Easy Southwestern Snackers

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Living in the southwest certain items tend to be a staple in your kitchen.  I am always have salsa on hand, and we buy the giant size containers of taco seasoning.  I love the southwestern fare and this easy little recipe is perfect for snack time or parties.  If you live in the southwest odds are you already have a lot of these ingredients in your party already!  This wonderful mixture of beans, salsa, cheese and seasoning has a little heat to it to make this savory bite size snack pack a lot of flavor. I wanted something sturdier to make my sliders out of so I used Wheat RITZ® crackers from my local Walmart.  They have tons of different flavors in the snack cracker aisle.

Print Recipe

Easy Southwestern Snackers

Author: Angel Hickman Peterson

Ingredients

• Baked with Whole Wheat RITZ® Crackers
• 1/2 can black refried beans
• 1/2 tsp taco seasoning
• 1 tsp canned green chilies
• 2 tbl of salsa
• 1/2 c shredded lettuce (Mexican blend)
• 3-4 mini bell peppers (or 1 large)

Instructions

• In a bowl mix beans, seasoning, chilies, salsa and 1/2 c shredded cheese (reserve half for topping) together. This mixture can be stored overnight in an air tight conatiner unitl you are ready to serve.
  
• if ready to serve microwave mixture until cheese in melted (1-2 minutes). Stir so heat is evenly dispersed.
• While warming mixture, slice peppers into thin slices that will fit on the cracker.
  
• Layout crackers on foil covered cookie sheet. spoon warmed mixture onto them. Tip: a baby spoon makes this easy to get the right amount.
• Sprinkle cheese on top and place a couple slices of bell pepper.
  
• Broil on high until cheese is melted. You can leave them open faced or put another cracker on top. Serve immediately.

They come together and taste really yummy. You could add a little Tabasco sauce to it if you wanted to take the heat up a few notches. I enjoyed eating these, the fresh bell pepper adds just a little sweetness for a fun blend of flavors.  How do you “snackify”?  I would love to see what RITZ® creations you can come up with.