Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Mike's Secret Chex Mix Recipe

My friend Mike makes the best Chex Mix! He brings a batch to every potluck and party, which in my circle of friends, occurs on way regular basis. When Mike brings the Chex Mix, he always separates me out a bag to take home because he knows how much I love the stuff. And I always take the mix to work to snack on at my desk. And then my co-worker Hannah always helps herself to as much as she wants. It happens every time.

So about a month ago, Hannah decided to replace the Chex Mix she'd eaten. We requested Mike's recipe, and he passed it along. Hannah made a big ole double batch, but we inhaled it. And then on Tuesday morning, we came to the sad, sad realization that there was no more Chex Mix. And that meant it was my turn to bring the Chex Mix.


So I used Mike's recipe, with a couple of tweaks of my own, to make a double batch. Now we're stocked with Chex Mix again. Yea! I'm guessing Hannah and I will go back and forth, taking turns keeping the Chex Mix stockpiled on my desk (I'm the Keeper of All Snacks because Hannah has less willpower).

Without Mike's permission (because I forgot to ask), I'm sharing his secret recipe. I'm pretty sure he won't care. And if he does, so what. Is he gonna sue me? Doubt it.

Mike's Fabulous Chex Mix (in his own words, stolen from a Facebook message)
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In one bowl ...
2 cups of rice chex
2 cups of corn chex
2 cups of wheat chex
1 cup of cheerios
sometimes I throw in something else. These last couple of times it was about half a cup or so of sesame sticks.
1 can of DELUXE mixed nuts
1 jar of macadamia nuts

Actually I put it in a giant roasting pan.

Other bowl ...
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil (Bianca's note: I only used 1/2 cup of oil)
2 tbs of vegan Worcestershire sauce
2 tbs of Dale's Seasoning (it's in a bottle, looks kind of like soy sauce with tons of spices in it)
1 tsp of garlic salt
1 tsp of onion salt
1 tsp of Tony Chachere's Cajun Spice (they have a regular and a hotter one)
1/2 tsp paprika

Then is when you get creative.
If I'm making it hotter for y'all,
I add hot sauce, cayenne pepper, stuff like that.
If you want to make it really hot, you have to add more than you'd think though. The olive oil seems to negate some of the kick it gives.

I usually just whisk the bowl with all the spices and oil long enough to get it mixed thoroughly. Some people put it on a pot and heat it up first.

Pour it all over the bowl with all the cereal and nuts and stir it around to coat it all. You'll see the oil at the bottom of the container.

Put in the oven at 250
Cook it for an hour, and you stir it every 15 minutes


Note: I've heard from a fellow blogger that the vitamin D in Chex is derived from sheep's wool, but I use the generic kind. I'm not totally sure of its vegan-ness, but it appears okay. I'm not that picky. I'm sure the Vegan Police will come after me for saying that, but whatevs.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh my gosh that looks so snack-tastic! thanks for the recipe! i can't wait to try!

Scissors and Spice said...

That stuff is so addicting. I love the chocolate peanut butter chex mix... muddy buddies? I forget, but I could probably eat about 10 cups in one sitting.

tender b. said...

I need to seriously go with this. Beats snacking on almost anything else.

Lauren said...

My mom makes super spicy chex mix and uses cheerios too. Maybe my mom and Mike have some kind of secret chex mix alliance.

Barb@ThatWasVegan said...

Uh ohhhh... you're going to lose your vegan super powers, and your hair is going to go limp :)

That mix looks really yummy, and perfect for a snack to keep at work!

mrsmeyer said...

Some brown sugar melted into some Earth Balance adds a sweet kick. It's SO good.

xvavaveganx said...

OMG that stuff sounds amazing! I love the spicy kick that is added! It seems like it would be easy to make gluten free too!

I love mrsmeyer's idea of making it sweet too! That sounds delicious, especially with some added vanilla extract and cinnamon. Oh man that could be dangerous!

Belle said...

Ive been looking for a new snack, def will try this! Sounds so good!

Unknown said...

omg i HAVE to HAVE to make this! Chex Mix was my favorite snack in high school

Anonymous said...

worcestershire sauce is not vegan, it has anchovies in it

Bianca said...

Hi Anonymous, that's why the recipe specifically calls for "vegan worcestershire sauce." There are a few vegan brands (Wizards is my fave) on the market. But you are correct that most worcestershire sauce is not vegan.