Thursday, July 3, 2008

Monkey Munch

Update: See comments section for the "Official" Monkey Munch Recipe.

I DVR several shows because I am not disciplined enough to catch shows when they originally air, and now I do not like to watch live TV because you cannot skip past the commercials. Well, I do make an exception for the shows Lost and Boston Legal. I will watch those at their proper time with commercials because I love them so much. Anyhoo, one of the shows I DVR is the chaotic, conflict/resolution show, Jon and Kate plus 8. Do you watch this? I’m not really sure why I like to watch people’s daily lives. I think it stems from wondering if I’m normal. Maybe? Well, of course I’m not. I have a website that is a shrine to sugar. That is definitely not normal.
On the show they rarely talk about anything sweet because they fill the hour with discussions about Organic Food. Last night I was going through my DVR’d shows and overheard something called “Monkey Munch”. I first heard the words “1 cup” which got my attention. As the show went on I realized that Monkey Munch was really just Puppy Chow. I looked for a recipe called Monkey Munch but could not quickly find anything. Apparently, other people out there watch the show and wanted to know more about this Monkey Munch because several bulletin boards where full of questions.
I settled on the recipe below and simply divided it in half because we did not need 2 gallons of the additive treat in our house over the holiday weekend. The taste is yummy. The sweet and salty flavors are encased in a powder sugary envelope. This is an easy one for kids to help prepare and they will love the name if you can settle on one.


Monkey Munch or Puppy Chow or Muddy Buddies
(12 oz.) box Chex or Crispix
1 (12 oz.) semi-sweet morsels
1 c. peanut butter
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 stick (8 tbsp.) butter
1 lb. powdered sugar

Put cereal in a large bowl and put aside.
Place chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter into a quart-sized microwavable bowl.
Stir the ingredients together. Microwave the mixture uncovered for a minute on "high." Stir the mix again and continue to zap in thirty second intervals until it mixes smoothly.
Add the vanilla and stir. Pour over the cereal while stirring. Put combination into a 2-gallon, Ziploc freezer bag. Add powdered sugar, seal the bag and shake until distributed.
Spread Monkey Munch out on wax paper to cool and dry. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for storage.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the show Jon and Kate plus 8 and watch it any chance I get. I have also been very interested in the monkey munch receipe and have made my husband search for it on the computer. I have yet to attempt to make any because I don't enjoy time in the kitchen at all. Do you have any left? On another note - really enjoyed seeing ya'll in the parade.

Kelli said...

Glad to hear that others out there enjoy the show. Yes, Mr.Mil10 needs to get in there and make a batch. If you divide the recipe in half you do not have to purchase the extra large Ziploc bags and it only requires 6 cups of cereal. Sorry, I do not have any left. It went very quickly.
Thanks!

Kelli said...

Due to the popularity of this post, I have felt the need to put the "official" Jon & Kate + 8 recipe in the comments. I was told that this recipe was on their family website at one time. I did not find it until I had already posted mine.

The Official Monkey Munch
9 cup Chex
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Put cereal in large bowl. Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over Chex cereal, put into a large plastic bag with powdered sugar and shake well to coat. Spread mixture evenly on wax paper and allow to cool.