Mood:  a-ok

I'm going to let you in on another one of the Tinkel family secrets. This one is a Holiday tidbit. Here it is...are you ready...it has been a family tradition ever since I can remember to make Chex Party Mix every year for the holidays. Some of my earlies memories are of making Chex Mix in our small kitchen in Pennsylvania. What good memories!

That's why I was so excited when I was asked by Pssst! to do a Chex Mix Party and try out some new recipes with my friends. The folks at Pssst! sent me a serving bowl and serving spoon to help with the party and also a nice canvas bag to give away to one blessed party guest. They also sent a box of Rice Chex to use along with a $10 Visa gift card to buy extra ingredients. Also included were coupons and recipes for three different Chex recipes.

Now let me tell you, these aren't the Chex recipes that we made when we were younger. These are totally different! The one that they really wanted us to try was "Chex Lemon Buddies". Other recipes included "Chex Apple Pie Snack Mix" and "Tex Chex Party Mix"! We were to make them up ahead of time and have a Chex tasting party for our guests.

Well, rebellious me decided to do things differently. I'm liable to be kicked off of the Pssst! team for this one. Most of you all know that my wife and I direct a ministry to the low income housing folks in the town where we live. Part of our ministry includes once a month cooking classes for the people that come to the mission. Well, I decided to have a "Chex Mix Cooking Class" and attempt to make three...yes I said three...Chex recipes in one hour or less...yes I said one hour! I decided to teach the folks how to make the "Lemon Buddies Mix", the "Tex Chex Mix" and the "Traditional Chex Mix".

I gathered all of my ingredients, bowls and utensils. Had my recipes and coupons waiting and was ready for action. Nearly 20 people showed up and we got started. As usual, I had a lot of audience participation. I never do things all myself. I had people involved with stirring and shaking and measuring.

We began with the Lemon Buddies. What a great mix! It was very easy to make and was delicious. This was probably the favorite of the folks.

Next we attempted the Tex Chex Mix. It is similar to the traditional chex mix but you add a lot of hot spices and a few more tasty ingredients like corn nuts and taco chips. This one was popular with those of us who liked spicy things, but many said that it was too hot. It was hot, but I loved it!

Finally we made the Traditional Chex Mix. As usual, it was a hit. After all, anything that continues to be a success after 55 years (it came out in 1955) of being around must be good.

So did we make the hour deadline? Let me first tell you that we made all of these in the microwave which cut down on the time. But, let me also tell you that we made huge batches. We made enough of every mix to feed at least 24 people if not more. Well, each recipe took about 15 minutes to make. That, along with tasting and passing around, took almost exactly 1 hour! At the end, I showed the people how they could make up a batch of their choice of Chex Mix, put it in a decorated zip-lock bag or canning jar and give to friends as inexpensive but delicious gifts.

The party was a hit. Everyone enjoyed it and took some good ideas home with them. They were even talking about other ingredients that could be added to make different flavors and custom mixes. I loved it. Pictures are posted below. To get the recipes for the above mentioned mixes, visit your local Wal-Mart for recipe cards. They're delicious.

Whipping up some Lemon Buddies

Audience Participation

Taste Testing

And more of me - aren't I handsome !

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