Chesapeake Chex Mix

Had I heard of this prior to my move to the East Coast, I'd have wondered what the heck they meant by "Chesapeake". Now I know and am familiar with the taste that's usually associated with any and all things "Chesapeake" --- Old Bay seafood seasoning and crab meat. Well, since I can't very well add crab meat to Chex mix [holy nasty thought!], how 'bout we throw in some Old Bay?

Chesapeake Bay Snack Mix

Adapted from Everyday Food, June 2010, p. 117

6 c. crisp corn or rice cereal, such as Crispix or Chex

3 c. thin pretzel sticks

3 c. oyster crackers

2 c. roasted, salted peanuts

1/2 c. [1 stick] butter, melted

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 tsp. hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco

Preheat oven to 250F. In a roasting pan, combine cereal, pretzels, crackers & peanuts. In a small bowl, mix together melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay, lemon juice & hot pepper sauce. Pour butter mixture over cereal mixture and stir until ingredients are completely coated. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Transfer to 2 rimmed baking sheets to cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week. Yield: 12 c.This was a good change-of-pace recipe, but I still like the original better. There are quite a few new variations to the standard recipe that I'd like to try this Fall/Winter [when I seem to really get into a Chex mix snacking mood], so we'll see what else comes my way soon enough. Buppy thought it would've been better using the small pretzel shapes instead of sticks, but he never likes sticks in anything, so I'm not sure I can trust his opinion. Either kind would, I'm sure, be equally tasty. Enjoy!