Better Than T.J.’s Snacky Clusters

 

This is yet another case of the “salty loves sweet, sweet loves salty“ thing that I talked about here. Not too long ago I had been made aware of Trader Joe’s Snacky Clusters. Joe’s are rather small, and, in my opinion anyway, a bit pricey for what you get. Thinking that nothing could be easier than to make these at home, I did. The real bonus here is that you can use those broken chips at the bottom of bags to make this delicious treat. I used essentially the same ingredients as Trader Joe’s, namely, corn chips, potato chips, and pretzel bits, but I decided to go one better and also add some bits of brickle. That took these chocolaty clusters of salty deliciousness right over the top. These are easy to put together, so much so that the kids can do it. In fact, I think they would love, smashing melted chocolate, their favorite salty snack.

Better Than T.J.’s Snacky Clusters

2 c. milk chocolate chip

½ c. broken Fritos 

½ c. pretzel bites 

½ c. broken rippled potato chips 

½ c. Heath Bits of Brickle    

 Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or a Silpat).

Place milk chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl, and microwave in intervals, stirring after each 30 seconds. I found it took me one minute and 30 seconds to melt them into smooth chocolate.

When chocolate has melted, stir in Fritos, potato chips, pretzel bites, and bits of  Heath Bits of Brickle. Drop onto your parchment paper, and allow a couple of hours to firm. If you’re in a rush, you can place them in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

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Homemade Potato Chips with Garlic & Herbs

If you’re honest with yourself, I think you’ll agree with me that there are some days when you want a salty snack, something crisp and crunchy and perfect for scooping up a generous portion of your favorite dip.  That’s how I felt today.  I had a can of mixed nuts on hand, but I wanted something with lots of flavor and serious crunch.  Face it, I wanted potato chips!  I’m not a fan of anything deep fried, so figured that I could probably make my own, healthier version of chips with a lot more flavor.  I did.  It took only three ingredients, about 5 minutes active time, and around a half an hour baking (so plan your cravings ahead).  It was purely experimental and I really didn’t expect them to be as good as they turned out to be.  I’ll never buy a potato chip again!

Homemade Potato Chips with Garlic & Herbs

Extra virgin olive oil for brushing

1 medium russet potato, peeled

Generous grating of Melissa’s Garlic & Herbs with Sea Salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Cover 2 large baking sheets with Silpats or parchment paper. Using a mandoline or hand-held slicer, slice the potatoes lengthwise as thinly as possible (My slices were between 1/8” and 1/16”).  Arrange in a flat layer (do NOT overlap!) on the baking sheets. Brush lightly with oil and bake until golden throughout, 25 to 27 minutes. Watch them!   Start checking their progress at about 20 minutes, and turn the cookie sheet for even browning.  When baked to desired doneness, transfer to paper towels and sprinkle with herb and salt blend.

 This post is linked to:

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sunday's Best Party

Crockpot Pulled Pork

Each week I attempt to try at least one new recipe. Thanks to the Internet, my vast selection of cookbooks, magazines, and the newspaper, I have more recipes than I will be able to prepare in a lifetime if I made something different every day. Last night I decided to try one for pork tenderloin. I had thought ahead to thaw the vacuum-sealed tenderloin in the fridge the night before, but was dismayed when I opened the package to find not one, but two of them inside. I'm not sure why they're packaged this way, but, well, they ARE.

This ended up playing into my hands as I used one for the new recipe I'd been wanting to try (Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Apples and Onions) that I found forgettable despite the excellent reviews. The other I threw into the Crockpot to make use of yet another recipe I wanted to try for pulled pork.

Go figure, the easier of the two was the best. It just goes to show you that you can make really delicious food with relatively few ingredients and virtually no effort. Working girls (and guys)? Do you hear me? Easy and good!

 

I found the recipe for the pulled pork here, at Allrecipes, but for the sake of convenience will reproduce it below.

SLOW COOKER PORK TENDERLOIN

Makes 8 servings

1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin

1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle root beer

1 (18 ounce) bottle your favorite barbecue sauce

8 hamburger buns, split and lightly toasted

Place the pork tenderloin in a slow cooker; pour the root beer over the meat. Cover and cook on low until well cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours. Note: the actual length of time may vary according to individual slow cooker. Drain well. Stir in barbecue sauce. Serve over hamburger buns.

Okay, confession time. I used 1 1-lb. pork tenderloin and part of a bottle of Coke, because we didn't have any root beer in the house. I just poured the Coke over the meat until it came a little more than halfway up the side and then poured the rest over a glass of ice and drank it myself!

Once the meat was cooked (and I checked it periodically, pulling at it with a fork until it began to shred), I drained the pork, put it into a mixing bowl,and shredded it with two forks.  Then I added the seasonings I use when I bake a brisket: a few shakes of garlic salt, a few shakes of celery salt, a few shakes of Liquid Smoke -- I LOVE Liquid Smoke! --, and some (but not too much, maybe 1-1/2 teaspoons) Worcestershire Sauce. On top of this I poured about half a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce and kept mixing until I liked the consistency.

Add additional barbecue sauce to your own taste.

This recipe is a keeper!

This post is linked to Foodie Friday,  Family Friendly Fridays, and Crockpot Wednesdays.