Today’s Fortune: People will find it difficult to resist your propositions.

I am really glad my fortune told me this. I have been trying to get Mom to let me cook for a long time, but she said it was too messy and might be dangerous. But then I pointed out to her that my pal Big Monkey has been blogging about getting to cook at his house, and she said that if Laura was letting Big Monkey cook, then she thought it would probably be okay for me to cook, too!   Except she still did Adult Supervision. That was okay, though, because stoves and ovens are hot, and getting hurt will take all of the fun out of your Snackfest.

We made all kinds of good stuff on Christmas Eve, because my Uncle Phil and Aunt Karon were going to come over for Snackfest. Unfortunately, the blizzarding kept them at home, so we had a huge feast just for me and Mom and Dad! Mom said I should share my recipes, so all my friends can have a Snackfest at their houses for New Years Day.

Before you can cook, it is important to get out all the stuff you will need. Stuff like measuring cups and spoons, and pot holders for handling hot things.  Our pot holders are lots of fun.  We have a fish and a frog and a monkey that work really well. Latex gloves are also handy, because some of this stuff is messy, and you don’t want to get your hands all gooped up.

The first thing we made was something called Chex Mix. Here is a picture of all the stuff you need to make it.  You will also need a great big mixing bowl, and a big tinfoil pan to bake it in the oven.  Get those out, too.

Here are the ingredients you will need:

• 3 cups each of Corn Chex cereal, Rice Chex cereal and Wheat Chex cereal
• 1 cup of deluxe mixed nuts (without the peanuts, because Mom does not like those)
• 1 cup of little pretzels
• 1 cup of cheese crackers (we used the little square kind, because we were out of the goldfish ones.  Get the goldfish ones if you can.  They are more fun.)
• 6 tablespoons of butter or margarine (we like Shedd’s Spread Country Crock with calcium because it is good for your teeth and bones.  This also makes Chex Mix a very healthy snack food.)
• 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of seasoned salt (we like the Lawry’s kind)
• 3/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder

Turn your oven on to 250 degrees, and put the butter in the big tinfoil pan.  Stick it in the oven until it melts.  Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, seasoned salt, garlic powder and onion powder and mix it up really good.  Put all the other stuff in a great big mixing bowl and mix it up really good.  Then pour the stuff from the mixing bowl into the tinfoil pan, and mix it all up really good.  (This is where those latex gloves come in handy, because you can mix this stuff much better with your hands than with a spoon, and your hands don’t wind up covered with butter and calcium.)

Then, stick the pan full of stuff in the oven.  You will need to stir it every 15 minutes for one hour.  Then it will be done.  Pour it out onto some paper towels and let it cool, and then put it in an airtight container so it won’t get stale or soggy.

Here is what it looks like when it is done:

The next thing we made was caramel corn.   Here is a picture of all the stuff you will need to make it.  You will also need a pot for cooking on the stove, and two of the big tinfoil pans.  Get those out.  Get some Adult Supervision for this one, too, because the gooey stuff that goes on the popcorn is boiling hot when you pour it, and if you get it on you, it will hurt, and your caramel corn will not be very much fun.

Here are the ingredients you will need:

• 8 quarts of popped corn (this is about four microwave bags full.  Put 4 quarts in each of the tinfoil pans.)
• 2 cups of brown sugar
• 1 cup of margarine (if you use the calcium kind like we do, then caramel corn is a healthy snack, too!)
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup of white corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla (we have a great big bottle of vanilla that one of Mom’s friends brought her from Mexico about 15 years ago.  It has taken her that long to use about half of it.  If you don’t have Mexican vanilla, don’t worry.  The regular kind will still work.)
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda (put this in a little dish all by itself, and have it handy by your stove, so you will have it when you need it.)
• Pecan halves.  As many as you want.  Or none, if you don’t like them.  Me and Mom like them a lot, so we put a big bag of pecans in each of the tinfoil pans.  They taste really good when they get all caramely.
  

Mix the popcorn and the pecans up in the two tinfoil pans.  Put everything else, except the baking soda, in the pot on the stove, and get your Adult Supervision to cook it.    Tell the Adult Supervision to bring it to a boil, and reduce the heat to about medium, and boil it for five minutes.  No more, and no less.  If you boil it less than five minutes you will have sticky corn.  If you boil it longer than five minutes you will have burnt corn.  Neither one is good.  If the Adult Supervision is smart, she will set a timer.

As soon as the five minutes is up, the Adult Supervision should remove the pan from the stove and pour in the baking soda and stir it well.  The gooey stuff will get really bubbly.  Then it is time to pour it equally into the two tinfoil pans over the popcorn and pecans.  It has to be stirred really good to coat everything.  Do not use your hands for this, because it is really hot.  Use a big wooden spoon instead.  Cook it in the 250 degree oven for an hour, stirring it every 15 minutes, just like you did with the Chex Mix.  Then pour it out onto a sheet of tinfoil to let it cool.

This is what it looks like when it is done.  Your Dad will probably like this a lot.  I know mine does.  Be sure to store it in an airtight container.  Mom uses a cake keeper.  It is the only thing we have big enough to hold it all.

My next recipe is for homemade salsa.  It is really spicy, so if you don’t like hot stuff, you might want to skip this one.  But it is really good, and you will be missing out.  Here is a picture of what you will need.  You will also need a medium sized bowl to mix it up in.  Get that out.  And also a juice squeezer, to get the juice out of the limes.

You will need Adult Supervision for this one, too, because you will need to chop things with a sharp knife on a cutting board.  Cutting yourself makes the salsa not very fun.  Get the knife, the cutting board, and the Adult Supervision lined up before you start.

Here are the ingredients for the salsa.  Even though this one does not have calcium butter, it is still healthy, because all of the ingredients are fresh except for the canned stuff.

• 2 cans of Ro-Tel diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 bunch of green onions
• 3 jalapeno peppers
• 4 large roma tomatoes (or 2 of the regular kind)
• 1/4 bunch of cilantro
• 2 limes

Have your Adult Supervision chop up the onions, cilantro, tomatoes and peppers into really small pieces.  Advise the Adult Supervision that if she will wear those latex gloves while she is chopping up those jalapenos, her eyes will not hurt when she rubs them later on.  Put all the chopped up stuff into the bowl.  Squeeze the juice out of the limes and put it in the bowl, too.  And the stuff from the cans.  You don’t have to chop it, because it already comes that way.

Stir it up, and eat it with tortilla chips.  Be sure to have a glass of cold water or a Coke Zero handy, because it is spicy.  You will be glad you did this.  Here is what it looks like when it is done:

The next thing we made was sausage balls.   These are pretty easy, but they are also pretty messy, which makes them extra fun to make.  You don’t need sharp things or a hot stove, so your Adult Supervision can just supervise, and be there to take over if you get tired while you are mixing them up.  You will need a big mixing bowl and a cookie sheet covered with tinfoil.  Get those out.

Here is a picture of everything you will need:

These are the ingredients for sausage balls:

• 1 pound of sausage
• 2 1/2 cups of biscuit mix (we use Bisquick, but any kind will do.)
• 1 pound of grated sharp cheddar cheese (cheese has calcium in it, too, so sausage balls are also very healthy!)

Put all of the ingredients into the mixing bowl.  Put on the latex gloves, and start smooshing it all together.  This will take a while.  You have to squish it up until it is all mixed well.  If you have trouble getting it to mix, add a few sprinkles of water.  This will help the biscuit mix and the cheese stick to the sausage.

When it is all mixed up good, pinch off bits of it, and roll it into balls about the size of a nickel.  Put the balls on the cookie sheet, and bake them in a 300 degree oven for about 25 minutes.  They will be toasty brown and delicious.

This is what they look like when they are done.  Your Dad will probably like these a lot, too.  I know mine does.  You might want to hide some in the fridge to microwave later, so you will be sure to get some of them.

The last thing I made for Snackfest was barbecue beer weenies.  These are very easy, too.  You will need a crockpot for cooking these.  Get it out.  Mom says our crockpot is “overkill”.  That means it is too big, but it is the only size we have, because Mom gave our smaller one to my brother when he was home at Christmas last year.  If your crockpot is not huge, don’t worry.  It will still work fine.

Your Adult Supervision can just supervise on this one, too.  The only way to hurt yourself with a crockpot is to drop it on your toe.  Try not to do that, because your barbecue beer weenies will not be nearly as fun if you do.

Here is a picture of what you will need:

Here is the ingredient list:

• 2 packages of Little Smokies sausages (or one big one, if you can find it.  We could not.)
• 1 bottle of barbecue sauce (our favorite is Sweet Spirit. It is made in Oklahoma, and comes in mild, medium and hot.  It is the best barbecue sauce we have ever had, and we have had a bunch of different ones.  You can order some by clicking the link.  You will not be sorry.)
• 1 beer (ask your Dad before you get one out of the fridge, because he might have a lot of different kinds like my Dad does, and he might fuss at you if you get the wrong kind.  Dad gave me one he didn’t like so much.)

Put the Little Smokies in the crock pot.  Pour in the whole bottle of barbecue sauce.  Pour in half of the beer.  Don’t drink the other half.  Give it back to your Dad.  It tastes terrible and you will not like it.  Turn the crockpot on to the “Low” setting, and let them cook for at least a couple of hours.  You can snack on them all evening, because they will stay warm in the crockpot.

Here is what your Snackfest will look like when you have finished making all of the recipes:

Be sure you clean up your mess when you are finished cooking.  Remember, you will want your Mom to let you cook again sometime.

And then?  Let the wild Snackfest start!!!

Today’s Vocabulary Words: Overkill