I love hosting showers – Bridal showers, Baby showers – they’re just so much fun! It’s great to get a little creative with the display of the food, as well as the decor, but then the food can be a whole mixture of things you wouldn’t normally put on your menu, like snack foods.
I got to host a bridal shower here a couple weekends ago and using the Theme “Fall in Love” I decorated with fall items, and fixed fall-type foods. Here was the menu:
Chili Bar
Fritos ~Hot Dogs~Crackers
Cheese Ball
Munch & Crunch Mix
Veggie Tray ~ Hummus ~ Ranch Dip
German Chocolate Cupcakes
Cider~Iced Tea~Coffee~Water
Today I’m going to highlight and share the Crunch & Munch Snack Mix – it was a new recipe to me and I loved it! From the way it disappeared during the shower, I think everyone else enjoyed it, too! It’s another Gooseberry Patch recipe. It’s the perfect blend of a little spicy and a little sweet. It mixes up in ten minutes and takes 25 minutes to bake. I doubled the recipe, and would advise you to do the same. You have a whole bag or box of each of the ingredients; it only makes sense to use it while it’s fresh!
Ingredients
- 1 cup mini pretzels
- 1 cup corn chips
- 1 cup oyster crackers
- 1 cup roasted, salted pumpkin seed kernels
- 1 cup honey-roasted peanuts
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon onion salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper – I left this out. Add if you love spicy foods!
Toss together first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; set aside. Whisk together butter and remaining 6 ingredients in another bowl; pour over snack mix, stirring to coat. Spread mix in a roasting pan; bake at 300 degrees for 25 minutes, stirring after 12 minutes. Cool completely; store in an airtight container.
For the decor, I used large, square flannel scarves as “runners” and then used all my fall pumpkins, gourds, bittersweet branches and even some branches from outside. I filled a tall vase with the real branches and tied cardboard leaves on. I asked each guest to take a leaf off and write her best piece of marriage advice for the bride-to-be.
We had a great time honoring the bride and the fellowship we enjoyed around the fall foods was a special blessing!
I hope you’ll try the snack mix – it would be great for any gathering or even movie night at your house! You might make up small bags-full for your favorite Halloween Trick-or-Treaters!
If I told you the snack mix was my favorite thing I served that wouldn’t quite be true because THE CUPCAKES…Oh my! You’ll have to wait until next Monday for that recipe, though. Until then, enjoy Crunching and Munching!!
With love from my country kitchen,
RefreshHer 
I am definitely going to make this mix this weekend for my families fall get together. I am sure it will be a hit. Thanks for sharing!
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Oh yay! I got all my ingredients at Aldi’s and I’m sure it cost less than $5 – and I’ve doubled the recipe twice!! Hope you love it like we do!
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I think you should make that crunch and munch for Thanksgiving snacking! 🙂 I love how you used scarves on your buffet – I’ll definitely copy that idea this fall.
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Yeah, that would make a great pre-dinner snack! I’ll do it! 😋
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