Fall is finally starting to show its face a few hours at a time here in Houston & that makes me happy!  Halloween is only 2 days away & then the real countdown begins for Thanksgiving, Black Friday & CHRISTMAS!!!


With the holidays in my sights, I start thinking of food...specifically my favorite...crunchy salty food!


My sister Valerie made this yummy snack mix when we went to Destin this past summer & it was the perfect mix of crunchy, salty, ranch flavor & spice!  I wanted to try it out on my homemade snack mix & it did not disappoint!



As you can see, I like A LOT of different types of crunchy salty snacks and I've used most of them here!

Here's my list:
- Rice Chex
- Wheat Chex
- Corn Nuts (any flavor you like)
- Bagel chips
- Garlic rye chips
- Sesame sticks
- Chili Rice Crackers
- Pretzels
- Bugles
Seriously, just grab whatever crunchy snack you like & throw it in there for this recipe!  I think last time I even used Funyuns!


You probably recognize most of the snacks shown above, but let's talk about these snacks for a second!  Do yall have a Buc-ee's nearby?  If not, you MUST stop at a Buc-ee's if you're ever passing through Texas.  It's the biggest most awesome "convenience store/truck stop" in the WORLD!  Yeah, I said it!  Unless we're in a major rush to get somewhere, we stop at Buc-ee's when we head to Austin or San Antonio.  The bathrooms, the snacks, the Icee's...I could write a post on Buc-ee's alone...and now I probably will!  Luckily, they recently built a Buc-ee's just down the road from us, so I popped in to get Chili Rice Crackers & Sesame Sticks for my mix.




This was my first time making a chex mix in the CrockPot & it was really easy!

Just add all of your snacks into the CrockPot
(I broke up the pretzels & garlic chips)
Add 1 package of Ranch dip mix
Add a couple palm-fulls of crushed red pepper
Add about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil (+/-) to coat
Mix it all up really well & set the temp.  I set mine on High 4 hours but then lowered it to 6 hours.
Stir every so often until done to your liking. (You must stir or it will burn!)