Eating a pre-packaged bag of Chex Mix is cruel. You think when you put that mouthful of carbs into your mouth, that there will be a reward. Flavor. Yet, that is never the case when you eat Chex Mix from a bag. More like eating carboard is more like the experience. Something is missing from the flavorful, homemade batch your mom used to pull out of the oven. Is it the warmth? I don’t think so.
Garlic salt (and onion salt for that matter) is missing from my pantry. I threw it out years ago, once I discovered real garlic sitting in the produce section of the grocery store. (Imagine my surprise when I learned you could grow it yourself!) How hard is it to peel a sliver of garlic and add it to the recipe of whatever you are making? But then, when I started to make Chex mix for my boys, I came up short. The recipe calls for garlic salt.
I’m no stranger to improvisation — so in no time I came up with a solution. Just add real garlic, and onions, and roast them right along with the butter, (which I double), and let that roasted, natural smell of roasted garlic and onions permeate the butter. (For whatever reason, Martha Stewart does not peel the onions when she makes broth, so I decided not to peel the garlic and onions for this recipe too.)
So I tried it. I threw in unpeeled garlic and onion into the butter mixture, along with a bit of salt, and the effect was sublime.I know you think the garlic and onion would be overpowering… but it’s not. Somehow. It just adds the right amount of flavor.
When the chex mix is “done”, I just pull the garlic and onion out, and we dig in.
Chex Mix my way recipe:
3 cups Corn Chex® cereal
3 cups Rice Chex® cereal
3 cups Wheat Chex® cereal
1 cup mixed nuts
2 cups bite-size pretzels
12 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons salt
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 onion sliced
Heat oven to 250°F. In large bowl, mix cereals, nuts, pretzels and bagel chips; set aside. In ungreased large roasting pan, melt butter in oven. Stir in salt, onion and garlic. Gradually stir in cereal mixture until evenly coated. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove garlic and onion. Spread on paper towels to cool, about 15 minutes. Store in airtight container.
I’ll have to try that — sounds delish. My personal version has half the butter replaced with saved bacon grease.
You are undoubtedly the Domestic Goddess…..
Yum… wish I could reach into my computer screen and grab a handful.
Glad you mentioned this, Steph! I was wondering if I could pull out my stash of bacon grease (normally reserved for popcorn) and use it in Chex Mix. Of course! Besides, isn’t bacon grease less fattening that butter?!
Don’t know about fattening or not — but it is yummy! And I somehow feel very frugal when I use it in place of butter.
I’ve also been using it in the Touch of Grace biscuits instead of the shortening called for. Have you ever tried that recipe? It is life-changing. http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/recipes/bread_biscuits.html