Snacking is for the sweet, spicy, and everything in between.
These spicy snacks will turn up the heat at your next get-together.
Pepper Jelly Dip
Pepper jelly is a great way to impart sweet heat into a dish. One 10.5-ounce jar of spicy jelly can be combined with eight ounces of softened cream cheese for chip dipping.
You can also add in one cup of shredded cheddar, four slices of cooked and crumbled bacon, and one minced garlic clove to the mix for more flavor.
Pour it all in a lightly greased baking dish and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for a half hour, serving it up while it’s still bubbly.
Cajun Popcorn
This is an easy way to spice up this favorite movie night snack.
In a bowl, stir together one-half cup of melted butter; two teaspoons each of paprika and lemon pepper; one teaspoon each of salt, garlic powder, and onion powder; and one-quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
Mix this in with 20 cups of popped popcorn, stirring to evenly coat.
Spread the popcorn on a baking dish and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring every five minutes.
Curry Cereal Mix
Cereal doesn’t have to just be for breakfast, or something mixed with milk!
Melt one-and-a-half cups of butter in a skillet over low heat. Add to the skillet two packages of crisp cereal, one tablespoon of curry, four minced garlic cloves, one teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, and one cup of pumpkin seeds or nuts of your choice. Mix until all the butter is absorbed.
Jalapeno Bean Dip
Dips come in many shapes and sizes, and this one will knock your socks off thanks to the heat it contains.
In a large skillet cook two pounds of ground beef and one chopped medium onion until the meat is browned through. Add one chopped garlic clove for the last minute of cooking.
Add to the skillet two eight-ounce cans of tomato sauce, one 16-ounce can each of chili beans and kidney beans, and two diced and seeded jalapeno peppers. Bring this to a boil and add a pinch each of salt and cayenne.
Simmer for 20 minutes and spoon the mixture over a plate of tortilla chips covered in cheese.
Spicy Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds are a fun treat as the seasons change. These will warm you up.
Toss two cups of seeds with two tablespoons of canola oil, one teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, one-quarter teaspoon of hot sauce, one-half teaspoon each of salt and paprika, and one-quarter teaspoon each of cumin and cayenne.
Spread them on a baking sheet lined with greased foil. Bake the seeds for 50 minutes at 250 degrees Fahrenheit and cool completely before eating.
Hot Chex
Chex mix typically consists of Chex, nuts, and pretzels with add-ins like cheese crackers, bagel crisps, and sesame sticks.
To your next batch of mix, add a sauce that consists of one-half cup unsalted butter, two tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, two tablespoons hot sauce, one teaspoon each of garlic and onion powder, one-quarter teaspoon of smoked paprika, and salt and pepper to taste.
