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6 New Ways to Use Plain Cereal - Without the Bowl

2/21/2017

You may think that cereal is only good for a quick breakfast with milk, but think again! Corn/bran flakes, O-shaped cereal, crispy rice or rice squares, wheat nuggets (such as Grape-Nuts® or comparable brand), and shredded wheat are all examples of "plain" cereal that can be used in a pinch for other types of meals. Plain cereal is a great budget pantry item, which is why we included it in our $16 Shop Rite Basket. Take a look at all the ways you can make that cereal work:

1. Breading:
Finely crushed cereal can be used in place of bread crumbs for foods that require breading, like baked chicken tenders or breaded and baked fish. Corn/bran flakes are especially great for this.

Recipes to Try:
Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan
Mozzarella Chicken with Garlic & Spinach

2. Topping:
Use crisp rice, o-shaped, or wheat nugget cereal right out of the box on yogurt, pudding, cottage cheese, or sundaes. You can also crush up corn flakes or rice squares to top macaroni and cheese, casseroles, or anything else that could use extra crunch!

Recipes to Try: Fruit Yogurt Parfaits

3. Filling:
Nix the bread crumbs, and instead grind up cereal to use as a "filler" in meat loaf, stuffed peppers, or fish cakes/patties. Most plain cereals will work well for this.

Recipes to Try:
Salmon Patties

4. Trail mix:
Toss o-shaped or rice square type cereal with lightly salted nuts and dried fruit for a tasty snack you can take on the go.

Recipes to Try:
Energy Trail Mix
Fiesta Trail Mix

5. Snack bars:
Crisp rice, rice squares, wheat nuggets, corn/bran flakes and o-shaped cereal are all great for creating your own snack bars. Get creative to make healthier versions of crispy rice treats!

6. Baked Goods: Plain cereal works wonderfully crushed up for pie crusts, as a replacement for a portion of flour in muffins and cakes, or for other baked treats. Corn/bran flakes and rice square cereals are helpful options here.

Recipes to Try:
Honey Milk Balls
Peach Bran Muffins

If you liked this, check out these other cereal-related posts:
Why Whole Grains Will Change Your Life
A Cup of Coffee is Not a Complete Breakfast! (and 3 More Tips for Healthy Changes to Breakfast)

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Don't let that chicken go to waste!

2/12/2017

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Okay so you've made some chicken and have leftover bones... now what?

Chicken broth is one of the easiest things to make. It is an important item in a budget pantry and its a great way to use foods in more than one meal, one of our $16 Basket Shopping Tips. Making chicken broth is very inexpensive if you've already bought and eaten your chicken and it's super healthy. All you need is a large pot, chicken bones and some flavorings. This blog will show you how to easily go from THIS...

To THIS in a few simple steps

Step 1. Cook a whole chicken or cuts of chicken with bones
After you've cooked and eaten your chicken save the bones, skin and everything else you don't eat. Put everything in a large pot.
Step 2. Cut up your veggies and seasoning
I used carrots, celery, onions, garlic, leeks and parsley. You can really use anything you have! The more veggies and seasonings you add the more flavorful your broth will be. If you don't have these extra add-ins, that's okay too! You can be very flexible when making your own broth.

Step 3. Place all of these ingredients in the pot with your chicken bones

Step 4. Add water and put it on the stove
I added 12 cups of water to this recipe. Whether you use more or less leftover chicken and veggies, you'll want to add enough water to cover everything by about 1 inch. Keep in mind that some of your veggies will float!

Step 5. Bring to a boil then simmer
Boil your pot of water, veggies and chicken for about 20 minutes. Then lower the temperature and let your broth simmer for 1-2 hours. The longer you let your broth simmer the more flavorful your broth will be. Lot's of the water will evaporate, which means the broth will be very concentrated and flavorful. This means you will be able to use less of this broth in a soup recipe and you can replace some of it with water. Taste some broth as you go and stop simmering it when you think it tastes good!

Step 6. Strain your broth and pour it into containers to store
Let your broth cool down a little bit before trying to strain it. Place a colander or mesh wire strainer over another large pot or a large bowl. Pour the broth through your strainer and into another container. The strainer should catch the bones and flavorings leaving your broth in the bowl or other pot. Then pour the broth into containers and store! I put my broth into the freezer but you can store it in the fridge if you plan to use it within the next week.

Ingredients

Bones from a 4-5lb whole chicken, or 4-5lb of chicken thighs
5 carrots
5 ribs of celery
2 leeks (optional)
1 medium onion
1 cup of chopped parsley
3 cloves garlic
12 cups of water

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6 New Ways to Use Plain Cereal - Without the Bowl

Don't let that chicken go to waste!

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