seasoning mix and one recipe of the liquid mix per roasting pan.
Dry seasoning mix
One TB and TSP of:
Lowry’s seasoning
Garlic Salt
Onion Salt
Black Pepper
Red Pepper
Chili Powder
Liquid seasoning mix
1 and ½ cups melted butter
1 and ½ cups vegetable oil
¼ cup Worcestershire oil
1 four-ounce Kitchen Bouquet
Sprinkle in some of the dry, pour on some liquid, stir well, and repeat until everything is very well coated.
My family is all over the map on cooking times. I personally bake on low, 250-300 degrees, for 2-3 hours or until the trash is no longer “oily” from the liquid mix. You’ll want to stir every hour or so to distribute the seasonings and the liquid.
You can gift this in Christmas tins, but if you tend to give a lot those tins can get expensive. To help with that I’ve begun bagging it in Ziploc gallon bags and placing in gift bags with pretty tissue. That works, too!
Written out like this makes it sound more complicated than it is. Truth? It’s more time-consuming than anything. Also true, I’m 99% sure I’m forgetting something. I hope you enjoy. Do let me know if you try it, or if you intend to. LOL. Good intentions count around here!
Hugs
Shellie
