My step mother-in-law is an amazing cook.
She's the kind of cook that causes you to gain weight no matter what when you visit her, I haven't found too many things I'll turn down. That's coming from a girl who highly dislikes country food.
I didn't grow up on Chicken Fried anything and I'm not partial to eating it.
I also hate cornbread dressing with a passion, but hers is divine. I really can't explain it.
About 3 years ago we were visiting them in Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee over 4th of July when my car was completely totalled and we couldn't get a rental. Sandy offered to drive us the 9+ hours home, and on that ride she had these crackers stashed in a bag in her purse.
After my first taste there was no hiding the crackers from me and I probably consumed her entire bag.
I managed to get the recipe the next visit, and I've been making them several times a year ever since.
They are seriously the best Spicy Ranch Crackers I've tried, and we've made a few recipes over the years. Sandy got them from a lady in their town, God bless that woman and her cracker recipe.
I will warn you, this last time I used olive oil because I was out of canola oil... don't do that. The olive oil is too strong for the recipe, it needs something without any real taste.
Spicy Ranch Crackers
Ingredients:
3/4 cup Canola Oil
1 pkg Ranch Dressing Mix (or 3 tbsp of homemade)
3 tbsp crushed red pepper or 3 red Cayenne torn
1 bag of oyster crackers
Directions:
Pour oil and red pepper into a jar and let sit for 3 days. The oil should change color slightly, that's how you'll know it's ready.
To make the crackers - combine crackers with oil (strained to remove large pieces of pepper) in a large mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly. Add in ranch and stir until the crackers are evenly covered and oil has soaked into the crackers. Allow crackers to sit and stir them occasionally until oil has soaked in. Serve.
***Sandy let's her crackers sit in the bowl for several hours, randomly stirring them until the oil mixture has completely soaked in. It really works best this way, letting them sit in the open air, they tend to be less greasy. She also uses 1 1/3 cup of oil, but I've cut it back because it can be overly oily. At least when I've made them.
This makes a really great holiday appetizer, or as just a snack.
I like to keep a stash hidden in the cabinet for personal consumption if we are being totally honest.
