What do you do with an active 4-year-old, her 2 just-as-active playdates, a few opened boxes of cereal that no one wants to eat anymore, half eaten chocolate from past holidays (yes, leftover chocolate. It does happen), 5 day old tuna noodle casserole, and a too-cold-to-go-outside kind of day?

You make Muddy Buddies. And throw the tuna noodle casserole away. Ick.

This recipe is both amazing and super simple - and if you have read my past blogs, you know how much I like simple. I found this recipe on the back of a Rice Chex cereal box a couple of years ago. It's one of those recipes that, because of it's simplicity to make, can get overused, but if you can’t find the cereal brand where you live, you crave incessantly. 

I have tweaked this recipe a few times, mainly adding things to it, only to come back to the original everytime. Like the saying goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". This delightful creation falls under that category. It's sweet, salty, and crunchy goodness all in one. 

There is nothing like sugaring up your child's friends, sending them home, and seeing their Mom the next day at school with an extra large coffee and under eye bags to her chin, wondering why her children were up until 11pm.

Oops.


Adapted from the back of the Chex Cereal box.

9 cups Rice or Corn Chex Cereal -  If you can't find Chex, Crispix Cereal is the next best thing.
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips**
½ cup peanut butter
¼ cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups powdered sugar

In large bowl, measure cereal; set aside. I used both Rice & Corn Chex.

**This is where my little spin on the recipe comes in. Rather than using chocolate chips, this is a great recipe to use up any solid chocolate bars you may have lying around.

Substitute one cup chocolate chips for one cup chopped chocolate bars and follow recipe accordingly. If you are using all 100% milk chocolate, I recommend throwing some dark chocolate in to counterbalance the sweetness. White chocolate works well, but I wouldn't suggest using only white as it will yield a very sweet mixture.

Pour chocolate mixture over cereal.  

Stir until evenly coated.

Pour into resealable food-storage plastic bag. Add powdered sugar.

Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Yield: 18 servings (½ cup each)

Happy Baking!