Buttery Ranch Snack Mix

1 bottle of Orville Redenbacher's popping and topping oil (this is found in the popcorn section of the grocery)
4.5 Tbsp Ranch dressing mix powder
12 oz Crispix cereal
10 oz Cheez-Its
9.5 oz Triscuits
9 oz Pretzels
9 oz Ritz Chips
1/2 bag Bugles
(other assorted crackers, cereals, or pretzels may be substituted)

Place cereal, crackers, and pretzels in a turkey cooking bag. Mix oil & ranch powder together and pour over top. Tie bag shut and shake. Let mixture sit overnight, or at least for several hours, turning and shaking every so often. Store in air tight containers. Keeps for at lest a week.

DIY Larabars

I'm kind of proud of myself for making these. Not that they were difficult - actually they were kind of stupidly easy. But because they are a healthy, "real food" alternative to one of our go-to snacks. In stead of tossing the kids a granola bar on the way out the door (becasue we're running late... again) and feeling guilty for giving them junk, I can feel good about this. Plus, both the boys and my husband love them. Easy-peasey breakfast or on-the-go snack while we're running round.

I found a variety of recipes for homemade larabars on Pinterest and finally settled on making my own variation based on flavors I like. I made two kinds. Total time spent, including clean-up = 20 minutes. See? Super easy.

These are the two I tried...

"Cherry Pie"
1/2 C natural almonds (not roasted or salted)
1/2 C pitted whole dates
1 tesp cinnamon
1/8 tesp salt
1 T coconut oil
1 T warm water
1/4 C dried cherries

Pulverize the almonds and dates in the food processor until it gets all crumbly. Add the cinnamon, salt, oil, and water. Mix together on "pulse" mode until it comes together and kind of looks like a dough ball. Then add cherries and pulse a few more times. I wanted bigger chunks of cherries so I added them at the end. I guess you could add them in the beginning if you wanted them all mushed up. If the mixture is too dry just add another Tbsp or so of warm water. It will be kind of sticky, but more dry than cookie dough. Then take all the mixture together in your hands and squeeze it tight - really pack it together like a snowball. Place in a small square pan or loaf pan lined in plastic wrap. Press down and get it all level, however thick you like your bars. Then wrap up in plastic and put in the fridge for a few hours until it gets nice and firm. Remove from the pan, cut into bars, wrap each bar in plastic wrap, store in the fridge.

"Double Chocolate"
1/2 C natural almonds
1/2 C pitted whole dates
1/8 tesp salt
1 T coconut oil
1 T unsweet cocoa powder
1 T warm water
a handfull of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Pulverize the almonds and dates in the food processor until it gets all crumbly. Add salt, oil, cocoa, and water. Pulse until it comes together like a dough ball. Add a little more warm water if mixture is too dry. Take mixture out and smash it together in your hands nice and tight like a snowball. Then place in a plastic lined small square pan or loaf pan. Press down until it's all level and smooth, sprinkle a handfull of chocolate chips on top and press them down so they stick. Refrigerate a few hours until it gets firm. Remove from pan, cut into bars, wrap each bar in plastic wrap, store in the fridge.

A few notes:
I hate dates. Really, I think they are way too sweet and gross. But in these recipes you honestly cannot taste them. They provide the sweetness and texture to hold the bars together. So if you hate dates like I do, don't be afraid of making these. Also, coconut oil, if you're not familiar, is a solid when the temp is cool (which it is now), so I don't know how it would act in the summertime, but I think it would be fine.

Also, the possibilities of flavor combos are really endless. I'm looking forward to trying the Key Lime variety on my next batch.

***----------------------------------***
UPDATE:
Now that I've made these a few times, I'm finding that my family prefers the more simple recipe. {almonds, dates, salt, coconut oil, water} Then I divide the base "dough" in half and put dried cherries & dark chocolate chips in one half and dried cranberries in the other. My boys don't care much for the cocoa or cinnamon kinds.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

• 3 cooked chicken breasts; shredded
• 12 oz. Franks's buffalo red hot sauce
• 1 C. ranch dressing
• 2 C. shredded cheese
• 16 oz. cream cheese; softened
• celery sticks and chips for dipping

Combine all ingredients and bake in 9 x 13 dish at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with celery sticks and chips.

Perfect for game day!

Seven Layer Dip

• 1.5 lbs. ground beef; browned and cooled to room temp.
• 1 can (16 oz.) refried beans
• 3 C. shredded cheddar-Monterrey Jack cheese
• 8 oz. sour cream
• 1 C. guacamole
• 1 C. salsa
• 1 can (6 oz.) black olives; chopped
• 1/2 C. chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 C. chopped green onions

Layer all ingredients on a serving tray: Beans, half of cheese, beef, sour cream, guacamole, other half of cheese, black olives, tomatoes, then green onion.

Mini Sausage Appetizers

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 lb. Jimmy Dean sausage
• 1 lb. Velveeta
• 1 1/2 tesp. oregano
• 1/2 tesp. garlic powder
• 2 loaves baby rye cocktail bread

Brown beef and sausage, drain. Return to pan, add cheese and spices, stir until melted through.

Spread onto slices of bread on baking sheet. Broil 5-7 minutes until bubbly.

Creamy Bacon Dip

• 16 oz. sour cream
• 3 oz. bacon bits (the real kind)
• 2 C. shredded cheddar cheese
• 8 oz. cream cheese - softened
• 1 C. chopped green onions

Combine all ingredients. Place in 1 qt. baking dish, cover, bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Serve with chips or veggie dippers.

Fresh Summer Salsa

This recipe is prepared using a food processor, but the ingredients can be chopped finely by hand, or using the lowest speed in a blender, depending on how thick you prefer the salsa.

• 4 C. ripe tomatoes
• 1 small onion
• 1 jalapeno (or other mild pepper)
• 1 clove of garlic
• approximately 1 tesp salt (to taste)
• handfull of fresh cilantro, stems removed
• squeeze of fresh lime juice

Leaving the jalapeno whole, place it in a dry skillet on medium-high, turning to allow all the sides to "blacken". When the skin is blackened, remove from the skillet immediately, and wrap tightly in foil. Once cooled, carefully peel the blackened skin off. ** Cut pepper lengthwise, remove seeds and veins. Wash hands immediately after handling.

Chop all ingredients (except tomatoes) in food processor until desired consistency. Add tomatoes last.

If you are using tomatoes with a lot of seeds and juice, cut them in half and scoop out the "juicy" middle (if using Roma tomatoes there won't be as much to remove.) before adding them to the food processor, chopping for only a second or two. Do not over-process.

If you prefer a more mild garlic flavor, mince the garlic and saute in a little oil before adding to the food processor.

**You might need to wear latex gloves to handle the pepper if your skin is sensitive.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Turtle Pretzels

Prep time: 10 minutes
Difficulty level: easiest!

• 1 bag of Rolos
• 1 bag of mini pretzel twists
• 1 bag of pecan halves

(See, it looks easy already doesn't it?)

Lay pretzels on top of a cookie sheet lined with wax or parchment paper, unwrap the Rolos (this step is essential), place one rolo on top of each pretzel. Pop them in the oven for 3-5 minutes on about 350, just until they start to look melty. Take them out of the oven and quickly press one pecan half on top of each melted rolo. Squish down enough to get the pecan stuck in the chocolate, but not too much that they flatten all the way down. (You know, so they look like traditional Turtles.) Let them cool and munch away!

The BEST Caramel Corn in the universe

Prep time: 15 minutes

Bake time: 1 hour

Serves: 5 people (or just 2 if you're like my family!)

• 10 cups of popped popcorn -(don't use microwave kind) get seeds out, put in a very LARGE pan
• 2 C brown sugar
• 1 C Karo syrup
• 1 stick butter

Melt sugar, syrup, and butter in a LARGE sauce pan until forms a "soft ball".
Take off heat and quickly add:

• 1 tsp baking soda (it will bubble way up)
• 1 tsp salt

Stir vigorously! Then pour over the popcorn, stir until coated well. Bake at 350 for 1 hour - stirring every 15 minutes. (Don't even think of taking it out of the oven early -- if you do it won't be crunchy.)

This is pretty much the yummiest snack of all time! We always make a double or triple batch because it goes so quickly. I got this from both my mom and grandma and it's been in our family forever. We especially love to make it in the fall and around the holidays. Nothing beats the anticipation of smelling it bake. Ooh, mouth-watering, wonderful caramel corn!