Mixing Up Some Fun In the Kitchen

I feed my kids nutritionally complete healthy meals 3 times a day. But still their little tummies get hungry at random times during the day so they seem to always be asking for a snack. Actually, they don't always bother asking for it. Sometimes they just bombard me with moans of "I'm Starrrrving!".

I've grown tired of the same old snacks I usually buy so we decided to mix up some fun in the kitchen today and make our own Chex mix snacks. I found lots of great recipes on the Chex recipe website.

We started with the Shake 'N Go Snack Mix. It has a short list of ingredients and the kids can have fun shaking it all up.



Ingredients
5 cups Chex® cereal (any variety)
1 cup teddy bear-shaped graham snacks
1/2 cup honey-roasted peanuts
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup candy-coated chocolate candies or jelly beans

Preparation Directions
1. In large resealable food-storage plastic bag, place all ingredients. Shake until well mixed.
2. Store sealed in plastic bag or airtight container.

For our Chex cereal, we used 2 1/2 cups of Corn Chex and 2 1/2 cups of Rice Chex. Nicholas and I reviewed fractions as he poured the cereal in the measuring cup.



Yep, those are clean hands...



Rachel helped to pour the cereal in the big bag.



Add the Teddy Grahams,



raisins (Rachel's favorite!),



and the miniature M&M's.



Close up the bag and shake it, baby!



My kids had so much fun making this. They learned teamwork and we discussed addition and fractions. And the final product is colorful, fun to eat, and yummy too!



My personal favorite recipe of the ones that I've tried so far is the Chai Crunch. I love Chai tea lattes and this snack is perfect for satisfying my Chai cravings. The warm cinnamon and ginger flavors are just perfect for the holiday season.

The ingredient list is longer than our previous recipe and it's a little more involved than just shaking a bag but it is so worth it!



Ingredients
3 cups Corn Chex® cereal
3 cups Wheat Chex® cereal
3 cups Honey Nut Cheerios® cereal
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds
1 cup dried banana chips
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon instant nonfat dry milk or original-flavor nondairy creamer, if desired
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon dried orange peel
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation Directions
1. In large microwavable bowl, mix cereals, almonds and banana chips.
2. In 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave butter on High about 40 seconds or until melted. Stir in remaining ingredients until well mixed. Pour over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly coated.
3. Microwave on High 4 to 6 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes, until golden brown. Spread on waxed paper or paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container.

Total yummy goodness. Here, let me wipe that drool off your monitor...



Want to make some of these awesome recipes? Through December 25th, Kroger will offer Chex cereal at their lowest prices of the year! So mix up some fun in your own kitchen and have snacks on hands to keep your kids happy while you run the roads with those last minute holiday errands or serve one of these homemade treats to your party guests are really "wow" them with your creative knack in the kitchen.

To win the Kroger "Chex Holiday Recipes" gift pack that includes two samples of Chex cereal and a $25 gift card valid at the Kroger Family of Stores, simply leave a comment here telling me which of your favorite Chex cereals you plan to stock up on during the Kroger sale event.

If you want additional entries,
- Leave another comment sharing your favorite holiday recipe that uses Chex cereal
- Post about this contest on Facebook and leave a comment here stating that you did(one entry per day)
- Tweet about this contest on Twitter and leave a comment here stating that you did (one entry per day)
- "Like" Chex Mix on Facebook and leave a comment here stating that you did
- "Like" Kroger on Facebook and leave a comment here stating that you did
- Follow this blog on Google Friend Connect.

This contest is open to U.S. residents age 18 and older. The contest will end on Saturday, January 1st at midnight CST. The winner will be chosen by random number generator at www.random.org. The winner will be posted in the comments section of this post and will also be contacted directly by email - so please be sure to leave your email address in each and every comment!

Chex and Kroger provided me with free products, information, and a giveaway prize package through MyBlogSpark.