Snack Attack!

On a normal day in our family, everyone eats a simple breakfast and goes about their business.  We don't snack, we don't eat until lunch and then the same routine for dinner.  Well, for some reason, the moment we get into the truck for a trip, not 30 minutes down the road, we all are hungry!  It never fails.  (I personally think it is way better than everyone having to go to the bathroom!)  So, before we go on a trip, I try to pack our Airstream heavily with snacks for the road.  I figure that it is a little more trouble than usual, but it way cheaper than stopping for snack foods at the gas stations, or heaven forbid, the McFastfood!  Here are the snacks I made the other day...Are you ready to dive in, yet?  Starting from the top left are Ranch Pretzels, Energy bars (top Right), homemade granola bars (middle), Bear Party Mix (lower left), and Ranch Party Mix (bottom right).  I also made a nut and M&M mix to go with these.

I'll tell you two of the recipes right now.  I hope you enjoy.

Ranch Pretzels

given to me by my Mom - it's the best tasting snack ever!

2 - 1 lb. bags Pretzels

1 bottle Orville Redinbacher Butter Flavored Popcorn Oil

1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing

Put the pretzels in tupperware.  Pour out a little of oil over the bowl.  Pour the dressing into the bottle and shake well.  Pour the mixture over the pretzels and stir well.  Mix the pretzels every 2 hours until the oil is all soaked up.  Eat and Enjoy!

Bear Party Mix

taken from "Mom's Camper Cooking" by Rita Hewson

1 (10 oz.) box Bear Shaped Cinnamon Graham Crackers

1 (14 oz.) pkg. Dried Bananas, broken into pieces

1 (12 oz.) can Honey Roasted Peanuts (I used honey roasted almonds)

1 (16 oz.) bag Candy Coated Chocolate Candies

Stir all the ingredients together and store in a tightly covered container.  Yeild 11 cups. 

* I added in Reeses Pieces too!  Yummy!

To keep us from eating the whole gallon in one morning or afternoon, I am letting each child pick the mix they would like for the morning drive to eat.  If they eat it right away, it's gone until lunch!  Then they will get to refill their cup in the afternoon with another mix of their choice.  This will keep it to serving sizes for everyone, including Dad, and no one will say "I'm hungry!"  Stay tuned for our updates on our trip starting tomorrow.  We will update this blog as we are able to get service!