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Nascar Race Day Snacks

March 3, 2016
holiday
1 Comment

Today I am taking it back to one of my oldest son’s favorite things, Nascar. Shorty has been a Nascar fan for pretty much his entire life. We don’t really know how or when it started but his favorite drive has been Dale Earnhardt Jr since before he was 5 and well, he is 16 now! Over the years we have even been able to go to a few races which all 4 of my kids love but races aren’t cheap especially when you are a family of 6. So we spend Sunday’s watching races. The Nascar season begins in February with the Daytona 500 and this year I created a race day menu on Allrecipes of some of our favorite Nascar Race Day Snacks. They are all perfect small bites that are perfect for race day!

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Classic Chex Mix

December 19, 2015
Uncategorized
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On my next day of Homemade Christmas I have Classic Chex Mix

Chex Mix was another treat that my grandma would send us at Christmas time. It is a treat that is easy to customize and everyone has their own favorite parts. My favorite is the classic that I grew up with. Chex, Pretzels and Peanuts… that is all I need. While I use to love those Rye chips in store-bought Chex Mix I have never added them to my own. The thing about Chex Mix is there is something for everybody in it. I use to be the person that ate all of the Wheat Chex. They were my favorite. If only they weren’t full of gluten now. I will miss eating them.

So, what is a gluten free girl to do when she “needs” her holiday Chex mix,she figures out how to make it gluten free! I started by cutting out the Wheat Chex. I just added equal parts of rice and corn Chex to make up the difference. Next I needed to find gluten free pretzels. This past year I have started cautiously trying out gluten free products. Pretzels were one of the foods I have tried. My favorite gluten free pretzels are made by Glutino.Well, Snyders of Hanover have some great flavored bits that would be good also. Walmart also makes their own line of pretzels that are so-so. Then I added the classic peanuts. All that was left was checking the ingredients of the seasoning mix. The only ingredient that threw up red flags for me was the Worcestershire sauce. Sometimes it is not gluten free because it is made with malt vinegar so you need to really read your labels. Then all that is left is to mix it up and cook it. While I have used both the oven and microwave to make it, both methods being easy. The microwave method wins just because it is so quick!

I am happy to have this tradition back in our house. I just need to make sure I don’t eat my weight in Chex Mix, it is absolutely addictive!

Check out my 12 Days of Homemade Christmas for other great ideas!

Classic Chex Mix

Author:

Country Girl Gourmet

Ingredients

4½ cups Corn Chex® cereal
4½ cups Rice Chex® cereal
1 cup cocktail peanuts
1 cup bite-size gluten free pretzels
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1½ teaspoons seasoned salt
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder

Instructions

In large microwavable bowl, mix cereals, peanuts, and pretzels; set aside. In small microwavable bowl, microwave butter uncovered on High about 40 seconds or until melted. Stir in seasonings. Pour over cereal mixture; stir until evenly coated.
Microwave uncovered on High 5 to 6 minutes, thoroughly stirring every 2 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container.

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Caramel Corn

December 14, 2015
Uncategorized
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We have had a pretty busy weekend in our house. On Saturday my daughter and I participated in Wreaths Across America here on Fort Bragg.

This experience brought up a slew of questions as well as memories for my daughter of the only time she has ever been in a cemetery, after my grandmother’s death. This led into conversations about my grandma and all of our happy memories. One those memories was Caramel Corn. Every year during the holidays a bag of this was sure to pop up and a few years back when we were living in New Jersey my grandma was able to spend the holidays with us. On her list of things to make with her great-grandkids while she was visiting was caramel corn. My kid’s loved it and the tradition of Caramel Corn lives on in my family with us making her yummy recipe.

My grandma’s recipe is pretty easy to make. In fact you do not even need the oven for it. The recipe is primarily made on the stove top and microwave. The recipe starts with making popcorn. While it is popping you can make the caramel sauce. The caramel sauce is made on the stove and takes less than 15 minutes to make. You do not need anything special for it other than a heavy bottomed saucepan. No thermometer, just bring to a boil on medium for 5 minutes and bam it’s done! Then all you do is pour the caramel over the popcorn and coat well and microwave the popcorn. Let it cool and then try not to eat it all. My family is addicted to it. Granted there are 6 of us but I can make up a bowl and it will be gone in a day! It really is good stuff! I am sure your family will love it as much as mine!

Check out my 12 Days of Homemade Christmas for other great ideas!

Caramel Corn

Author:

Country Girl Gourmet

Ingredients

4 Quarts Popped, Popcorn
1 Cup Peanuts
1 Cup Brown Sugar
¼ cup and 1 teaspoon Corn Syrup
½ Cup Butter or Margarine
½ Teaspoon Salt
½ Teaspoon Baking Soda

Instructions

In a large bowl combine popped popcorn and peanuts.
In a heavy saucepan combine brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt and cook on medium until it boils. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda.
Pour caramel mix over popcorn, mixing to coat well.
Cook in Microwave on high for 1.5 minutes then stir well, then cook on high 1 minute and then stir, next cook on high 45 seconds and then stir. Finally cook on high for 35 seconds Stir and then spread out and cool on wax or parchment paper.

Galactic Munch Mix

November 13, 2015
Uncategorized
3 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #AwakenYourTastebuds #CollectiveBias

1977 was an awesome year. Yes, it was absolutely awesome and I say this not just because it was the year I was born but because it was also the year Star Wars™ was released. The movie has a following that rivals others. Most everyone has seen it, those that have not somehow never seen it are questioned and then told they need to see it. Interventions will be done so that they do see it. It’s a movie that parents share with their children, introducing it to a new generation. Star Wars™ has become a must watch classic for all ages. Everybody seems to love it for their own reasons and many hold some very strong opinions and will debate which movie was the best. I’m not sure i’m ready to enter that debate here. We have it all the time in my house. We are HUGE Star Wars™ fans around here. From it being the classic story of good versus evil to the characters in the different movies we all love the movie and we are super excited for the newest movie Star Wars™ movie, coming out in December. If only I had a dollar for every time one of my kids has said they want to go see it as soon as it comes out, I would be a rich women. Yes, son we will go see the movie, just not the moment it first comes out. Since i’m going to make my inpatient children wait I have been thinking of things we can and should do before going. I think the number one thing on the list is watching the movies for our family fun night. I think a Star Wars™ marathon is a must! Then in the morning I will have a quick breakfast ready and we could go making the first viewing in the morning. Well try, there are 6 of us and getting out of the house on time came be challenging. Having breakfast made ahead of time so everyone can grab and go will probably be the best option for my crew so I came up with Galactic Munch Mix that i’m pairing up with some Star Wars™ Go-Gurt.

Going grocery shopping for my Galactic Munch Mix at Walmart I knew I had to get some Star Wars™ Darth Vader Cereal and incorporate it somehow and then I saw the Honey Nut Cheerios® . That lovable bee, Buzz, was now dressed up for Star Wars™. Plus there was a toy in the box too. I was instantly transformed to being a little girl wanting the cereal with the cool toy in the box. The fact that it was a Star Wars™ toy just made it that much better.

How could I not buy them? So in my cart they went! I continued wandering the store and came across the Star Wars™ Go-Gurt and decided they would be perfect with my Galactic Munch Mix. My breakfast idea was coming together.

Once I was home Lil Miss helped me put together my first batch of Galactic Munch Mix. Well she was there when I first opened up the Honey Nut Cheerios® . I think she really only wanted the Star Wars™ toy because she grabbed it and disappeared, looking for light. The toy was a space robot viewer with a scene from the newest movie! I will be buying more Honey Nut Cheerios® just for the viewers. I ~~need~~ want them all and i’m sure my kids do too!

I let my daughter and youngest son go back to ~~fighting over~~ playing with the toy and I went back to work. I had some Galactic Munch Mix to make. I gathered up my ingredients and went to work.

My Galactic Munch Mix is a combo of Honey Nut Cheerios® , Star Wars™ Darth Vader Cereal, Graham Cracker bites, Lightly Salted Almonds and Chocolate Covered Cranberries covered in an easy homemade caramel sauce.
I start the recipe off by making the caramel sauce. I use salted butter to help balance out some of the sweetness or maybe it is to enhance the sweetness, it just helps makes it yummy. If you add 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt to the recipe you will have a good salted caramel too. I add butter, brown sugar and corn syrup to a heavy bottomed saucepan and cook it on medium heat until it comes to boil. I then remove it from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

In a large bowl I add the cereals and all of the mix ins. I then pour the caramel sauce in and mix well making sure everything is well coated.

Next I pour the cereal mix onto a cookie sheet and bake it for 30 minutes.

After the first 15 minutes I give the mix a good stir. The Star Wars™ Darth Vader Cereal marshmallows may melt a little but that is ok.

When the cereal mix is done baking I remove it from the cookie sheet and spread it out on wax paper and let it cool.

Once cool I break up large chunks and add the chocolate covered cranberries and mix them in.

Then all is left is to bag it up so my kids can grab and go in the morning.

My first batch of galactic trail mix disappeared fast. My kids and husband all loved it. The combo of the Galactic Munch Mix and Star Wars™ Go-Gurt has worked well on busy school mornings. I am thinking it is going to be perfect for Saturday morning when we are trying to get out of the house in a hurry to get to the movie theater giving us one less thing to worry about on our way to see the movie. Quick and easy breakfasts that all of my kids like are always a winner for me! My kids can focus on other things that morning like what they want to dress up as. A debate that they have been having the last few weeks.

What do you eat when you are wanting a quick and healthy breakfast? For more great recipes be sure to check out http://www.foodawakenswithgeneralmills.com

5.0 from 2 reviews

Galactic Munch Mix

Author:

Country Girl Gourmet

Ingredients

6 Cups Honey Nut Cheerios®
2 Cups Star Wars™ Darth Vader Cereal
2 Cups Graham Cracker Bites
1 Cup Almonds
1 Cup Chocolate Covered Cranberries
½ Cup Salted Butter
¾ Cup Corn Syrup
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
*optional ½ teaspoon sea salt*

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.
Pour the cereals, graham cracker bites and almonds into a large mixing bowl.
In a heavy bottomed saucepan, cook butter, brown sugar and corn syrup on medium heat until it begins to boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over top of cereal, graham crackers and almonds. Toss gently to coat the cereal.
Spread the coated cereal out on a greased baking sheet.
Bake at 275 degrees for 15 minutes and then stir.Return to oven and bake for another 15 minutes.
Cool the cereal mixture completely spreading onto waxed paper. Once cool place in a large bowl and add the chocolate covered cranberries. Toss to combine.
Store in an airtight container or portion into ½-1 cup servings in resealable sandwich bags.

Peanut Butter Monster Rice Cakes

October 1, 2015
breakfast, snacks
0 comment

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SpreadTheMagic #CollectiveBias

I have to tell you something about my family, they are peanut butter monsters. Each and every one of them. It is insane the amount of peanut butter my family goes through in a month. I sometimes wonder if my family has peanut butter running through their veins they eat so much of it. With eating the quantities that we do there are always debates. Like the basic Creamy, Crunchy or both? Regular peanut butter or honey peanut butter? Which peanut butter is the best peanut butter? My husband and I have seriously stood in the aisle comparing labels for a good twenty minutes trying to figure that last one out. Then I discovered a new peanut butter, Peter Pan Simply Ground Honey Roast at Walmart.

I fell in love with it. I shared some with Lil Miss and Mr Great when we made Peanut Butter Monster Rice Cakes but I want to keep the rest to myself. Would it be that bad if I hid it for myself?

So what makes this peanut butter so special? Peter Pan Simply Ground Honey Roast is “creamy with a BIT OF CRUNCH.” It’s not smooth but at the same time it is not a traditional crunchy peanut butter. It is similar to the texture of freshly ground peanut butter. I really like the texture. It is perfect just spread on a rice cake, my go to pre- long run breakfast to just dipping some Honeycrisp apple slices in.

Thinking about my favorite things to eat with peanut butter with I came up with a great snack idea for my kids, Peanut Butter Rice Cake Monsters. When my boy’s were younger I was always trying to come up with cute snack ideas for school. By the time it is my daughters turn most of these ideas are old news and she wants something different. Halloween is coming up so I knew I had to get to work for her class halloween party so I started brainstorming and came up with an idea that combines some of my favorite things and lets her play with her food. To top it off it is a healthy snack. Can you say win-win?

These monsters are somee of the easiest things to make. All you need is Peter Pan Simply Ground Original Honey Roast, Rice Cakes and your favorite food. Raisins, chocolate chips, nuts and pretzels could be used also if desired. Get creative with it!

Step one, prepare your fruit. If you will not be eating your monsters right away and will be using apples remember to add some lemon juice to help prevent the apples from browning.

Next open up your peanut butter, doesn’t that peanut butter look delicious!

Spread 2 (or more) tablespoons of peanut butter on a rice cake. If you add more I won’t judge. Peter Pan Simply Ground Honey Roast is good stuff!

Once your peanut butter is evenly spread across your rice cake it is time to play with your food and create your monster.

My daughter loved this part!

I thought my monster was pretty cute!

Ok so both of our monsters were pretty cute!

All that is left now is to eat. My daughter loved her snack!

She keeps asking me when she can make another one! I have to say this was a definite win! I am looking forward to sharing these Peanut Butter Rice Cake Monsters with her friends for Halloween!

What is your favorite Peanut Butter combination?

Peanut Butter Monster Rice Cakes

Author:

Country Girl Gourmet

Ingredients

1 Rice Cake
2 TablespoonsPeter Pan Simply Ground Original Honey Roast (or more depending on your taste)
your favorite sliced fruit, berries, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips

Instructions

Prepare fruit for topping rice cake. If using apples, toss with lemon juice to prevent browning.
Evenly spread 2 Tablespoons (or more) of peanut butter on a rice cake.
Create monster faces with your favorite fruit, berries, nuts, dried fruit and chocolate chips.
Enjoy and devour your monster!

Cheesy BBQ Rice Bites

July 30, 2015
Uncategorized
1 Comment

Back a few months ago I was asked by Allrecipes to create a kid friendly recipe with Uncle Ben’s Rice. I was honestly stumped. I had no clue what to make at all. We eat rice all the time, it is a huge part of my gluten free life but we keep it simple. The majority of the time we eat it plain with just a bit of butter, other times as mexican rice of fried rice. We really get adventurous. Then the lightbulb went off in my head, I could come up with something for our family fun night and after that Cheesy BBQ Rices Bites were born.

Every Friday night we have a family fun night. We started the tradition well over 5 years ago. We eat pizza and/or snack foods and get a redbox movie. My days of having pizza are pretty much over and I typically have to come up with something gluten free for myself. The majority of the time my kids end up asking for some of whatever I have and since i’m a nice mom I share. I remembered seeing quinoa bites on Pinterest in the past and I knew of the larger and fried Arancini (rice balls) but I had never seen a recipe for any type of smaller bite size rice snack. So I started experimenting and I came up with Cheesy BBQ Rice Bites and my kids keep asking for me to make them!

The cast of characters for this recipe couldn’t be simpler. Rice, BBQ in sauce, black beans, cheese and to help hold it together an egg. Five simple ingredients! Your BBQ can be homemade or premade. If you have leftover pork roast shred it up and add your favorite BBQ sauce. Chicken can be used in place of pork too. For the rice you can use leftover rice or an Uncle Ben’s Rice Pouch. I’m telling you this recipe is quick and easy! After you mix all your ingredients together, scoop into a min muffin pan and bake 20 minutes. Then cool and enjoy. Make them for your family! They will thank you!

Does your family do a family fun night? What kinds of things do you do?

Cheesy BBQ Rice Bites

Author:

Country Girl Gourmet

Easy to make, versatile, and kid-approved cheesy BBQ rice bites are perfect for after school snacks or as an appetizer at your next get together."

Ingredients

1 (8.8 ounce) pouch UNCLE BEN'S® Ready Rice® Original Long Grain
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1½ cups prepared pulled pork in barbeque sauce
1½ cups shredded Cheddar-Monterey Jack cheese blend
2 eggs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray mini muffin tin cups with cooking spray.
Prepare rice according to package directions. Allow to cool slightly. Combine rice, black beans, barbeque pulled pork, cheese, and eggs in a bowl; mix well.
Drop mixture by heaping tablespoons into prepared mini muffin tins, filling each cup to the top.
Bake in preheated oven until hot, about 20 minutes.
Allow bites to cool 10 minutes before popping them out of the muffin tin.

Find my recipe on Allrecipes.com

Easy Chorizo and Cheese Taquitos with Cilantro Lime Sour Cream

June 3, 2015
Uncategorized
2 Comments

A couple weeks ago I woke up way too early in the morning to set off on an adventure to New York City for some Allrecipes and foodie fun. I met up with my friend Stella from Stella Reynoso in Charlotte and we flew to Newark and took the train into the city. We navigated the Subway system and found our way to our hotel. From there we went to lunch at Butter, Alex Guarnaschelli’s restaurant and I ate the best Cesar salad I have ever had. It was beautiful! I think I must have looked like Emma Stone in in Easy A biting into the steak.

It was seriously that good. I haven’t had steak that good since we left Texas. After our late lunch we hung out at our hotel room until it was time to go to our first Allrecipes event. We were headed to Salvation Taco for an Allrecipes Allstars cocktail party. Chips and guacamole were set out around the room and we were offered drinks almost as soon as we walked into the room. Let me tell you, those margaritas were good and strong and the chili lime salt rim was a great extra touch! I would have loved to have a second glass but as soon as I would get one I would set it down and someone would snatch it. We had fun in the photo booth and chit chatting getting to know each other outside of the computer.

During the party appetizers were offered and they were great. The servers were awesome and made sure I didn’t touch anything with gluten. One of my favorite things were the chorizo taquitos. After eating my first one I pulled out my phone and opened up the notes…I needed to recreate those taquitos and here a few weeks later I finally have.

The key to this recipe is the chorizo. You want good chorizo. I’ve told people a million times over quality will always win. This rule goes for so many things in life too, not just food. Yes you can buy cheaper ingredients when it comes to cooking but the quality of your food will be affected! Just buy the good stuff! Then make these chorizo and cheese taquitos. If your family is anything like mine they will devour them.

Want to see more from my adventures in New York City? Check out my Instagram for my pics from the trip!

5.0 from 2 reviews

Easy Chorizo and Cheese Taquitos with Cilantro Lime Sour Cream

Author:

Country Girl Gourmet

Ingredients

1 lb Chorizo, casing removed
1 cup shredded Chihuahua or Monterey Jack Cheese
12-15 corn tortillas
½ cup sour cream
juice of ½ of a lime
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
sea salt

Instructions

Taquitos-
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Spray frying pan with cooking spray and cook chorizo until done. Be sure to crumble into small pieces. When done drain grease well (I used a colander)
In a bowl mix together 1 cup of Chihuahua Cheese (or Monterey Jack) and cooked chorizo. Combine well breaking up any large chunks of chorizo.
Place corn tortillas on a plate with the tortillas covered with a damp paper towel.Warm corn tortillas in a microwave for 30 seconds to one minute.
Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons filling on the side of each tortilla. Lightly dampen other side of tortilla with water with your fingers. Roll tortilla tightly around the filling and place, seam-side down, on a baking sheet. You can hold in place with a tooth pick if needed.
Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned and crispy, about 15-20 minutes.
Cilantro Lime Sour Cream
In a small bowl combine sour cream, chopped cilantro,the juice of half a lime and a dash of sea salt. Stir well and serve..

Country Girl Jalapeño Poppers

August 8, 2011
Recipes, snacks
0 comment

Jalapeno Poppers are one of my husband’s favorite snacks that he requests all year long. The spicy jalapeno, the cheese to help mellow the heat of the jalapeno, and then bacon, because everything is better with bacon. Jalapeno Poppers are little bites of addictive yumminess! Once you eat one you just want more.

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