Game Trip Snacks

Today is a big day! The last regular season football game of the Kansas State Wildcats. As season ticket holders we spend many Saturdays on the road in the fall to travel to Manhattan, about 3 hours away, to watch our favorite team. And today's game against Texas has a lot at stake. So far the Wildcats have only had one loss, and for a glorious week were rated Number 1 College Team in the nation! Now we're hoping the guys have had a rejuvenating 2 weeks to rebuild from that one very disappointing loss. A win today would mean the Big Twelve Championship and probably a trip to the Fiesta Bowl - Go Cats!
Besides tailgating or meeting friends in Cat Town, snacks for the trip home are an important food part of the day. When the game is an evening one, like tonight's, we especially want a munchy, crunchy to keep us going until we arrive home safely about 2 a.m.!
One of our favorite car snacks is Cereal Mix - but we just did that last weekend for the Thanksgiving trip to Texas - it is easy to prep, and this combo is healthier and less messy (no greasy fingers) than the traditional Chex Mix. My version is:
Cereal Mix Snack (all 'more or less' measurements!)
1 box Crispix
1/2 of a small box of Cheerios
2 cups preztels
1 small can mixed nuts
1 - 2 cups small candies (like candy corn, M&Ms, Reeces' Pieces)
1 small bag commercial party mix
Mix and bag - pretty simple! The ready made party mix adds the flavor which incorporates with the other ingredients without adding as many calories as the original.

So tonight's snack is PowerCat Caramel Corn. I am always tempted by the big bags of purple popcorn that they sell at the concessions stands. But at $5 a bag, I resist. So today I decided we'd make our own to take. To this standard recipe I added a couple of 'smidgens' (isn't that a scientific food term?) of purple paste food coloring. One 'smidgen' would have been enough - its pretty dark - but hey, you can't  have too much purple!  YEA CATS!

Carmel Corn (this recipe is just right for 1 popper of corn - we have the locally famous Quincy/Atom popcorn pan)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Directions: Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Over medium heat, combine the first 4 ingredients and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in baking soda. Stir well. Pour over 3-4 quarts of popped corn. Stir to coat well (this is where an extra set of hands would be good). Bake in a large roaster or pan for 45 minutes stirring every 15 minutes.

I used a large broiler pan -
good idea to spray the
pan with cooking oil

Maybe just a bit too much food coloring