Simply Snack Time!

The holidays are quickly approaching and with that comes, at least for me, the feeling that I just don't have enough time. In the age of social media, I constantly see people posting all these pictures of amazing snack foods that they are taking to various get-togethers. I see intricately decorated cookies and perfectly designed cakes and one of the first thoughts that consistently runs through my head is that I would never have enough time to make some of the things that I see others make. It also usually makes me smile just a little because snack foods don't have to take ridiculously long amounts of time. In fact, some of the recipes that I have used for snacks to bring for food-related hangouts are so easy that it's almost sad. One of the most common requests that I get is to bring puppy chow. It's only four ingredients and comes together in five minutes or so.

For other snack ideas, cruise on over to Your Library's Cooking neighborhood or look up some cookbooks through Your Library's catalog. What are some of your favorite quick snack ideas?

Puppy Chow

Ingredients

• 1 box of Rice Chex cereal
• 1 Cup of smooth peanut butter
• 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups of powdered sugar

Directions

1. Combine chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high for one minute. Stir. Heat on high for one more minute. Stir again. (If needed, add 15 seconds and stir. Continue until mixture is smooth.)
2. Pour box of cereal into large mixing bowl
3. Pour chocolate/peanut butter mix over the cereal and stir until the cereal is coated.
4. Put one cup of sugar into the bottom of a gallon-sized ziplock bag. Scoop the cereal into the bag and dump the remaining sugar over the top.
5. Close the bag and shake until the cereal is coated in the sugar.
6. Enjoy!

My Notes

• The version that my sister taught me called for 6 cups of cereal, but this usually gets me so close to the bottom of the box that it just makes more sense to dump the rest of the box in.
• This recipe is an art, not a science. You don't have to have exact measurements. Usually my semi-sweet chocolate chips are closer to a heaping cup, rather than exactly one cup.
• I've seen versions of this that have incorporated other ingredients, like raisins or nuts. They taste really good. I'm just a purist and like just the basic version.