My grandson brings new meaning to the term cereal bowl.
If you're looking for another "out of the box" use for cereal, here's one. In my swim class last winter, I met a man. His name was Jim. I never knew his last name. What I did know is that he was a very sweet man. In his 80s. He'd had a stroke, but, with the aid of a walker, he made his way into the pool Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Every week. Because he knew the benefit. During our class, we chatted about different things. About his career that spanned so many years. He proudly spoke of his wife and his children. When he learned that I was from Minnesota and liked to try new recipes, he told me of an author named Joanne Fluke who was born and raised in a small town in rural Minnesota. She wrote a series of murder mysteries with recipes interwoven within the chapters, he explained. Upon leaving our class that day, I stopped by the local public library where I discovered her books with titles such as Carrot Cake Murder, Peach Cobbler Murder, Sugar Cookie Murder, and Blueberry Muffin Murder. I decided upon Apple Turnover Murder. I read the book because what I really wanted to do is make a recipe from the book to share with Jim. So I did. The recipe from the book is called "Imperial Cereal." It is a crunchy, nutty, slightly sweet snack. But, sadly, Jim was no longer in class. Then, I left the area and no longer swam. Fast forward. A year later. I'm searching for Jim.
Top Photos (L):The recipe called for a combo of Multigrain Cheerios and Rice Chex. I chose to use Cascadian Farm Cinnamon Crunch instead. (R):A syrup made of o.j. concentrate, br. sugar, and butter is drizzled over a cereal/nut mixture. Bottom Photos (L):The syrup-coated cereal/nut mixture is baked. (R):After cooling, the mixture is portioned into individual servings.
Cinnamon Crunchies
Makes eight 1/2 cup servings. Preheat oven to 300° with rack in middle position.
4 ½ cups dry cereal (any combination – Recipe suggested Multigrain Cheerios and Rice Chex. I used Cascadian Organic Cinnamon Crunch.)
½ cup slivered almonds or pecans (I used ¼ c hazelnuts, ¼ c Brazil nuts,and ¼ c walnuts.)
2 tbsp orange juice concentrate
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp butter
¼ cup sweetened dried cranberries (I omitted.)
Place the cereal and nuts in a large ovenproof bowl or pan. (I used a jelly roll pan lined with parchment paper.) With clean hands, mix the cereal and nuts together until evenly distributed. In a saucepan, heat the orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, and butter until melted. Stir, then pour over the cereal/nuts mixture. Mix until thoroughly coated. Bake uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and mix in dried cranberries (if using). Cool, stir, and store in tightly covered container(s). Note: These amounts represent half of the original recipe’s quantities. Also, I renamed the recipe "Cinnamon Crunchies" because of the cereal I chose to use.