Saturday, May 19, 2012

A Tasty Snack and A Winner


Hope everyone has has a nice week. I feel like it was just Mother's Day and now it's the weekend again. We had a great Mother's Day and took Hayden to the park to play on the swings for the first time. He was a little hesitant but he had fun and kept trying to eat the chain links (ewww!). The rest of the week was filled with doctor visits and appointments and I was kept very busy. I did manage to squeeze in a much needed haircut since I hadn't trimmed my hair since before Hayden was born! Needless to say, I did not get to bake up anything new this week so I'm sharing a treat I made earlier in the year. 


Mr. H loves this snack. His mom has been making Goldfish Bowl Bites for as far back as I can remember. She serves it in a giant glass round bowl that looks like a Goldfish bowl and she covers it with yellow plastic wrap that she's had in the cupboard for the last 10 years, that she inherited from her mother-in-law. It's kind of funny, but that never ending roll of Plastic wrap is finally used up. haha! My mother-in-law hasn't made these in awhile so when Mr. H gets the craving we whip up a batch together. 



This snack is buttery, crunchy salty, and loaded with Ranch flavor. The original recipe calls for pretzel crackers but those aren't my favorite so we just use the plain and cheddar Goldfish. You can use any combination you'd like, though I would avoid those with extra flavoring like the pizza and extra cheesy ones. We also like to add a bit more Ranch powder and pecans but that's just personal preference. My changes are noted below. My favorite thing about this recipe is when you get a clump of crackers that get a bit more love from the butter and Ranch topping. As they bake those pieces get nice and crusty and pack a punch of flavor. I like to dig those fishies out and eat them first- so good! This recipes makes a lot and would be good for large crowds, parties, or school events but could easily be halved. Enjoy!


Goldfish Bowl Bites
Printer Friendly Version
  • 2 (6 ounce) bags plain Goldfish® crackers* (see note)
  • 1 (6 ounce) bag cheddar Goldfish® crackers
  • 1 (6 ounce) bag pretzel Goldfish® crackers
  • 1 cup pecan halves (I double this)
  • 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 envelope (3 Tablespoons) Ranch salad dressing mix (I use 4 Tbsp.) 
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Combine crackers and pecans in large shallow roasting pan. Combine melted butter, Worcestershire and Ranch dressing mix. Pour over crackers; gently stir to coat. 

Bake 60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

Once evenly toasted, remove from oven and allow to cool completely before serving.  

NOTE: Any combination of of Goldfish crackers will do. You just need 4 six-ounce bags. I like to use 2 plain, a bag of Cheddar and a bag of the baby Goldfish crackers. 


And the winner of the Chinet Bakeware is #42- Andrew's Mom of Mad Rantings of Andrew's Mom. Congratulations. Please email me with your address as soon as you can. Oh and send me your recipe for Mac and Cheese too :-)

14 comments:

  1. I love goldfish crackers, so this snack was designed for me!! Thanks for sharing the recipe. Your little man Hayden is just adorable.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congratulations to Andrew's Mom!! ;)

    Thanks for another recipe Monica!

    Paloma.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your little boy is so cute. I'm sure you are having a ball with him. Thanks for another great recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hooray! I sent you my address - thanks so much - that little guy is getting cuter and cuter!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hayden has his mommy's eyes. He's starting to morph from an infant into a baby boy. Precious. So, the snack-- I'd have to measure out a one-cup serving, for fear I'd the entire recipe. Looks fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  6. To begin with, your sweet little Hayden is absolutely adorable!

    Secondly - I just saw your post about the Chinet Bakeware!! Serendipity for certain... as I had just sent out an email to a group of friends, as we are organizing meals for a dear friend of ours who just found out she has pancreatic cancer. This will be a godsend for those meals that require baking - not having to mess around with a baking dish that needs to be washed/returned/etc.

    Loving your blog... found it awhile ago while searching for a good peanut butter cookie recipe. Found your wonderful, and heartbreaking post, about the welfare peanut butter cookies. (Sounds like you had a wonderful grandmother.) I tried the recipe -- they were divine. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh that last photo killed me! Goodness! He just can't stop getting cuter!

    Congrats to the winner!

    ReplyDelete
  8. We LOVE snack mix. C. asks for Grumps' party mix all the time (that's my dad, and he makes the mix at Christmas.) This would be right up our alley seeing as we consume a VERY high number of goldfish. Ahem.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a yummy snack mix! Glad to hear your Mother's Day was perfect and what cute pictures to document it! : )

    ReplyDelete
  10. Okay, I need to stop reading through your blog! I am getting hungrier with each post!!! This looks like an awesome and most likely quite addictive snack mix. I think I will try it for one of my "kids in the kitchen" activities this summer.
    Oh and Mr. Hayden is looking more and more like his mommy :) You both have those big beautiful eyes!

    ReplyDelete
  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Made this today for Father's Day dinner tomorrow. (I figured the kids, big & small, would like it.) As with Chex mix, instead of baking it, I microwaved it for 6 min., stirring every 2 min. Worked beautifully, and help keep my desert kitchen cool. Hubby & I really like it, hope the rest of the family does, too.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm making this for my son's 3rd birthday party! The party is 3 days from now. Do you know how far in advance I can make this?

    ReplyDelete
  14. You can make it now, it will keep fresh for several days, just keep it in an airtight container til you serve it.

    Happy birthday to your son!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your supportive comments. I appreciate each and every one of them!