Snack Tray / The Original

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The fact that I am even writing a post about this CRACKS. ME. UP. I have been laughing about it for days. It makes me happy, deep in my heart.

Snack trays were invited by my Mom in the late '90s.  πŸ˜‚ Unlike today's modern snack tray, they were created out of necessity -- out of "we have nothing but random fruits and crackers and ingredients in our pantry" so, let's slap them all on a cutting board and call it dinner. And we LOVED it. Quickly, snack trays became the thing to enjoy while watching the VHS movies we'd rent from Blockbuster. And eventually, without really thinking too much of it, they became a staple in The Courtney Home.

For whatever reason, I kinda forgot about them... until sometime last year when I had no idea what to make T.J. and myself for dinner. ENTER: snack tray. I threw a few pretzels, cheese, apples, almonds and other items on a tray and it was delicious. T.J. immediately said "WHY have you never made this before? WHY don't we eat this all the time?!?!" And since then, we've never looked back.  πŸ˜‚

I'm not joking. We'll go weeks at a time where we'll eat two a day. Not always with the same ingredients each time, but they certainly "hit the spot" every time. My favorite thing about them is that they're fast and pretty. And simple. Because I really love to cook... so, for me, it rarely stems out of "I just can't even make dinner right now." It's more, just, that they're awesome.

SNACK TRAY / ORIGINAL

  • Pretzels

  • Cheese (usually sharp cheddar)

  • Apple Slices

  • Nuts

  • Chocolate Chips (frozen!)

  • Grapes (or any additional fruit)

  • Dipping Mustard (Herlockers / We consume JARS and JARS of this stuff.)

I hope you'll try making one - either for dinner or as a snack! Have fun with it. Make it your own. Use what you have. And if you make one send me a photo! Tag me on Instagram / @walkinlove #snacktrayz

T.J. and I have been dying over the photos you guys are sending so far. Yesterday we got one that was made for someone's kids and it had chopped up granola bars on it which was INCREDIBLE. That's the #snacktrayz spirit! 

Enjoy!