What are some snack recipes (for kids)

Make a large bowl of Chex Mix. i believe the recipe is on the side of the Chex box in the store. its simple and the kids love it. john

You can make your own trail mix. No cooking involved, unless you want to, and you can put whatever you like in it. Add the kids’ favorite cereal, some pretzels, M&Ms, dried fruit, etc. Pigs in a blanket is easy- cut some hot dogs in half and wrap them with Pillsbury crescent roll dough and bake at 350 for about 8 minutes. Taco dip is popular at our house- 1 pkg cream cheese, 1 small container of sour cream (I think it’s 16 oz or so), and one packet of taco seasoning. Mix it all up and pour it in a 13×9 inch baking dish. Then, you can add whatever toppings you like. Lettuce, cooked ground beef, tomato, salsa, olives, onion, peanut butter… whatever you and the kids like. Serve with tortilla chips or some sort. Or just crackers.

Chicken wings is an excellent snack. Take the wings and saute in butter until done. Then add Frank’s red hot sauce (or another type of mild hot sauce) and coat the wings and continue to saute.

Serve with celery sticks and bleu cheese dressing.

Nuts are a great snack right out of the can.

You can make Muddy Buddies ( we called it Puppy Chow when I was a kid) from Chex cereal. I haven’t had this stuff for ages, but it is so addictive and easy to make.

Then, there’s this amazing treat called Soda Cracker Crunch. It’s also easy to make, but does need quite a bit of time to cool before eating. I made these for Christmas gift baskets this year, and ended up keeping a lot of it because my kids went crazy over it. The recipe I linked to says to line the pan with foil, but in my experience parchment paper works much better. You also don’t have to grease the parchment paper and it still peels right off the finished candy. When I put the chocolate chips on top, I put it back into the oven for a few minutes. Just letting it sit on the hot pan, like this recipe says, will not melt them enough for you to spread the chocolate out. Finally, I leave out the nuts. You could top it with decorator sprinkles, or even mini M&M’s if you’re truly decadent. Anyway, the final “cookie” is the cracker sandwiched between crunchy toffee and chocolate. A great salty-sweet combination.

Now I feel, as a mom, that I should offer some kind of healthier idea. You can buy small bagels, pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings. Each of you makes mini pizzas with whatever you like best on them. Bake them at 350 degrees on a cookie sheet until the cheese is melted. My kids also like apple slices spread with peanut butter and a couple of Teddy Grahams stuck into the peanut butter.

This is really not healthy at all, but you can mix a jar of salsa con queso with a can of chili, heat it up, and serve it with tortilla chips.

Have fun!

@MissAusten Mmmm muddy buddies! I love that stuff, which is precisely why I shouldn’t make it.

Damn! I was coming in to say Muddy Buddies. So simple, yet so Yummy!

Anything dipped in peanut butter – pretzels, crackers, even celery. You can make “bumps on a log” – celery filled with peanut butter and raisins or chocolate chips…mmm…

or what about making your own nachos? arrange chips on a tray, cover with shredded cheese and salsa, bake in the oven for 10 minutes till the cheese melts. Serve with guacamole and/or sour cream. Yum!