GuacStar Taco Party

This past weekend, little man hosted a GuacStar party for some friends and family. We aren’t super big on all the Halloween stuff, but it’s fun to dress up and kids love it and it was a perfect excuse to get some friends together for a fall party. And, if you don’t know this about me, you should know that not much in this world makes me happier than having a house full of people eating food I prepared. 

And, I’m convinced you’ve got to create the community you crave. So often we get in a new place and throw a pity party trying to get in one friend group or another. Heck, we may have lived in a town most of our lives and still long for the small group communities that Hallmark movies are based on.  It’s not unlikely, you just might have to be the catalyst to create the environment for community to thrive. 

So, Saturday night my heart was full with our simple taco pile up menu and sopapilla cheesecake for dessert. Halloween is also a time of year I make a new snack mix to send with my husband to work so we played off the theme and sent our friends home with GuacStar Mix and Churro Crackers.

So, what was on the GuacStar Party menu?

• Guacamole – duh!
• Taco Pile ups
• Sopapilla Cheesecake
• Guac Snack Mix
• Churro Crackers
• Mexican Punch

Taco Pile Up Line up

• Taco meat-I needed food for 60, so I bought the meat from a local Mexican food restaurant
• Flour tortillas
• Tortilla chips
• Lettuce
• Cheese
• Sour cream 
• Salsa – check out my recipe for homemade Cantina Style Salsa

We put big bowls of our snack mix out, but we also packed it up in baggies to send home with our friends.

Print Recipe

Guacamole Snack Mix (aka GuacStart Snackies)

Every great party starts with a good snack mix. The base of this mix is a guacamole seasoning packet, lime juice, and Tajin or Chamoy seasoning. The cereal and snack Mix ins are endless.

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bar snacks, guacamole, snack mix, snacks with beer, taco night, taco snack mix

Ingredients

• 4 cups Rice Chex cereal
• 2 cups wheat Chex cereal
• 3 cups Pretzels
• 3 cups Cheerios cereal
• 2 handfuls veggie straws optional
• 2 cups Cheese it’s or goldfish
• 4 large handfuls Nacho Cheese Bugles
• 3 cups chili cheese Fritos
• 1 stick unsalted Butter
• 1 Guacamole seasoning pouch
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon tajin or chamoy

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 250.
• In a large roasting pan, mix together Chex, Cheerios, pretzels, veggie straws, and Cheese Itz.
• In a glass measuring cup, melt butter in the microwave.
• Add seasonings and lime juice to butter.
• Stir into butter until mixed and dissolved.
• Pour over cereal mix and stir together.
• Add Bugles and Fritos.
• Mix together until everything is coated and combined.
• Cook for 1 hour and 40 minutes, stirring from the corners every 20 minutes.
• Let cool completely before storing.
• Bag individually for treats or store in an airtight container.
• Enjoy by the handful!

Notes

If you do not have a guacamole seasoning mix, 1/2 taco packet and 1/2 spicy ranch packet can be substituted. This is such a good treat for teachers, holidays, Superbowl or bar parties.

Print Recipe

Cinnamon Churro Crackers

This sweet and salty mixture tastes just like Mexican street churros but is so quick an easy to make in a batch or bulk.

Course: Snack

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: christmas snacks, cinnamon, cinnamon sugar, party food, snack mix

Ingredients

• 2 10 oz. bags oyster crackers
• 1 bottle spreadable butter
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 250.
• Melt butter in a glass measuring cup.
• Pour crackers in a mixing bowl.
• In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon sugar.
• Sprinkle half of the cinnamon mixture over crackers.
• Pour the rest of the cinnamon mixture into melted butter.
• Stir until dissolved.
• Pour over crackers.
• Stir from corners to center, until all crackers are completely coated.
• Bake for 40 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Notes

1 stick of butter can be substituted for the squeeze butter, but I tried both and I just liked how the squeeze butter coated the crackers.

And, just in case you’ve never had it, your life needs more Sopapilla Cheesecake in it!

Print Recipe

Mexican Punch

This sweet, tropical-flavored fruit punch is perfect for a shower, holiday party, or party with a Safari, or Mexican theme.

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: fruit punch, party punch, punch, shower punch, tropical drink

Ingredients

• 1 frozen orange juice concentrate
• 1 jug/carton mango juice or nectar
• 1 jug/carton pineapple juice
• 1 jug/carton guava juice
• 1 2 Liter bottle Fresca or 7up
• 1/4 -1/2 cup Grenadine

Instructions

• Thaw orange juice concentrate up to 1 hour before party so it is liquid.
• Keep all juices in the refrigerator prior to mixing the drink.
• In a pitcher, drink server, or punch bowl, pour together the orange juice concentrate (no water added), mango, and pineapple juices.
• If you are using guava juice in mold, add those ice cubes at this time, or just pour the guava juice in with the other juices.
• Add Fresca.
• Pour Grenadine over top. (if using a mold, pour it over the shapes to outline them in your juice.) The Grenadine will float to the bottom and make a dark red, layered look in your punch container.
• Serve immediately.
• If you did not freeze the guava juice, serve with ice cubes to keep the drink chilled.

Notes

If serving as a punch at a party, freeze guava juice in a mold. This can be ice cube trays or a bundt pan, or a shaped plastic or metal device that matches your party them. For this party, I used a brain shaped mold to match our halloween theme. If you are not using a clear container to serve your punch, you can leave out the Grenadine and just use the juices.

Another fun idea if you are making this for a halloween party is to freeze bugs, spiders, and snakes in ice cube trays to use in the glasses as you serve the punch to guests.

Check out some of our other Signature party snack mixes:

• Superbowl Party Snack mix – Bigpittstop’s Signature Mix
• Parmesan Ranch Snack Mix
• BBQ Snack Mix
• Cowboy Ranch Snack Mix
• Nacho Ranchy Texas Trash
• Chicken Feed Snack Mix
• Circus Snack Mix

If you are looking for alternative ideas to celebrating Halloween, you should check out this article I wrote a couple of weeks ago. It has some great ideas in it and a yummy Monster Mash Snack Mix!