a recipe and dog tales

I thought I'd share about a yummy treat I made last night.  I know not everyone makes this stuff, but it is so delicious and FAR BETTER when you make it.  I don't really measure spices and such, but I'll try to guesstimate how much I use of everything.

This is my Chex mix recipe.  (There are also a million variations of this stuff, and I've tweaked it so many times to finally something that we all love.  Also, my people just love the Chex cereal part, so I leave all that other stuff out.  Plus that makes it easier.)

I use a whole box of all the Chex cereals: rice, corn, and wheat. 

I melt a whole stick of butter (last night I melted TWO, because I didn't have much Worcestershire sauce), and I sprinkle in a LOT of Worcestershire sauce (I would guess maybe a half cup to a cup). 

I add in about one tablespoon each of garlic and seasoned salt, but you can do this to suit it to your taste.

Then I just stir it all together really, really well in a giant roasting pan, and this part takes at least five minutes.  You want to make sure and scrape the bottom (I use a spatula) and stir it and turn it all over a bunch of times, otherwise the butter, Worcestershire and spices will clump together.  After this process, I bake it at 225 degrees in the oven for one hour, and every fifteen minutes, I pull it out and stir it all really well, all over again.  If you skip that part, it will clump, I promise.  I bake it uncovered, and when that hour is up, we eat it immediately. 

At one time I used to add in pretzels and Cheese-It crackers, but I didn't have any of those, and I mean it when I said that the Chex part is all of our favorite.  I've added in dashes of hot sauce before (I don't recommend that), and I always have a hard time of getting the spices just right.  This batch is almost perfect.  I will make this stuff approximately twenty five more times before the weather gets warm again.  (Not really.)  We love this stuff.  We eat it as our snack when we're needing something crunchy, and I sent it to work with the men who work as treats in their lunches.  It is that good.  Another favorite treat of ours I'll have to make again sometime soon is chocolate oatmeal no-bake cookies.  I'll share that recipe another day, though, but this recipe is NO FAIL.  (I've made these things before and they never set.)

Try the Chex mix, though, you'll thank me later. 

Moving along now, I posted this picture on Instagram yesterday.  This is Chip curled up on my blanket, on the freshly made bed.  He does this every single day while I get dressed.  He usually lays there and faces me, but he turned around yesterday.  He lived his best life all day yesterday. including last night.  He loves to snuggle, and after a day of doing that, he fell asleep with Todd on the couch last night, making my hubby fall asleep on the couch as well, and there they stayed until four forty-five this morning, when Crash, Callie and I came downstairs for the day.  He does this sometimes, my hubby, and he never means to, but it's because Chip is such a great little cuddle bug.

I love our dogs (and the kitty) and am always so glad we have them.  Mostly.  They drive me bonkers most days, but more than that, I love them and the joy they bring us.  Todd was adamant when the boys were young (the twins were three, Drew was six, and Graham was seven) that he wanted the boys to grow up with dogs in the house.  I was hesitant and didn't really want to do this, but in the end, he was right, and I'm so glad I let him make that decision.  Dogs are a commitment and they are not for everyone, but I will never NOT have a dog again.  I don't that I'll have three at once, but I love them.  So many of our best memories are centered around these crazy dogs.

That being said, y'all, the German shepherd has lost her mind.  She is going through some separation anxiety, I think, and she keeps eating things she shouldn't.  My peppermint flavored Chapstick (two tubes), a sticker, trash out of some trash can, the remote.  The remote was the latest.  We're having to put her in her kennel again when we leave!  I hate doing that, but I don't want her eating something big.  And poor Crash, the other night I was making dinner and dumped half a bottle of hot sauce all over him.  Poor little guy, he tried licking it off the floor and started making weird sneezing sounds for the next half hour.  Needless to say, that night Crash got a bath.  Chip got one the same day.  Callie has too much hair, but she needs one too, so we'll have to figure something out. 

Life with dogs is never boring. 

Thanks for reading!  Love to all.