Living in a Cereal World

...because I do eat non-cereal breakfast foods. Here's a couple I thought I'd share: 1. Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread . I made this for my grandmother because she loves chocolate and soft, sweet treats but she doesn't really need an entire loaf of banana bread. So I kept some to sample. And you know I'm not a big chocolate-eater so a swirl is just enough for me. 2.  Breakfast Quesadilla with Spinach and Black Beans . You know, sometimes you want eggs for breakfast. And sometimes you have leftover tortillas and black beans from dinner. But also sometimes you've already had spinach twice that week. So I threw in some leftover mushrooms instead. Absolutely make the guacamole with this one. It might not be quite the flavor you're used to but it adds an extra dimension to the quesadilla. 3. Finally,  Breakfast Braid with Eggs, Roasted Red Pepper, Spinach, and Feta . A few years ago I printed out a recipe for a sweet breakfast braid (basically a Danish) but I ...

Is there anything they won't try with Cheerios now? Maybe marshmallows. As I usually do (if I can remember 😜) sniff test first: faintly of peaches. Next for the visual: it's the bigger round O's this time, with the slick sheen, like  old school Banana Nut Cheerios. But these O's aren't some grain blend; it's straight oats--the better to hold in that peachy flavor? Two minor quibbles: 1) I actually wanted more peach flavor, but perhaps to do that would've required the addition of artificial flavoring, in which case, no ; and 2) I couldn't quite get a handle on the peach flavor. It tasted more like canned peaches than a fresh peach, or even a ground-up freeze-dried peach (is that a thing?). So I guess it wasn't exactly the Peach Cheerios I was looking for. You know what might've helped? The dried peach bits from  Special K Berries and Peaches . That would've taken it over the top.

When I first saw this on store shelves, I thought heh, somebody decided to mash up Cinnamon Toast Crunch with French Toast Crunch. As it turns out, not really. Smart name, though. As per the front of the box, "crispy cinnamon puffs with a hint of maple syrup." They aren't kidding about the puffs. They were way puffier than I expected. If you've ever had  Puffins , these are even puffier. When I saw how big these puffs were, I expected them to be hollow in the center. Nope. It's all cereal. They have a bit of that weird gritty/graininess that irks me sometimes; I think it's the corn bran (and maybe the red lentil flour? I did not know such a product existed). As for the hint of maple syrup? It's more of a suggestion . Just enough to make you think, this cinnamon tastes a bit...off. So it's not bad, just not what I was expecting. ❋❋❋❋❋ Bonus mini-review: *new*(-ish) Lucky Charms Frosted Flakes I didn't want to count this as a full revie...

Okay, technically it was a Saturday bake but I didn't eat any 'til this morning:  Paleo Banana Bread . Have I gone Paleo? No, I'm not a fan of sticking to any one diet in particular. I just had plenty of bananas and coconut flour, so what else was I to do? 😉 If you've never baked with coconut flour I will say that it has a little bit of an aftertaste. Barely detectable, but it's there. And the end result can be a bit drier than baking with regular flour. But otherwise, it tasted just like banana bread. I swapped out peanut butter for the almond butter--because I just made granola bars with almond butter and I like to rotate--and didn't even taste it. Smelled it when slicing the bread, yes, but no taste. And I love the combination of peanut butter and bananas. I may have to try spreading some on a slice next time. One prep note: make sure you really whisk in those eggs. I had a few splotches of baked egg white on top of my bread. Yes, it's less photogeni...

Yeah, so this April weather is a joke...but you know this. And I'm sure you're tired of me bringing it up, so let's move on to Easter dessert. If you've read my dessert entries, you know I don't like a lot of fuss. I like to follow simple, straightforward recipes and then encourage you to do the same. Of course, your definition of simple may differ from mine. My point is, this was the opposite of simple. This was a lot of work. The kind of work I'm only willing to put in for special occasions. But, as usual, it was worth it:  Carrot Cake Ice Cream Sandwiches . I have only recently come to the realization that ice cream sandwiches might be my favorite dessert. And the easiest way to make them is by slapping two store-bought cookies on some softened ice cream. But this? Not even cookies, which I failed to notice when I decided to make them. What you make is two thin sheets of carrot cake, cut to size later. So there's shredding carrots, blanching the carro...

I can be easily amused. Like when the honey bear gets to be about two-thirds empty, so it just looks like a plastic bear wearing honey pants. Or whenever I see a NAPA truck on the street, riding around. Silly truck! Trucks don't need hats. Or the Pillsbury Doughboy. I shouldn't need to explain that one. That's one of the main reasons I wanted to try this new cereal from Annie's. Cinnabunnies. Just try to say it without giggling. Cinnabunnies. Of course the other reason was the promise of cinnamon. You know how I love my cinnamon cereals. This one, though, felt a bit...lacking. Maybe the bunny-shaped puffs were too puffy. Maybe the combination of sorghum and rice didn't do it for me. Or maybe the amount of cinnamon just wasn't enough. Somewhere between this underwhelming flavor and the thick, smothering blanket of  Cinnamon Toast Crunch Blasted Shreds is the cinnamon sweet spot. My cinnamon happy place. But still, it's not bad. And I'm going to say it ...

Have you ever made (or just bought, tbh) a cookie, tried it, and felt as if you'd had it before? Even if you'd never had it before. Or maybe you've made so many oatmeal cookies that they're all starting to blend together. That might be the case. We ended up snowed in a few days ago so of course I had to bake something to keep my hands busy. My choice?  Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars . Because sometimes you want peanut butter and oats. I don't make a lot of bar cookies but I'll make an exception if the ingredients are what I'm feeling. No sugar, no butter, fiber fiber fiber? Good times. And now the snow is melting. 😁 ******** Ok, next entry really is going to be a cereal review. Really. 😛