Munkaroo Munch

Boy are you in for it today.

Another peek inside the inner-workings of my crazy brain.

More specifically, how my poor family suffers as a result of it.

My husband, son, daughter, and cat all have “special nicknames” given to them by me that no one else knows about.

Until today.

My boys would kill me if I told the internets about the ridiculous nicknames I gave them so I’ll keep those secret – for now.

But my daughter could care less. She’s got a pretty easy-going personality (thank goodness). Plus she’s six and doesn’t read my blog so she’ll never know.

When she was just an itty bitty thing, six years ago more or less, I started calling her Munkaroo.

It’s weird I know, but it stuck. I think it must have started with “monkey” but evidently that just wasn’t weird enough for me.

Soon after, her father and brother also began calling her Munkaroo and that was it.

Over the years, Munkaroo evolved into: Munx, Munxy, Munxatawny Phil, Munkadocious, and Munkasaurus Rex.

All of the above nicknames are used on a constant basis in addition to the more obvious nicknames that any normal person would come up with just by looking at her name.

That child is rarely ever called by her actual name. Unless she’s in trouble. I think we all know how that goes.

Of course now that she’s older and “Munkaroo” has been a part of our daily vocabulary for so long, the name has become synonymous with all little things.

Unless we’re talking about babies. Those are “mini-munkaroos” – just to be clear.

The well goes much deeper folks, that’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as the weirdness goes but since I find it’s best to dish up my craziness in small doses, we’ll save the rest for another time.

To give a bit of direction to all my rambling, this snack mix was named after my daughter’s very first nickname because it contains some of her snacky favorites.

It also sounds super cute so why not?

Directions:

Add your snack mix into a large bowl. There are no precise measurements for this part. Just add what you like to a bowl and mix gently.

I used Goldfish crackers, small pretzels, and popcorn this time but I’ll also add nuts, Cheez-its, Chex cereal, and/or mini saltines when I have them.

Then melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan and add a few shakes of Worcestershire Sauce, 1 teaspoon each of both seasoned salt and Italian seasoning, and 1/2 teaspoon each of both onion powder and garlic salt. Whisk to combine.

Drizzle the seasoned buttery yumminess over your snack mix and gently mix well to make sure everything is coated. It’s best to drizzle a bit and mix gently, then drizzle a bit more and mix gently. That way, everything gets evenly coated.

Then pour the mixture onto a large baking sheet and slide into a 200 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

That’s it!

Leftovers can be stored in a resealable bag or a jar with a tight-fitting lid.

I’d love to tell you how long this mix will stay fresh but it never lasts more than a couple of days. It seems like someone always has their hand in it.

I’d venture to guess that it should stay fresh for up to a week, but I’m telling you, it probably won’t last that long.

To make a special munchy mix for your child, just season up their favorite dry snacks and once cooled, pour their mix into a resealable bag labelled with their nickname and the word “munch” or “mix” written after.