Butt Munch

Or Butt Chex, which ever you prefer. Although, I'm pretty sure the makers of chex brand cereals would prefer I stop using their name.

I tend to cook seasonally. In summer, it's farmer's market ratatouille and tomato sandwiches and salads. In winter, heavier dishes like stews and chili and potato things. And, in winter, I bake a lot more treats. One treat that I make pretty much weekly for the period of time between Phenom's birthday and New Year's is butt munch.

It's my take on chex mix. Here's what I do:

First, I always have a jar or two of bbq dry rub in my cabinet. (Use the Joy of Cooking southern bbq rub recipe . . . it's spicy and flavorful and all the ingredients can be found in culinary hell.)

I line with foil a large aluminum roasting pan. (This allows for easy clean up and I've been using the same roasting pan for years, despite being cheap.)

I preheat the oven to 275 degrees. I layer my ingredients with larger items on the bottom working up to the smallest. Currently, I'm using the following: ritz buttery pretzel crackers, annie's naturals cheddar bunnies, corn chex, rice chex, and cashews. In the past, I've used bugles, pita chips, bagel chips (Phenom says he prefers the pretzel crackers), and a variety of nuts. More or less, I recommend a minimum of 5 ingredients and at least one needs to be a nut.

Melt a stick and a half of butter with about 1/4 Worcestershire sauce and 2 big spoonfuls of the dry rub. When it's all melted, whisk to mix and pour over the mix. Toss with salad tongs, and pop into the oven. Every 15 minutes, stir/toss it and put it back in the oven until it's cooked about an hour.

I then line a couple large sheet pans with foil and pour the mix out on the pans to cool. It makes enough to take to a party in a large bowl as well as to bag up for your pals.