Newton Citizen

Firecrackers can be made with either saltine crackers or the small oyster crackers.

I was introduced to MarvaKay Stewart 2 years ago. Right away, I loved her. She has such a great personality and she is sweet as pie. She and my mother-in-law, Janie, have been friends for years.

She is a wife, a mother, a pianist and a teacher in the Newton County School System. She is a busy lady. What you may have also guessed about her is that she is a great cook. This week, we will feature one of the recipe she is most famous for at church -- firecrackers.

While enjoying this past Saturday with the in-laws and my husband, and of course while watching football all day, Janie and I whipped up some of these crackers.

All I'm going to say is -- so good! I'm sad it has taken me this long to put these little crunchy crackers on my taste buds.

The recipe does call for soda crackers, but we used both soda crackers and oyster crackers. We loved them both, so much so that there weren't any left by the time we saw Boise beat the Georgia Bulldogs, but that is a different story for a different day.

This recipe does call for crushed red pepper, but don't worry -- if your taste buds are a little sensitive to the spicy stuff, just use a little less than what the recipe suggests.

Make the firecrackers for your next tailgating experience or for an upcoming party.

Compliments of MarvaKay, enjoy these little firecrackers. If you ever get to meet here, you will know why we love her so much.

Firecrackers

Start to finish: 2 hours and 10 minutes

1 pound of soda crackers, or small oyster crackers

1 cup of canola oil

2 tablespoons of crushed red pepper

2 packages of Hidden Valley dry dressing mix

Place crackers, stacked in four rows, in a Tupperware.

Mix together the canola oil, red pepper and dressing mix in a bowl.

Pour mix over crackers.

Turn Tupperware over every 10 minutes for 2 hours.

Take crackers out of Tupperware and serve in a bowl.

Store in Tupperware.

Tip: MarvaKay said these crackers will last up to a week.