Parmesan Peppercorn Ranch Crackers

I've been on a self-imposed $100-a-week grocery budget, which leaves little room for junk food or soda, and no room whatsoever for error. While I am willing to impose a stricter diet on myself, my husband and son are not so happy with the plan. So after seeing several recipes for Ranch crackers on Pinterest, I impulsively picked up two 99-cent bags of oyster crackers at Aldi.

Then I got home, and realized that virtually all of the recipes called for oil. Whaaa? Hello - butter is what you need, and it's what I'd been thinking all along. So I scrapped all the other versions I found and made this up as I went along. I really adore peppercorn ranch, and parmesan is always so good with that dressing - well, that's what I used.

And the end result rocked. Fabulouso, if I do say so myself. :) (Please forgive the crappy iPhone pics. I had a minor crisis with my desktop computer and had to resort to lesser means of photography.)

Parmesan Peppercorn Ranch Crackers

2 10-oz bags oyster crackers
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (the powdery kind will work best here)
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup butter, melted and cooled back to room temp
1/3 cup ranch dressing mix

Preheat oven to 250. Combine crackers and cheese in a large (I really mean large - it's hard to mix without crackers going everywhere) bowl. Mix pepper and ranch mix into the butter, then pour over crackers. Stir well to coat. Pour crackers into the biggest cookie sheet you've got. It's okay if they pile up a little; you'll be stirring them every five minutes. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring every five minutes. Allow to cool completely before transferring to airtight container.