- 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
- 1 stick butter
- 1 3/4 tsp seasoning salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp onion powder
- 8 cups CRISPEX
- 1 cup Cheezits
- 1 cup pretzels
- 1 cup nuts
In a very large pan, mix 8 cups of CRISPEX, 1 cup of each: Cheezits, pretzels, and nuts. In a skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, a stick of butter, 1 3/4 teaspoon of seasoning salt, a teaspoon of garlic powder, and 3/4 teaspoon of onion powder until you get a nice smooth mixture.
When my sister and grandmother, Mimi, would make her famous Trash mix (Chex mix), I would picture myself in her living room watching the Arkansas vs. LSU game, waiting for the Mississippi State and Ole Miss game to come on TV. My whole family was known for being in the living room yelling about the game.
"What is wrong with LSU today?" says my cousin Zack, an LSU graduate.
"Did you hear ESPN pick which team should end up winning this game? I don't agree with them." says my mother, who's a fanatic football fan.
Every time I would go in the kitchen to see how everything was going, I could smell the seasoning for the trash, and I'd also steal a couple pieces of cereal without Mimi seeing.
"Mimi! Madeline stole some cereal!" yelled my older sister, Leslie.
"Oh, Leslie, hush! Now bring that skillet over here." ordered Mimi.
Take the seasoning mixture and pour it over the cereal mixture. Stir all the ingredients together and them separate the mixture into flat baking pans. Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes; stirring every 15 minutes.
At this point of the Trash process, Mimi and Leslie were able to come join everybody else in the living room. By now it was time for the Mississippi State and Ole Miss game, and now the living room would be even louder than before.
"Go,go,go! TOUCHDOWN Bulldawgs!" yelled my Uncle Barry and grandfather, Pa, both MSU graduates.
"How 'bout them Dawgs!" yelled my cousin, Kaitlyn, and Aunt Aimee.
Then, once the oven went off for the Trash, we would all look at Mimi. Once all the Trash was put into these huge Fall decorated tubs, that Mimi absolutely loved, we all chowed down on it. Now we were all yelling at the TV still, but this time we had a mouthful of Trash and also a handful of Trash. Trash never lasted very long in the Staples' household. We were also known for fighting over who is eating too much of the pretzels or nuts and then end up stealing them out of each other's hand.
"Are you eating all the nuts, Barry?" asked my mom.
"No! That's Leslie!" exclaimed my Uncle Barry.
Trash is not just a recipe to me now, but it's a memory. My amazing Mimi may not be here anymore with me, but her Trash recipe is, and also the memories she was able to give to her family. Trash is one of the many recipes she left for us to conquer, as she did, and for us to remember just how amazing she was.
