Chow down on 12 great uses for cereal

If cereal is your go-to morning pick-me-up, you likely have a healthy stash in your cabinet. Here are 12 ways to use this ingredient for desserts and main dishes.

1. To make bran muffins, replace 200 grams (1 1/2 cups) flour with 350 millilitres (1 1/2 cups) bran cereal or raisin bran cereal in your favourite basic muffin recipe that makes 12 muffins. Mix the cereal into the wet ingredients and let sit five minutes before stirring in the remaining dry ingredients.
2. Used instead of or in addition to oats, granola adds an extra-crunchy topping on crisps and crumbles. For quick breads with a crisp surprise, add 125 millilitres (1/2 cup) granola to the batter.
3. To give cookies or spice cakes a bit more crunch, add crisped rice or another crisp cereal to the dough.
4. For the easiest peanut butter balls on the planet, melt 100 grams (one cup) sugar and 250 millilitres (one cup) corn syrup in a pot. Stir in 500 millilitres (two cups) peanut butter and one kilogram (four cups) cornflakes. Drop bite-size balls onto wax paper and let set.
5. For a crunchy coating on sautéed chicken breasts or fish fillets, use crushed cornflakes instead of cornmeal or flour.
6. For yummy pudding squares, try circle-shaped cereal. Butter a 23 centimetre (nine inch) square baking pan. In a large pot, combine 125 grams (four ounces) chocolate, butterscotch or vanilla pudding with 125 millilitres (1/2 cup) corn syrup and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat after a minute of boiling and blend in 75 millilitres (1/3 cup) peanut butter. Stir in one litre (four cups) of the cereal until evenly coated. Spread the mixture evenly in the pan with the back of a spoon. Cool until firm, about 30 minutes. Cut into squares and serve.
7. To make the perfect breading for fried ice cream, finely crush cornflakes and mix with ground cinnamon. Coat ice cream balls with the cereal mixture, then deep-fry just until browned and crisp.
8. To put a new spin on your grandmother's noodle kugel, scatter cornflakes over the noodle mixture to make a crispy topping.
9. To make a wake-me-up breakfast parfait, sauté some sliced bananas in a little unsalted butter with some brown sugar and rum. Layer the bananas in a parfait glass with crunchy granola cereal, yogurt and a few drizzlings of honey.
10. For a wonderful batter for fried fish, mix together the following ingredients, adding just enough beer to give the mix a batter-like texture: 260 grams (two cups) flour, 30 millilitres (two tablespoons) fresh lemon juice, one finely chopped onion, five millilitres (one teaspoon) onion salt, 30 millilitres (one tablespoon) chopped fresh parsley, two big handfuls crushed cornflakes and one to two cans beer. Coat the fish in the batter and fry in oil until golden brown.
11. To make garlic sticks like nothing you've ever tasted, start with a can of refrigerator biscuits. Cut each biscuit in half and roll into sticks five to six inches long. Dip each stick into a wide bowl holding about 50 millilitres (1/4 cup) milk, then roll in crushed cornflakes. Finally, sprinkle each stick with garlic salt. Place the sticks 2.5 centimetres (one inch) apart on a buttered baking sheet and bake at 230°C (450°F) degrees until crisp and brown, eight to 10 minutes.
12. For a new take on peaches and cream, top it off with cornflakes. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Drain one 875 gram (28 ounce) can of peaches, keeping 125 millilitres (1/2 cup) of the liquid. Arrange the peaches, cut side up, in a 20 centimetre (eight inch) square baking dish, then pour the reserved peach liquid over the top. Combine a little sugar and cinnamon, sprinkle over the peaches, then top each peach piece with a dot of butter and 30 millilitres (one tablespoon) cornflakes. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.

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