Doodads: A Family Foodie Tradition

I'm sure every family has their favorite holiday food, but in our family the holidays are ALL ABOUT THE FOOD ~ and eating it with family! One of our must have food items includes homemade Doodads. Now, I'm sure folks have other names for this delectable salty snack such as homemade 'Chex mix' or the like, but we've just always called them Doodads.

I found this recipe shortly after we were married, when I was trying to build up my arsenal of recipes. I've tweaked it over the years and made it my own with the flavors I know my family likes. But, this year I have been given some suggestions on spices to add to the mix. We'll have to see about all that, because now I'm intrigued to find out if they'd actually taste good with the these new flavoring ideas! 

Doodads is the official food that kicks off our Thanksgiving food fest! We typically cook all week leading up to Thanksgiving, and it's nice to have something to munch on while we're cooking up a storm. I can remember when we first started out making this recipe and how long one batch would last, and now we have to quadruple the recipe to make sure it last until Thanksgiving (but to be honest it barely does last, I usually have to hide a gallon ziplock bag just to make sure!). 

Since I am only two weeks shy of my due date, I have been given strict orders to scale down our Thanksgiving feast ~ sigh.  Not a perk of being pregnant during the holidays, but I do appreciate the concern and love my family has for me! One of my love languages is baking and cooking yummy food, especially for my family. I know how much my family loves some of the special dishes I only prepare at Thanksgiving, so this has been extra hard on this ol' girl. But, I can assure you one of the foods that was not cut out of the menu, was Doodads. 

Doodads

Ingredients 

1/4 cup melted butter

2 tbsp seasoning salt

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

3 cups nuts (we prefer pecan halves and peanuts)

4 cups pretzels

8 cups oat cereal

8 cups corn cereal

8 cups rice cereal

Directions

Combine butter, salt, and sauce. Mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl then pour butter mixture on top. Toss gently with spoon until evenly coated. Spread mixture on to two large baking pans. Bake 45 minutes @ 250*, rotating pans and stirring mixture every fifteen minutes. Let cool, then store in an air tight container or ziplock bags.

Y'all it has only been two days since we made our traditional super sized batch of Doodads and I have literally eaten so much of it, I don't think I will be eating any more!! I'm not exactly one given to indulging in sweets, but when it comes to salty snacks I have zero restraint ~ ugh!!! I'm blaming it on the baby this year though, lol. 

I'm truly blessed in the fact that since I've spent years teaching my little ones to cook and bake, now that many of them are older, they are perfectly willing and capable to lend a hand in the kitchen. I have truly been grateful for their help this year when I've been slow, awkward, and pretty much unable to keep up. 

Not only did I have the privilege of my kiddos helping with the making of our Doodads and our other Thanksgiving food, but my husband helped too. On our Doodad making day he surprised us with a half of day of work, and actually came in and immediately took over, finishing up the mix while I took in some much needed rest. 

With how much we make it took a little over three hours to get this tasty Doodad mix wrapped up. We are blessed to have a double oven and were able to do four pans of mix at a time, but we did a total of eight pans this year. With how quickly we're going through it, I think next year I'm going to have to make the recipe x5, 😅 So is the life of a large family mama!

With Love & Hope,

Jennifer