Muddy Buddies

I often refer to Max as my 'newborn', he is the youngest of our six children. The 'newborn' is now 22 years old, six feet and 200 pounds. He never really was a baby, he entered this life weighing 9 pounds and 8 ounces. I think he went from size newborn clothes to nine months in under 2 weeks. He was a big boy!
What does this have to do with Muddy Buddies? Max was first introduced to Muddy Buddies at an early age. I'm sure one of his older sisters was bored one Sunday afternoon and wanted to make a treat. Chex cereal was a staple in our house as was butter, peanut butter and chocolate chips. The cooking rule for my girls was--by all means make a treat, just clean up the mess. So they did.
Max was in grade school, I think it was love at first bite. He would often beg his sisters to make his favorite treat. They were happy to. Max was worried that the recipe for Muddy Buddies might not always be printed on the box. So he got a recipe card and proceeded to write the recipe, it was now safe.

Chex Muddy Buddies
9 cups Rice Chex
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Microwave chocolate chips, butter and peanut butter for 1 minute, stir, cook for 30 more seconds or longer until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stir until evenly coated. Pour into large plastic food storage bag. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on wax paper to cool.
Muddy Buddies continues to be one of Max's favorite treats. When he was a missionary in Texas Muddy Buddies were often included in care packages. Life is good when a simple treat like this can make someones day!