Thursday, March 15, 2012

Munchie Madness

Happy Thursday, readers!

It's been a very relaxing week for me, as it is Spring Break and I don't have any classes. I've been working during the day and impressed by how much time I have in the evening. Of course, I haven't taken advantage of that extra time like I should. Instead, I had intentions tonight of curling up in front of the TV and relaxing.

The problem? It's March Madness. I'm not big on watching sports on TV. I'm an audience person; I love being in the stands cheering on the team and watching the live event.

So, bored, I turned to my stockpile to see if I could do some baking. Yesterday, I discovered just how large my cereal collection is. I keep buying the same cereals with the belief that I will use them baking. Then they sit up there in the stockpile until nights like tonight.

What did I make? Well, I'm going to share with you:

Leah's Perfect Puppy Chow


Once upon a time, in high school, I made a little "business" for a class. My business was puppy chow. I made batches and batches night after night. I also made a hefty profit in the end. What have I taken from my entrepreneurial lesson that I can apply today? The perfect puppy chow recipe. After weeks of research and experimentation, I found a great, low-cost, foolproof recipe. And I'm willing to share that with you, my favorite readers.

You'll need:
6 cups Rice Chex cereal
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter
powdered sugar, to taste

1. Melt chocolate chips in microwave 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave an additional 30 seconds. Mixture should be smooth; mix in peanut butter.

2. Pour Chex into a large bowl. Cover cereal with the chocolate-peanut butter mixture. (Note: the best, easiest way to mix this is to dig in with your hands!)

3. Pour powdered sugar (probably 1/2 cup) into a gallon-sized Ziploc. Dump in 1/2 cereal mixture. Put an additional 1/2 cup powdered sugar into Ziploc. Finish dumping in the cereal mixture. Top with another 1/2 cup powdered sugar.

4. Seal Ziploc bag and shake until well covered. Add powdered sugar as needed.

After making my famous Puppy Chow (seriously, people remember this little yummy "project" of mine), I realized I still have a lot of Chex left. The back of one of the Chex boxes had quick and easy recipes, so I thought I'd try one, which involved simple ingredients I already had in my stockpile. Woo hoo!

Chex Lemon Buddies

 This recipe came from the Chex box, and is definitely worth trying, especially for those of you who like lemon bars!

You'll need:
9 cups Rice Chex cereal
1 1/4 cups white vanilla baking chips (I used vanilla almond bark)
1/4 cup butter or margarine
4 tsp grated lemon peel
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 cups powdered sugar

1. Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.

2. In 1-quart microwave bowl, microwave chips, butter, lemon peel, and juice uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon (I used a one gallon and it was fine) resealable food-storage plastic bag.

3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; gently shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. Store in an airtight container. (I just stuck mine in a Tupperware bowl and then in the fridge)

Both of these recipes took me under 30 minutes to make, with a hand-washed load of dishes, too. And my stockpile isn't quite as full:

 I've now got one Rice Chex in my cupboard (I do eat these as cereal, too, from time to time) and only 5 in my stockpile. Woot woot!

So, March Madness caused me to create Munchie Madness. The best part? Friday treats for work! :)

Happy Friday, everyone!

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