Play with Your Cereal

A lot of what I do involves working with brands on cool collaborations. It's one of my favorite things, not just because I get paid (though that part is awesome, obviously), but more so because the partnerships that I choose often allow me to think about classic ingredients in totally new ways.

It's an exciting creative exercise to take something that I've been using for years--like a hot sauce or a jar of peanut butter--and use it in a way that I might otherwise never have even thought to try.

My whole job here is to try to inspire you to have fun and get creative in the kitchen, but what you might not realize, is that along the way, I am also getting inspired and having fun.

I bring this up because thinking back over the partnerships I had over the last year, one that I found most inspiring of all was the one with Kellogg's.

The campaign in question is called #StirUpBreakfast, and the idea is to get people to think about using their favorite breakfast cereals in totally new ways.

If you're anything like me, your cereal experience probably amounts to you pouring it in a bowl and topping with milk. Maybe you add some sliced banana or a handful of nuts, or serve it over yogurt instead of milk, but on the whole--it's pretty straightforward, right?

But once I learned about this campaign I realized that there is SO much more that can be done with cereal.

Think Corn Flakes turned into Mexican-style chilaquiles topped with cheese, sour cream, and avocados.

Or Special K turned into a warm cherry cobbler bowl.

Or even a cereal "French Toast" zapped up in the microwave, then topped with melted butter and warm maple syrup.

And it gets cooler...

Last last month, I was invited to attend a special breakfast event hosted by Kellogg's at Mission Chinese--a very cool and quirky modern Chinese restaurant located here in New York City. Eugene and I woke up early on this particularly brisk morning, and hopped in an uber for the ride downtown.

We were handed the menu, and ordered three of the dishes. (One for him. One for me. And a third to share.)

My pick was the Corn Pops (always one of my favorites growing up!) which was served topped with a spiced fried egg, bacon-infused milk (SERIOUSLY!), and a side of the most amazing bacon ever. This was a killer dish--sweet, spicy, savory, salty, crunchy.

It hit every flavor note and totally satisfied. Just writing this makes me wish I could eat it again.

Eugene chose the Raisin Bran dish. (And this was when I learned that he loved Raisin Bran growing up, which totally surprised me since I'd always assumed only grown-ups--specifically, dads--loved Raisin Bran.)

Anyway, his dish was a warm porridge of braised Raisin Bran with almond milk and agave and a side of spicy tofu. (I didn't get a photo of this one because my dad-cereal-loving husband got his dish, and started eating right away.)

The third was my other favorite as a kid--Frosted Mini Wheats! When I was little, I used to eat these with a side cup of milk and then very carefully dip each one in before eating the frosted side first. I'd eat the entire bowl this way, then drink the milk which by then was sweet and filled with tiny bits of shredded wheat that had broken off during the process.

This grown-up version was served over almond butter, peanuts, seeds, and persimmon jam, topped with peanut milk. Oh...and beef jerky fried rice on the side. (What?! I know. Amazing!)

This has all left me majorly inspired to play around with some fun cereal recipes in the coming months, and has even made me rethink my occasional bowl of plain cereal. Now I'm adding spices, nuts, fruit, and flavored milk. It's a whole new world!

Do you ever add fun things to your cereal? I want more ideas! Share in the comments below.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Kellogg's. All opinions are strictly my own. Thank you for supporting great brands that make it possible for me to create fresh new content for you!

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Cinnamon Tortilla Crunch Cereal

Cinnamon Toast Crunch was one of my favorite breakfast cereals when I was a kid.

My mom didn't purchase it often (since it's basically a box filled with sugar), but when she did, my brother and I would tear through it in a couple days, filling ourselves generous bowls for breakfast, snacks, and dessert.

I loved the way the cinnamon and sugar coated every little square, and drinking the sweet cinnamon milk that was left behind.

It's been years--possibly even a decade--since I've tasted the cereal, but it suddenly popped back into my head while I was researching an article about different ways to use tortillas.

I figured that by cutting tortillas into tiny squares, coating with melted butter and baking until crisp, and then coating with cinnamon and sugar, I could create a fun homemade version of the cereal I loved--a Cinnamon Tortilla Crunch!

I went to work, and after a couple tries, I figured out the perfect way to create a crunchy, sweet cinnamon tortilla breakfast cereal.

This works well with both corn and flour tortillas--perfect if you have a bunch leftover from Cinco de Mayo!

The corn have a bit more of a "tortilla chip" taste to them, while the flour are more neutral and closest in flavor to the original cereal. Of the two, I prefer flour, but corn is a great option to keep it gluten-free. My FAVORITE version uses half-corn/half-flour tortillas. If you can find those, definitely give them a shot as they combine the best of both worlds. (My favorite brand for these is La Tortilla.)

Now this is by NO means a healthy cereal (is there even such a thing?!), but it's a really fun treat to enjoy as dessert or on a special occasion.

And you can control the amount of sugar you add, or even play around with the spices. I bet a touch of cardamom or ginger would be a fun twist!

Without the milk, this also makes for an amazing crunchy snack to enjoy while watching movies or to sprinkle on top of ice cream or yogurt. So many fun things to do with them!

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Cinnamon Tortilla Crunch Cereal
Makes 4 1/2-cup servings

Ingredients
16 small round tortillas (works with both flour or corn)
6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (add more or less depending on how strong a cinnamon flavor you'd like!)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Stack the tortillas and use a knife to cut into small 3/4" squares. Place in a large bowl and pour in the butter and vanilla. Toss to coat well, then divide onto the baking sheets and spread out evenly into a single layer.

Bake 7-10 minutes, then toss and bake 5-10 more minutes, or until all the pieces are toasted and golden. (Keep an eye on them as they can burn--thinner corn tortillas will cook in less time than thicker flour ones--adjust your timing accordingly!) And note that they'll crisp up a bit as they cool so don't worry if they're still a tiny bit soft when they come out of the oven.

While the tortillas bake, whisk together sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.

Remove the hot toasted tortillas from the oven and immediately toss into the sugar mixture. Toss to coat evenly, then spread out on the baking sheet and let cool completely.

Serve with milk or on its own as a snack. Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature. Best within 3 days.

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