Stovetop Granola

I adapted this recipe from allrecipes.com, taking some of the suggestions in the comments to cut down on the butter and brown sugar used.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1/3 cup butter (I used 2 T. butter)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar (I used 2 T. butter)
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds (I had sliced almonds that I used)
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries (I didn't have cranberries on hand this time)

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oats then cook and stir until starting to brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. (I also added about 1/3 cup of coconut with the oats.) Remove from heat and spread out on a cookie sheet to cool.
2. Melt the butter in the same pan over medium heat. Stir in the honey and brown sugar; cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly. Return the oats to the pan. Cook and stir for another 5 minutes or so. Pour out onto the cookie sheet and spread to cool.
3. Once cool, transfer to an airtight container and stir in the almonds and dried cranberries. Any additional nuts and fruit can be stirred in at this time also. 

After I cooked it on the stove top and poured it on the cookie sheet, I baked it in a 275 degree oven for 10 minutes, then left it in the oven an additional 10 minutes with the oven door open.  It ended up nice and crispy instead of being chewy.

Peanut Butter and Honey Popcorn

I got this recipe from Prudence Pennywise.

8 cups popped lightly salted popcorn (low-fat microwave popcorn is fine)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Place popcorn in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, combine sugar and honey. Bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until smooth. Add vanilla, if using. Pour peanut butter syrup over popcorn. Stir and serve. (You can place the popped popcorn in a large paper bag, then pour over the syrup and shake.)

Smoothies

We love to have smoothies for a snack around here. I don't really follow a recipe, but this is what I do:
Get out the blender
Put in 1 banana
Add 1 small container of yogurt
Add 2-3 spoonfuls of pineapple (crushed or tidbits work best)
Add a splash of orange juice
Add a handful of ice cubes
Sometimes we add berries (in the picture we added frozen blueberries)
Blend until smooth
So refreshing!

Cheesy Ranch Chex Mix

I wanted to make something not sweet for snacking on, so I tried this recipe from the back of a Chex box.

9	cups Corn Chex®, Rice Chex® or Wheat Chex® cereal (or combination)
2	cups bite-size pretzel twists
2	cups bite-size cheese crackers
3	tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1	package (1 oz) ranch dressing and seasoning mix
1/2	cup grated Parmesan cheese

	In large microwavable bowl, mix cereal, pretzels and crackers. In small microwavable bowl, microwave butter uncovered on High about 30 seconds or until melted. Pour over cereal mixture; stir until evenly coated. Stir in dressing mix and cheese until evenly coated.
	Microwave uncovered on High 3 minutes, stirring after each minute. Spread on waxed paper or foil to cool. Store in airtight container.

Toasted Pumpkin (or Squash) Seeds

Don't throw away your pumpkin or squash seeds! Follow these directions for a yummy, healthy snack!
Separate seeds from strings. Soak seeds for 30 minutes and rinse. Pat dry.
Put seeds in single layer on baking sheet. Drizzle with butter or oil of your choice. Sprinkle with Lawry's seasoning salt, or seasoning of your choice. Bake at 325 degrees until crispy.

Puppy Chow

This is a fun snack that's easy for kids to help with. They can measure and count the cups of cereal and other ingredients and shake up the bag(s) to mix it all up.

9 cups Chex or Crixpix cereal
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla (I actually forgot to add this, and it didn't seem to make a difference)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Measure cereal into a large bowl. Microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter for 1 minute; stir. Microwave an additional 30 seconds, or until smooth when stirred. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal and mix until evenly coated. Pour into 2 gallon resealable bag. (I used two 1 gallon bags--this is all I had, and it allowed 2 kids to shake) Add powdered sugar; seal bag and shake until well coated.
You can spread on wax paper to cool and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. I just leave it in the bag on the counter.