Food Network Magazine Spicy Cereal Mix

With two high-energy boys, my family is constantly running from one activity to another, especially on the weekend. I try to cook as many things as I can from scratch, and avoid eating fast food more than once a month. However, with two boys, sometimes my attempts don't go as planned, so I try to keep a number of snacks on hand that I can easily throw into a container and take in the car. The July/August issue of Food Network Magazine had a recipe for Spicy Cereal Mix, which looked perfect for my on-the-go family.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. Like the granola bars I posted about yesterday, I ended up making this recipe twice. My first attempt wasn't very successful. The original recipe states to bake the mix at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. After cooking the mix for 35 minutes the cornflakes were mostly burnt and half of the rice cereal was beginning to blacken. So I decided to make the recipe again with modifications. First of all, I made my own pita chips, which are much easier and save a lot of money. I sliced whole wheat pita into triangles, brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and placed in the oven at 400 degrees for approximately 15 minutes. Then I broke them into pieces and added to the rest of the cereal mix. Instead of baking at 350 degrees, I turned the oven down to 250 and baked for 20 minutes. I followed the remainder of the ingredients and recipe as stated.

My family liked the base sauce for this recipe, but we all felt that the cornflakes were out of place. I think the recipe could benefit from the cornflakes being replaced by corn cereal squares. Additionally, the temp on the original recipe is too high and the baking time too long. According to the magazine the original intent of this recipe is to make a 100-calorie snack, however, this is one recipe that would benefit from more olive oil being added. After my modifications this cereal mix was well received by my family and I intend to use the base sauce for future cereal mix recipes.

For the recipe go to Food Network Magazine Spicy Cereal Mix.