Recipe Box Swap

It is the first Thursday of the month, and Randi has chosen Holiday Favorites as the theme for this month's recipe swap. We love to entertain during the holidays, so I enjoy having snack foods on hand that will easily feed a crowd. Today I'm sharing two of our favorite appetizer/snacks.

This morning I made a big batch of "Slumgully". What in the world? Where did that name come from? I have no idea. It's a family thing. You can be unoriginal and call it Chex Mix, but Slumgully is much more fun to say. I know there are a million variations to this recipe, but we love this version. I'll share with you the "official" recipe, then I'll tell you how I like to modify it.

Slumgully

2 sticks butter
1 1/2 t. season salt
1/4 t. onion powder
garlic powder to taste
1 1/2 T Worchestershire sauce

3 c. Rice Chex
3 c. Wheat Chex
3 c. Corn Chex
1 can mixed nuts
3 c. pretzel sticks
3 c. cheese tidbits (Cheezits)
3 c. Cheerios
3 c. Bugles

Melt butter and add seasonings. Pour over all the other ingredients and mix well in a large roasting pan. Bake at 250 degrees for one hour, stirring well every 15 minutes.

**Here's how I change it up.....I ignore the cup measurements. I use an entire box of Rice, Wheat, and Corn chex cereals. I get them at Walmart this time of year for $1.66 per box! I use two huge cans of mixed nuts, an entire box of Cheezits, an entire bag of pretzels, and two whole bags of Bugles. Since we all fight over the Bugles, the second bag is entirely necessary. :) I pour in however many Cheerios I have in my pantry. I use three sticks of butter instead of two, and I double the amount of all spices and Worcestershire. This makes a HUGE batch, so I use both halves of my turkey roasting pan, and cook 1/2 the mix in each pan. I have a double oven, so I put one pan in each oven. It is really important to stir every 15 minutes so the mixture gets coated evenly with butter and seasoning. Truly, I can eat myself silly on this stuff. It's delish.

Our other favorite holiday appetizer is Pizza Things. Clearly, my family used up all our creativity when we coined the term "Slumgully". There were no clever titles left to be had for Pizza Things. These really are a must at the holidays, because you make them ahead and then freeze them. You can bake two or three or several dozen at one time. They are the perfect snack!
Pizza Things

1 pound ground beef
1 pound sausage
1 1/2 pound Velveeta
(I go ahead and use the whole 2 pound loaf, because....well, it's cheese. That's why.)
2 t. Italian seasoning
Mozzarella cheese slices
2 loaves party rye bread

(Pepperidge Farm makes party breads, and so does a brand called Rubschlager. A slice of party bread is about 3 square inches. It's like a baby loaf. I'm not a huge fan of rye, so I usually buy the sourdough.)
Brown meats together and drain well. Add cut up Velveeta and seasoning. Stir until smooth and melty. Spread on bread. I usually line a cookie sheet with waxed paper, and once the tray is full I pop it in the freezer until the pizza things are frozen. Then, I store them in ziplock freezer bags.

When you are ready to serve......remove pizza things from freezer and set on cookie sheet. Cut squares of mozzarella cheese slices and put one slice on top of each pizza thing. Bake at 350 until lightly browned (8-10 minutes or more, depending on how many you bake at one time).

Pizza things and slumgully. It's party time. Head on over to Randi's blog to see what else is cooking this month! :)