Lime Macadamia Coconut Quaker Oat Squares Snack Mix with White Chocolate

I know I just posted some Quaker Oat Squares Snack Mix as my last post.  I loved that stuff.  I can’t stop thinking of new flavors to try as well.  So here’s another, and it’s a mouthful—to say and eat!  If you like the combination of lime and coconut (and I had to throw in some macadamia nuts just because I had some) along with the perfect pairing of white chocolate, you’ll like this.  One thing I like about this snack mix is that you really can add or leave out anything you’d like.  I put in lots of nuts, but if you don’t like a certain one, leave it out.  The mix will still be delicious, especially if you’re putting in things you like. 

Lime Coconut Macadamia Quaker Oat Squares Snack Mix with White Chocolate, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

juice of half a lime

3 cups Quaker Oat Squares Cereal

1  1/2 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts

zest of 1 lime

2 ounces of white chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Mix together in a small saucepan the butter, honey, brown sugar, and salt.  Heat over medium-low until sugar is dissolved and the mixture just barely comes to a boil.  Remove from heat and whisk in the lime juice.

Put the cereal, oats, pecans, almonds, coconut, and macadamia nuts in a rimmed baking sheet and mix together. Stir in the lime zest.  Drizzle the sugar mixture over the cereal mixture and stir to coat evenly.  Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.  Let baking sheet sit on wire rack until cool, then mix in the chopped white chocolate.  Try not to eat it all in one sitting!

I have a Coconut Lime Granola that I’ve made that is one of my granolas.  This snack mix is now right up there as one of my favorites, too.  Try it.  You could substitude Chex for the Oat Squares cereal, but the Quaker cereal has more of a crunch and a bit of sweetness to it that is really good.

 

Quaker Oat Squares Snack Mix Recipe

Quaker Oat Squares Snack Mix with Dried Cherries, Pecans and Almonds

Of the four different things I took to my book group a few days ago, this was definitely the biggest hit and I promised the ladies I get it on my blog.  It is similar to making a mix with Chex cereal, but with Quaker Oat Squares Cereal.  It’s sweet and crunchy and tastes great. 

I’d bought a box of Quaker Oat Squares and the boys weren’t really eating like I thought they would, so I searched online for ideas of what to do with it and found this idea (I changed it quite a bit) on a Taste of Home Community forum. 

Try it—I can’t wait to make it again.  You could totally play with flavors and mix-ins.

Quaker Oat Squares Snack Mix with Dried Cherries, Pecans and Almonds, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dried tart cherries (you could also use dried cranberries)

3 cups Quaker Oat Squares Cereal

1  1/2 cups old fashioned oats

1/2 cup pecans (or any nut you’d like)

1/2 cup almonds

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Mix together in a small saucepan the coconut oil, honey, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.  Heat over medium-low until sugar is dissolved and the mixture just barely comes to a boil. 

Put the cereal, oats, pecans and almonds in a rimmed baking sheet and mix together.  Drizzle the sugar mixture over the cereal mixture and stir to coat evenly.  Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.  Let baking sheet sit on wire rack until cool, then mix in the dried cherries.  Try not to eat it all in one sitting!

Note—I thought it would be better to spray cooking spray on the baking sheet or use a silpat, but it didn’t stick as much as I thought it would, so it’s not necessary, but would make for easier clean up.

Corn Flakes Chivda (Savory Snack Mix)—Secret Recipe Club

Corn Flakes Chivda

It’s October Secret Recipe Club time!

Betcha when Trisha from My Hobbie Lobbie sees the little thumbnail with this photo and title, she’ll know instantly it’s a recipe from her blog! ;)  I had the pleasure of having Trisha’s blog this month.  Trisha’s lives in India and while she has a wide array of things to choose from on her blog, including many American recipes/foods, I wanted to pick something new-to-me and native to India, or at least foreign to America to make. 

After much scouring of her blog, I was torn—Trisha seems to like Nigella Lawson recipes, who is a great chef from London who has had a show on the Food Network and who I’ve always liked.  After seeing a few of her recipes at My Hobbie Lobbie, I decided to try one of her cookies Trisha has posted.

Well, those cookies, Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies that I made after seeing Trisha’s post for them were made here and I LOVE them.  I couldn’t find, after looking on Nigella's website, any negative comments about these.  In fact, all of them that I read were in great praise of how wonderful the cookies are.  I will be posting about them soon!

But before I found and made those cookies, I was preparing to make the Corn Flakes Chivda (Savory Snack Mix) that Trisha posted.  She said it is her husband’s favorite snack.  I like that it seemed different with a mix of spicy, savory and sweet and I love snack mixes. 

I like that at the bottom of the recipe Trisha posted she said, “Please note, snacks like this should be tweaked to your liking.  Feel free to play around with the dry fruits and nuts added as well as the spice, sugar and salt levels.  After you make this once, you’ll have a better idea of what you’d like to do the next time.”

Ahhh, an invitation to do whatever I want with a recipe! ;)  But I actually was intrigued by her recipe and tried to stay true to it as much as I could.  I actually tried to find chana dal (dalia), which are a roasted, split garbanzo beans, more available in India and I couldn’t find them and the price through Amazon was just too much, especially if I didn’t know if we’d even like them.  So instead of using those in this recipe, I used sunflower seeds.  I also couldn’t find curry leaves and was a little confused about the green chilies she has in the recipe.  Are they fresh ones, dried ones and what kind?  So instead of that, I used some ground red pepper.

I prepped all the ingredients, including getting some raw cashews and raw peanuts for this snack mix. 

All set.  This snack mix is made in a large skillet with a few of the ingredients added at a time.  The nuts needed roasting (though you can use nuts that are already roasted and then just not roast them in the pan as long) and the mustard seeds needed to toast and pop.  It was a really fun thing to watch.

Ready for some spices and the corn flakes.

  After a short time with the rest of the ingredients, a little sugar for some sweetness was added.  I must say, the way I made it, it is just a little spicy for me, but not so much so that I couldn’t keep snacking on it.  I really like it.  One of my boys, Taylor, kept snacking on it, too.  I plan to make it again and tone down the spice just a little and I think it will make a great snack time and again.

Corn Flakes Chivda, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!, adapted from Trisha at My Hobbie Lobbie

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

2 tablespoons canola oil

pinch of ground red pepper (or to taste)

pinch of curry powder (or to taste)

1/4 cup raw peanuts

1/3 to 1/2 cup raw cashews

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

2 tablespoons raisins (about 20 raisins)

salt, to taste

1 teaspoon tumeric powder

3/4 teaspoon chili powder (or to taste)

2 cups corn flakes cereal

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the mustard seeds and stir them around a bit.  Don’t let it get too hot, but when you start hearing them pop, lower the heat to about medium-low.  Add the pinch of ground red pepper and the pinch of curry powder.  Add the peanuts and cashews and let them roast in the pan, stirring it often so they don’t burn.  When they are beginning to brown (3-5 minutes), add the sunflower seeds and stir it around some more until they are toasty as well.  Then add the raisins and stir the mixture in the skillet for about 30 seconds. 

Next add the salt, tumeric, and chili powder and stir well to coat everything.  Add the corn flakes and carefully stir well to coat them with the spice mix.  Remove the skillet from the heat.  Let it cool slightly (just a couple minutes), then sprinkle the sugar over it and toss it gently until everything is thoroughly mixed.  Let it cool completely and store in an air tight container, if you didn’t eat it all in one sitting and there is some left. ;)

Thanks, Trisha, for the fun snack recipe and I’m glad I got to bake from your blog this month!