After making my grandpa’s Christmas snack mix (which I’ll share on Thursday), I realized I had a bunch of Rice Chex left that I needed to use.
Now, I’m not a HUGE cereal eater. And, when I say that… I mean, I never ever reach for cereal. But I had a great idea for how to use those chex-leftovers. What I had in mind was that yummy amazing Chex Mix that always seems to show up this time of year.
BUT… the main ingredient in that tasty mix is BUTTER. There’s actually 1/2 cup of butter in the recipe that my family makes. Holy crap… I couldn’t do that to those poor innocent Rice Chex! So… I came up with this idea to lighten up the snack mix, which if I say so myself came out fabulously!!!
What the butter really does is moisten the chex so that it bakes up and crisps up well. And, it adds that buttery-ness… but let’s not think about that right now. I needed a liquid to take place of the butter, so I chose this.
Now, the brand is really irrelevant. I just used what I had in my fridge, so use something you have… as long as it’s light! Mixing the dressing with the standard sauce ingredients, the Worcestershire sauce still stands out… and you can taste it in the final product. You will not miss the butter! Or the additional 100 calories and 10 grams of fat per serving that comes with it!
Lightened Up Chex Mix
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS
5 cups Rice Chex
1 1/2 cups plain Cheerios
2 cups pretzel minis
2 pkg. 100-calorie Cheez Its
1/4 cup light Italian Dressing
4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce, reduced sodium
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. dry minced onion + more to taste
1/2 tsp. Garlic Gold nuggets
crushed red pepper (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2. Combine all of your cereal and snack ingredients in a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl, combine salad dressing, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, minced onion, and Garlic Gold. Use a whisk to mix. Sprinkle in crushed red pepper, if desired.
4. Pour liquid mixture over your cereal mixture and stir to coat all ingredients well. Add an additional sprinkle of the minced onion and garlic gold, if desired.
5. Place mixture in a glass 9 x 13 pan. Note: I don’t have a 9 x 13 pan right now, so I split the contents between two glass dishes.
6. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, removing from the pan to cool before serving.
Per 1 cup serving:
CAL 144; CARB 29g; FAT 2g; SAT FAT 0g; PROT 3g; FIB 2g; SUG 3g
WW Points Plus: 4; WW Smart Points: 4
[…] Tuesday, I posted the COMPLETE opposite recipe as to the one I am sharing today. Both use Rice Chex in the ingredients… but that’s where the similarities […]