2 cups tortilla chips, broken into 1 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups Crispix cereal or corn chex
4-5 cups popped popcorn
6 ounces nuts, of choice (I like Spanish peanuts and cashews)
4 tablespoons light corn syrup
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 tablespoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
Combine tortilla chips, cereal, popcorn and nuts in a large roasting pan.

(Helpful hint: Lining the pan with foil or parchment paper first helps the clean-up later--).

Combine corn syrup, butter, brown sugar, chili powder, cinnamon and cayenne pepper in a small saucepan and heat to boiling. Pour over the cereal-popcorn mixture in the pan; stir to coat thoroughly.

Bake uncovered 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and turn onto a sheet of waxed paper to cool. This will keep in an airtight container for about 2 weeks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seafood Gumbo for SUPERBOWL
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon of butter
2 Tablespoons of flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 pounds of chicken thighs
3 cups of chopped onions
2 green bell peppers diced
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
4 cups of chopped okra
2 quarts chicken broth
1 tablespoon of chopped herb: fresh thyme, fresh sage
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 pounds of seafood (lobster, clams, crayfish tails, shrimp, scallops, white fish-sea bass)
Combine the following in a 12 quart pot.
Roux: Brown 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 stick of butter.
Season chicken with salt and pepper.
Brown chicken thighs over high heat in olive oil.
Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
Sauté onions and garlic over medium heat in olive oil until translucent, add okra and bell peppers.
Sauté for 5 minutes stirring constantly.
Add chicken and roux to the onion and okra mixture, add chicken stock, seasonings and let simmer for an hour.

20 minutes before serving, add seafood and let the gumbo simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve in a bowl with a side of rice.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

SPICY STUFFED MUSHROOMS WITH BACON
4 slices bacon
24 medium mushrooms (about 1 1/2 lbs)
1 tbs butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped sweet red pepper
1-2 Jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or 1 tbs dried

1. Cook bacon until crisp. Remove from skillet, chop, and drain fat from skillet.

2. Wash and scrub muchrooms well. Remove stems from mushrooms. Reserve and finely chop 2/3 of stems. Discard remaining stems.

3. Cook mushroom caps in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain on paper towel.

4. Heat butter and add mushroom stems, onion, and garlic. Cook five minutes. Add peppers and cook three minutes longer. Cool and then stir in bacon, cheese and parsley.

5. Spoon into caps. Bake on baking sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Serve warm.