Living in a Cereal World

Mostly to myself. I've been tinkering. I'm not done, but I wanted to put it up anyway. The title and image behind the title are subject to change. I'll figure it out when I have more time. 😉

Surely you didn't think I'd get through this list without dropping an NKOTB reference, did you? Although I'll be honest, back in the late '80s I was a kid and didn't get what all the fuss was about boys. It was just the popular music of the time to me. So anyway, breakfast: Monday: I used the leftover skillet apple from the Peanut Butter Toast  to make Apple Pie Overnight Oats  (yeah, so going in order isn't going to happen after all). I have a feeling that made it even more delicious than it would've been otherwise. Leftovers! 🎉 Tuesday: I finally had a day to make Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches . I've actually wanted to try this for a while. And since I wanted one on Tuesday, I actually ate an unfrozen breakfast sandwich. I would imagine the reheated ones had lots of melty-cheese goodness, though. Wednesday: Leftover Banana Oatmeal Cups (see last week's entry). I found that after reheating them they got a bit crumbly with a fork and would work...

Since it looks as if Spring is finally here with no take-backsies 🌷, I thought I'd better hurry up and add this entry. A few weeks ago we had a snow day that ended up being a washout (so to speak), no school delays or anything, but I decided to go ahead and make these Chewy Molasses Cookies  anyway. This wasn't the recipe I was planning to make but I changed my mind at the last second when flipping through an old Cooking Light issue. I just had a taste for molasses that week. No chocolate, no oats. And they were indeed chewy, with just enough sweetness to balance out the ginger. Why aren't they called "ginger cookies?" That's a good question. Maybe it's not enough ginger. And then last week we had the one big snow of the season. A last-minute Winter dump. A foot and a half of snow. Luckily, thanks to the Spring sun, that snow is just about gone. But on a cold and snowy day all I wanted to do was bake a coffee cake. I've been holding to this recipe f...

I guess Mother Nature is having a change of heart. By next weekend it should be in the 60s and the snow will be out of here. I hope. Anyway, breakfasts. The only good thing about last week's cold weather was the need for hot breakfasts. Monday: leftover Spanish tortilla  and fruit with granola. I realized I have to make a conscious effort to eat fruit with breakfast everyday since it's not on my cereal. Tuesday: I started with this Strawberry and Yogurt Parfait  recipe but made some changes to accommodate the vanilla yogurt I needed to finish. Wednesday: Oh, this was a good one. I took four banana oat pancakes (see last week's entry) and made two little sandwiches. Here's exactly what I did: I started with four small pancakes--I made them small for this purpose--and toasted them according to the recipe reheating instructions. Then I microwaved them anyway, and they didn't fall apart like I thought they would. Next I spread roughly a teaspoon of almond butter ...

Not the snow. No, I think nearly a foot and a half of snow is hard to miss. 😛 But the sun's taking care of it. Come on, already, Spring! So actually I was referring to this Chocolate Banana Bread . I told you I was on a chocolate kick, and I'm still not sure why. I did worry, though, that this would be too chocolatey. Especially since I still haven't figured out the trick to splitting up batter and made too much of it chocolate-flavored. Also, it was getting really browned toward the end of the bake time so I took it out too early and had some chocolate goo at the bottom. Now you might like chocolate goo, but next time I'll just turn the temperature down and let the bread bake the whole way. I gave half the loaf away and only had the opportunity to eat one slice. I think, subconsciously, I didn't think I would like it so I didn't stake my claim to any more of it. But it wasn't bad. Maybe could've used more banana. I guess I like my banana bread a l...

I'm gearing up for this next round of snow. I really thought we were in the clear--Spring's like, ten days away!--but no, Winter's not through with us yet. 👎 At least there's more hot breakfasts on the horizon. So, here's Week 2: Monday: Chai Spice and Pear Oatmeal , which I've made before . The other half of my pear (from the previous Friday) was still good, so of course I couldn't waste it. Tuesday: Peachy Keen Granola Parfait , wherein I learned I'm not allergic to thawed frozen peaches. Yay! Wednesday: I made a wrap with peanut butter, fruit spread, strawberries and granola. It was kind of a combination of several recipes. Thursday: Cheese Frittata in a Cup. I can't find the exact recipe but there's plenty of other versions out there. It's just two eggs, cheese, a tablespoon of milk, salt and pepper. Mix in a mug, microwave for a minute, stirring every 20 seconds. I'd never micro-cooked eggs before so I erred on the side of...

Well, not so much the pancakes but more knowing that the pancakes made other people happy...makes me happy. Get it? So I was flipping through one of my dinner recipe binders and found this 50 Things to Make with Bacon  booklet. And then I flipped through, not expecting to find any breakfast recipes. But there it was, #45: Bacon Apple Pancakes  (that's a link to another blogger who made it). I've made all kinds of pancakes, waffles, and stuffed French toasts but I've never put meat in any of those. Ham in eggs? Sure. Bacon in pancakes? Umm...if it wasn't for the apples, I don't think I would've tried it. 😅 But everyone loved it. I can't imagine ever going back to buttermilk-less pancakes. Not for the family, anyway. As for me, I will test that sentiment Friday. ******* Yes, I realize I missed National Cereal Day yesterday. I tried not to think about it. 😁

As promised, a weekend entry of what I ate for breakfast during my Lent Challenge . Hopefully I'll stick to a Sunday schedule for these. Wednesday: Strawberries and Cream Overnight Oats  from Damn Delicious . I plan to eat all of these overnight oats recipes in order. Thursday: I made a breakfast burrito from odds and ends in the fridge, including this rice  leftover from the previous night's dinner. Friday: I had this BHG  recipe torn out and saved for a year, maybe, and then I couldn't find it anywhere! So I had to reprint it: Peanut Butter-Pear Sandwiches . It's kind of French toast-y, but without syrup. Plus anything with granola gets high priority from me. Saturday: Cream of Wheat. So, yeah, this is really, really challenging. I'm finding the best way to handle it is to look forward to all the new stuff I'm trying and not think about I'm missing. Also, the breakfasts are starting to categorize themselves: egg day, yogurt day, hot cereal day, et...

A few weeks back I thought I'd do something nice for my grandmother. She has only recently become concerned with what goes into the baked goods at her local grocery store. So my mother "suggested" I make a cake and give half to my grandmother (as for the other half...ugh, long story). I started with this Buttermilk Bundt Cake  recipe from Cooking Light but made one large cake instead of mini-cakes. I know my grandmother loves chocolate, though, so I found this Chocolate Glaze  recipe (for which I just happened to have enough chocolate). And it turned out like this: So you know how last month I was on a maple kick? Well, this month looks like it's shaping up to be chocolate. And you know I'm not a big chocolate eater. Weird.