Snack Mix for Goofing Off

For my next installment of Random Recipe, I was going to blog about Shakshuka, a wonderful new recipe Carl and I recently tried out, of Israeli origin. When I looked at the calendar to determine my next posting date, I realized it would fall while I'm on vacation and out of state! To prepare for it, I'm writing it early and posting it later, but you know how it is days before you go on a trip...you're so anxious and giddy for the time to be at hand that you start getting in "vacation mode" and are cheerful and light-hearted in all avenues. As much as I'm confident I could blog about the lovely and delicious Shakshuka right now, I'm not sure I'd have as much fun with it as I would if I blogged about....yes...you guessed it...The Snack Mix for Goofing Off!

I whipped up a huge batch of this a day or two ago in preparation for the road trip Carl and I (and my cousin Kim) will be taking. I've also concocted it and taken it to a Lake House in Maryland, where it provided snacks for lots of people. (I have vivid recollections of Carl's younger cousins walking along the dock at the lake and grabbing handfuls of this from baggies) It would be a great snack mix to bring to the movies with you and, let's face it, summer blockbuster season is upon us. I'd also take it with me to munch on while watching fireworks, or have a bowl out during a cookout. In short, this is for fun occasions. More to the point: this isn't your average snack mix. By which I mean, it won't be gaining plaudits from any health organizations. Not that it's horrible for you...it's just not great. But granola and trail mixes are for everyday. This is what you eat when goofing off!

Megan once used a term to describe a recipe to me. She told me it had "trashy ingredients" but that the end result was pure bliss. I admit that I'm a pretty big snob about food, but my snobiness comes with qualifiers. I usually won't eat cake that originated from a mix, not because I frown upon the short-cut taken instead of making it from scratch (when mixed with the right ingredients, like in Megan's Italian Love Cake, even cake from a box tastes heavenly) but because, on its own, I just don't think it tastes like cake. After tasting cake made from scratch and enjoying the process of making it, I just don't taste anything in a cake mix to resemble a proper cake. Same with the frosting that comes in those scary little tubs that can sit on your shelf for years and provide sustenance during environmental catastrophes. That doesn't taste like proper frosting to me. On occasion though, as in the case of the Italian Love Cake, an admittedly "trashy ingredient" can meld with other ingredients to form bliss. That's how I feel about this snack mix. The base of it is Cap'N Crunch Cereal.....shudder. It upsets me that I even had to spell it that way, instead of using "Captain." When I eat cereal, I go for muesli or shredded wheat. However, in a snack mix, this Cap'N Crunch delivers a taste bonanza!

Here's the Recipe, which was adapted from a Rachael Ray blurb from about 6 years ago. She uses the peanut butter flavor of the cereal, but I go for plain:

Snack Mix for Goofing Off

1 box Cap'N Crunch cereal
1 bag chocolate chips
1 bag peanut butter chips
1 bag dried cranberries

Mix all ingredients, distribute into various tupperware containers or baggies for consumption while goofing off and having the time of your life.