Sorry about the sporadic posts. In all honesty, it’s just busy around here with Christmas and my husband and I trying to finish our basement before Christmas, and so computer time has been minimal. But I had to go look up this recipe in my ‘favorites’ recipe binder because I realized I’d never posted it here, so I thought I better do so now so I can have this recipe online for the future. We love party chex mix, though because we don’t normally have cereal or pretzels and spaghetti mix on hand, we make this more for a holiday treat around Christmas time. We’ve made this every year for lots of years; in fact, I remember making this with my mom, in the house I grew up in, and bringing it to neighbors. And now we do something similar, though because I have five kids that love this mix, we usually only give away a bag or two so they can eat up the rest. 
This recipe is pretty simple and straighforward. You add all your cereal, pretzels and nuts/seeds to a large bowl and gently stir. Then you drizzle it with olive oil and the spaghetti sauce and garlic and gently stir to combine and that’s it! 
We sometimes will double the recipe so we can have more to give away. We’ll usually gift them in cello bags or christmas tins. I hope you have a merry Christmas and a happy holiday season!
THE RECIPE
*Makes 24 cups. We fill about five cello bags for neighbor gifts.
Italian Party Mix
1 Family size box Chex (or 18c; I like to use a rice and corn chex combo)
8 c pretzel sticks
2 c cashew pieces (or other nut or seeds; i also like sunflower seeds)
8 Tbsp olive oil (about 1/2 c)
1 packet McCormicks dry spaghetti sauce mix (I find this on aisle with other packets for gravy and sauces etc)
1 Tbsp garlic powder
Optional: 1/2 c Parmesan cheese; if you do this, you only need to use half the McCormiks dry spaghetti mix
Combined checks pretzels and cashews in a large bowl. Pour oil over top and stir gently to coat. Add dry spaghetti mix garlic powder and optional Parmesan cheese and stir gently to coat. Makes 24 cups. We fill about five cello bags for neighbor gifts.
Real Foods Mom 