Ultimate Nuts and Bolts

Every year since I was a kid my Mom would make a Nuts and Bolts party mix, which originally started as a recipe from the side of a Crispix box.  Over the years the recipe got adapted and refined to suit our needs.  It was always super popular so it just necessitated larger volumes to be made each year.  It makes a good gift for friends and family and it always disappears real quick too.

Since I moved out on my own I started doing my own mix, which has become a whole different beast then what my Mom used to make.  I’ve started collecting ingredients months in advance to ensure a crazy diverse mix every year.  This year I managed to collect 20 different ingredients to add to my mix, including stuff I picked up on a recent trip to Buffalo, so it makes for a weird hybrid of Canadian and American snack products.

Now the actual contents of the mix you can get pretty creative with.  I typically try to pick up stuff here and there in the months preceeding December.  This mix can get downright costly, so picking up stuff here and there definitely helps in that regard.  The only real requirement for a snack item is that it’s a salty type snack without any over the top flavours.  I find that snacks that feature a cheddar cheese or BBQ flavour work best along with Original or Regular varieties of snacks.  Here’s what I used, though this is by no means gospel as to what to put in.

Required

• Large Turkey Pans x 4

Seasoning Drizzle

• 2/3 cup Margarine or Butter
• 3 tbsp Tabasco Sauce or Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
• 3 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce (Yes I did have to Google how to spell that)
• Onion Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Celery Salt
• Cayenne Pepper
• Chili Powder

The Ingredients

Snack Mix Ingredients

• Cheeze Bits
• Cheeze Nips
• Cheerios or knock off brand Cheerios
• Shreddies
• Corn Chex
• Wheat Chex
• Pretzel Sticks
• Pretzel Nuggets
• Ringolos
• Cheddar Goldfish (I bought the big Goldfish though opted not to use them since I also had the regular sized Goldfish too)
• Dry Chow Mein Noodles
• Corn Nuts
• Corn Chips
• Bagel Chips
• Crispix
• Bugles
• Buttery Puffs (I have no idea, I just bought them in US)
• Pretzel Thins
• Popcorn
• Ritz Minis(Original)
• Dry Roasted Peanuts

Heat oven to 200F.  Add all the snack mix ingredients into a turkey pan.  Make sure you ration your ingredients so there will be every ingredient in each batch.  I managed to get 6 pans full of mix out of the ingredients I had, so I rationed every ingredient 6 ways.

Each pan will require its own batch of seasoning drizzle.  Start by microwaving the margarine until melted, then add the other seasonings and sauces.  At this point try and taste the mixture, it should have a little zip to it, but nothing too over the top.  Adjust to your own tastes accordingly.

Drizzle the seasoning mix over the pan and mix thoroughly.  Once it is well mixed put it in the oven for an hour, stirring the mix every 15 minutes.  It will be done once the mix is no longer moist.  I typically do 2 batches at a time in the oven.  Let cool before removing from the turkey pan.  I suggest have 4 turkey pans if you’re making a large amount like I do, since you can prep the next round before they go into the oven.