It's the Chex Mixiest Time of the Year

I get free samples from General Foods Cereals on a regular basis. Sometimes I use them in recipes.

Growing up, we weren't much of a breakfast family, particularly after I got old enough for school. My dad got up at the crack of dawn, had coffee, and headed to work before anyone else was up.

I got up, didn't have coffee, and headed off to school. Mom was still asleep, but it's a fair bet that she didn't make pancakes for herself.

Because of the general lack of breakfast foods in those formative years, I never developed a fondness for some of the most typical breakfast foods. My cereal preferences are pretty much limited to Cheerios and Chex. And while I don't mind French toast for lunch, the chance of me making it for breakfast is ... slim to none.

On the other hand, I like cereal as a snack. Not with milk, but just as a crunchy treat. When that cereal turns into Chex Mix, I'm a happy camper. I've created my own versions a few times, and I've used other people's recipes as well.

This time, though, I've got something different. I got a Chex Mix kit directly from General Mills, and they included their recipe.

While I haven't made this yet, I've got all the ingredients squirreled away. I'll probably make this right after the New Year, when I've *ahem* disposed of all the candies and cookies that are currently hanging around here.

I received these products at no cost; I was not required to post. Okay, you want the truth? I'm posting this here because it's a good bet I'll lose the recipe card. It's safe here.

Yum

Home Made Cheerios

Why yes, those are home made Cheery O's

I had a post half-written, and it was a long one. The history of why I started this blog, why I write about the things I write about, and where I'm going from here. It was a lot of self-indulgent navel-gazing, blah blah blah that no one would care about except me.

I can boil it down to something shorter. I blog about what's fun. What I'm excited about. What I'm eating. What I'm amused by. I cook things I like to eat, and I sometimes I create recipes just for the challenge involved.

That's how it's always been, and it's pretty much going to stay the same. So, nothing new, really.

Speaking of FUN, the nice folks at General Mills recently invited me to go on a trip to Winnipeg, Canada to learn about oats. They paid for the trip (let's face it - I couldn't have afforded it otherwise!) and they made sure all the participants had plenty to eat and a comfy place to sleep.

This guy followed us everywhere!

And there was a photographer who documented the whole adventure.

If you don't immediately get the connection between General Mills and oats, I can sum it up in one word: Cheerios.

Okay, they have other cereals and products that use oats, but I'm awfully fond of Cheerios.

A year ago, I wouldn't have gone on the trip. Ten years ago, I might have gone, but I wouldn't have been invited. This year, all the puzzle pieces fit, so I flew off to Winnipeg. I met farmers, artisans, and grain-storage gurus. There were also people from General Mills, who all seem to love their jobs a lot.

I learned more about oats than a normal person wants to know. I saw oats in the field and I saw wild oats and some invasive wheat and barley.

That's an oat.

I found out that oats are sort of an orphan crop. On my way home from the trip, the random stranger sitting next to me on the plane was a retired farmer who had nothing to do with General Mills or Cheerios. He said that many years ago, he used to grow oats on his farm, but it wasn't very profitable. It was mostly sold as horse feed.

I mean, people have been eating oatmeal for quite some time. But not enough, I guess.

So anyway, given the lack of excitement about oats in past years, the seeds have become sort of an open-source, school-project, crowd-sourcedw item. The varieties of oats that were in the fields we visited weren't owned and patented by companies. Instead, research is done in universities, and no one really owns the rights to those varieties. Anyone can grow the plants, harvest the seeds, and grow them again or sell to other farmers. It's like the Linux of the plant world.

Oats, almost ready for harvest.

Now, I don't know if that's true of every single oat being grown everywhere, but let's just say that there are a lot of freely available oat varieties out there.

On the trip, I saw where oats grew, and I saw where they were stored. And I found out that General Mills buys a lot of oats, and a lot of them come from the area we visited. Which is why we were there. Out standing in a field.

When we were there, the oat crop was a week or two away from the harvest. The farmer said that while there are tools to tell when the oats have dried enough to be harvested, he could tell by simply pressing into an oat with his thumbnail to see how much of an indent he could make. The oats need to have under a certain percentage of moisture in order to be milled.

After I got home, just for the fun of it, I decided to see if I could make my own Cheerios.

Yes, sometimes I have an odd idea of fun.

These won't look exactly like Cheerios, since they'll be flat on the side that's on the baking sheet, so feel free to use a decorative pastry tip, or pipe in shapes other than O's, if you want to. I used a tip that created ridges.

These don't taste exactly like Cheerios, either, but they're pretty tasty as a snack. I didn't eat mine with milk in a bowl, I just snacked on them until they were all gone. The fun thing about making these is that you could add flavors if you wanted to, or pipe whatever shapes you want. The not-fun thing is that it's a LOT of piping of little O's to make a small bowl of O's.

Home Made Cheerios
Just for the fun of it

Lots and lots of piped O's, ready for baking.

1 cup oat berries
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Water, as needed

Heat the oven to 325 degrees and like a baking sheet with parchment paper

Toast the oat berries in a dry skillet until they smell fragrant and begin to brown slightly. Let them cool before grinding in a grain mill. Or, if you have a capable blender, grind the oats in your blender, until you have flour.

Combine the oat flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add water. Start with a cup of water, then add more as needed to create a soft dough that you'll be able to squeeze through a piping tip. Mix with a spoon, or you can use the paddle attachment on your stand mixer. How much water the dough will absorb depends on how dry the flour is.

Cheerios, and baby Cheerios. Okay, they're oat seeds.

Let the dough sit for at least five minutes to hydrate. Check it again and add more water if it stiffened up. Make sure it's evenly mixed, because if you have tiny bits of denser dough, it will be harder to pipe. Trust me, I know.

Use a pastry bag fitted with a small tip to pipe Cheerio-sized circles on the prepared baking sheet. I used a tip that had ridges rather than a round one. Just for fun, you know.

These won't rise or spread, so you can pipe them pretty close to each other, but you don't want to let them touch.

Use a second baking sheet for more O's if you need it.

Bake at 325 until the O's are completely dry and crisp. If the ones around the outside of the sheet start to brown while the ones in the center of the sheet are still pale and uncooked, move them around so they bake more evenly.

When they're baked through, allow them to cool, then store. Or eat!

In case you missed it, General Mills paid for and hosted my trip to an oat farm in Canada. I was not required to re-engineer Cheerios or to even post about the trip.

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Cocoa Puff Waffles with Zesty Cocoa Puff Honey #Sponsored

Sponsored by Big G General Mills Cereals.

I used to think that honey was just honey. Then I found out about varietal honeys that come from bees that feed on specific flowers. Then I found out about hot honey. No, the bees don't feast on pepper flowers - the spice is added to honey.

And that's part of how this recipe came about.

My buddies the Big G Cereals team at General Mills challenged me to come up a with a recipe using Cocoa Puffs for a sponsored post, and the first thing I thought of was adding something spicy, because chocolate and spice are such good friends. And then spice immediately led to hot honey.

I had a few different ideas before I settled upon waffles studded with Cocoa Puffs along with a spicy chocolate honey. If you're not fond of spicy foods for breakfast, you can certainly leave out the cayenne. Chocolate honey is still pretty darned good.

These waffles aren't super-sweet on their own. And if you haven't had Cocoa Puffs in a while, you might want to know that they aren't super-sweet, either. They've got a nice chocolate flavor, but they're not like candy. I really love that.

The reason General Mills is sponsoring this post right now is that September is National Whole Grain Month and whole grain is the first ingredient in all General Mills Big G Cereals - including the Cocoa Puffs I used, which are made with whole grain corn. In all Big G cereals, there is more whole grain than any other single ingredient, including sugar from all combined sources. That's pretty impressive.

No wonder those Cocoa Puffs weren't super-sweet.

A whopping 95 percent of Americans don't get enough whole grain in their diet. Pretty amazing, considering how many folks are so interested in healthy foods these days. And fiber - which is one of the nutrients you'll find in whole grain - is something people are concerned about.

I've been trying to improve my diet, and swapping whole grains for more refined grains is part of the plan. I'm not going to completely give up refined flours - moderation is my mantra - but I've been swapping in whole grains when they make sense.

And by make sense, I mean that the food has to taste good. I've tried some whole grain products that made me feel like I was eating mulch. Sorry, but no.

So, to make these waffles even more better for me, I added a good dose of whole wheat flour. Sometimes whole wheat is tricky to work with - you can't always substitute it 1:1 for white flour in a recipe. Or you can, but sometimes you end up with a product that's a little too dense. So most of the time, I use some whole wheat and some white flour. See? Moderation.

I tweaked this recipe a few times, messing with the liquids and the flours, trying to get exactly the right flavor and the right texture. My last tweak was actually a mistake - I grabbed the bread flour instead of the all-purpose flour, and I really liked the result. The waffles were soft and fluffy on the inside with a nice crisp brown on the outside.

Meanwhile, the Cocoa Puffs added a little bit of chocolate in every bite.

As far as the honey - if you have any left after you've stuffed yourself with waffles, try it drizzled on fried chicken. Trust me.

Zesty Cocoa Puff Honey
Makes a little more than 1 cup of honey

1 cup Cocoa Puffs
1 cup honey
Pinch of cayenne pepper (or to taste)
Pinch of salt (optional)

Put the Cocoa Puffs in a blender and blend until the pieces are as small as you can get them. Add the honey, a small pinch of cayenne pepper, and the salt, if using. Blend until the Cocoa Puffs are incorporated into the honey. Scrape down the sides of the blender, if necessary.

When this is first blended, there will be small crunchy bits in the honey, but they soften and dissolve as the mixture rests.

Taste for seasoning and add more cayenne, if desired. Wait about 10 minutes, then blend again, to incorporate the softened bits of Cocoa Puffs. Transfer to a container for storage and serving.

Cocoa Puff Waffles with Zesty Cocoa Puff Honey
Makes 6-8 waffles (depending on your waffle maker)

2 eggs
1 cup bread flour (use all-purpose flour if you don't have bread flour)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Cocoa Puffs (a little bit more won't hurt)

Heat your waffle maker while you make the waffle batter.

Put the eggs in a medium bowl and beat with a whisk until they are well blended and a little lighter in color.

Add the rest of the ingredients (except the Cocoa Puffs) and mix until the batter is smooth. Stir in the Cocoa Puffs.

Pour the waffle batter into the waffle maker, using the amount appropriate for your particular waffle maker. Cook until nicely browned.

Serve with butter (if desired) and the Cocoa Puff honey.

If a stack of waffles is too much for you to tackle, cut the waffles in quarters and serve them with the Cocoa Puff honey as a dip. Perfect for smaller appetites!

Thanks to General Mills Big G Cereals for sponsoring this post!

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The Ultimate Cheesecake for Fall with Pumpkin Spice, Maple, and Pecans

So, every once in a while, the nice folks at General Mills Cereal send me a little care package. Recently, the package contained exactly one thing: a box of Pumpkin Spice Cheerios.

I've said many times that Cheerios have been my favorite cereal since I was a kid. Chex are a close second, but if you offered me a bowl and some milk and told me to choose a cereal from every possible option, I'd choose Cheerios every time.

Pumpkin Spice Cheerios, though?

The first thing I thought of when I saw the box was cheesecake. I happen to love pumpkin cheesecake, and I thought the Cheerios would be perfect as a crust. And once I got the idea into my head, I absolutely had to do it.

Of course, pumpkin reminds me of fall, and once I had those ideas in my head, my imagination went a little wild. What could I flavor the cheesecake with?

Hmmmm. 

How about a little maple? And then I started thinking about pecan pie ... I thought about adding pecans to the crust, but then decided to top the cheesecake with a little dulce de leche and chopped pecans.

This cheesecake is like all of fall's desserts wrapped into one tiny little dessert.

And I mean small. Very small. Not quite a single serving, but small enough that it only uses one single 8-ounce package of cream cheese.

This recipe is inspired by the pressure cooker cheesecake in The Great Big Pressure Cooker Book. If you have a pressure cooker - either electric or stovetop - you should get that book. It's amazing!

Tastes Like Fall Cheesecake
With Pumpkin Spice, Maple, and Pecans

1 cup Pumpkin Spice Cheerios (These are seasonal - use another type if you can't get them.)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 8-ounce package cream cheese (not lowfat or fat-free)
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg at room temperature
2 tablespoons creme fraiche* (or sour cream)
2 teaspoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon maple extract
Dulce de leche, for garnish (optional), as needed
Chopped pecans, for garnish (optional) as needed

Set a rack into your electric pressure cooker (I used my Instant Pot) and add 2 cups of water. Have a 6-inch springform pan standing by.

Note: I have what appears to be a 5(ish) inch springform pan, which is pretty unusual. I suggest using a 6-inch springform pan for this recipe, if you have one. Your cheesecake will a little wider and a little less tall than mine, but that's fine. Mine overflowed the pan just a little bit, but you should be fine with a normal 6-inch pan.

Use your food processor fitted with the steel blade to turn the Cheerios into tiny bits and crumbs. If you have a food processor with multiple bowls, use the small bowl so you don't have to wash the bowl after. Add the butter and process until the Cheerio bits are all wet. You can also mix by hand.

Add the crumb mixture to the springform pan. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and a little but up the sides.

Put the cream cheese and sugar in your food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until smooth. Wipe down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well mixed.

With the processor running, add the egg and process until smooth. Next, add the creme fraiche, then the flour. Process for 1 minute.

Add the lemon juice, and vanilla, and maple extract and process again until it's combined. Scrape down the bowl as needed to make sure it's all well-mixed.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Don't cover it. I know you want to, but don't.

Fold a double-thickness of foil (about 24 inches long) in half lengthwise. Use this to form a sling that will hold the pan and allow you to lower it into the pressure cooker and to remove it when the cooking is done. Lower the pan into the pressure cooker and crimp the ends of the sling to fit neatly inside the pot.

Note: my metal rack has handles, so I didn't make the sling. I've used a metal sling before, and it's pretty handy.

Lock the lid on the pressure cooker.

In an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker: Cook at high pressure for 20 minutes. When the time is up, turn cooker off so it doesn't switch to the warming setting and let it reduce pressure naturally. After 15 minutes, vent any remaining pressure manually. (I haven't made this in a stovetop pressure cooker, so I don't know the timing for that.)

Unlock the pot and carefully remove the pan.

Let the cheesecake cool until you see that it has stopped deflating. It only takes a few minutes. Dollop small amounts of dulce de leche over the top of the cheesecake. Use as much dulce de leche as you like. I love the stuff, but I didn't want it to overwhelm the cheesecake. Let the dollops sit for a minute or so to warm up and soften, then spread the dulce de leche over the top of the cheesecake. Sprinkle the chopped pecans over the top of the cheesecake.

Let the cheesecake cool for 1 hour on a rack, then refrigerate it overnight before removing it from the pan to serve. To make it easier to loosen the ring, run a thin knife around the inside edge of the pan before opening the lock..

*Creme fraiche can be expensive, if you buy it. I make my own. Instructions are here to make it in and Instant Pot. Here's how to make it the old-fashioned way.

Thanks to General Mills for sending me fun products to work with! I was not obligated to write about this, or even eat it. But I just had to. Because ... cheesecake!

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Peanut Butter S'mores Bars

My friends at General Mills supplied my other buddies at 37 Cooks with some cereal to play with, and of course I had to play along. We each got the new versions of Trix, Chocolate Cheerios, and Golden Grahams. Three cereals I'd never tasted before.

The new versions have all natural colors and flavors, which is a good thing.

After doing some taste tests, I decided to combine the Chocolate Cheerios and the Golden Grahams, and I decided I wanted to combine them in a s'mores-like item.

I fiddled around a bit and hit a home run with s'mores bars with just a little bit of peanut butter. The peanut flavor isn't super-strong, but it adds a savory note to the sweet marshmallow.

Then I started thinking about the toasted flavor you get from heating a regular s'mores over a fire.

The answer was simple. I added more marshmallows to the top of the bars and hit them with my culinary torch. Just like when you're toasted them over the fire, some of them toasted golden brown, and then there were a few that got a bit blackened. Perfect!

To guild the lily a little more, I melted some chocolate and drizzled it on top of the bars. Because more chocolate is always okay.

While these are certainly sweet, they're not crazy sweet. Which makes me happy

Peanut Butter S'mores Bars

4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
10 ounces marshmallows, plus more for garnish
Pinch of salt
3 cups Golden Grahams cereal
3 cups Chocolate Cheerios
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray or butter it.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter and peanut butter on medium heat. Add the salt, then add the marshmallows, and cook, stirring, just until the marshmallow melt.

Add the cereals and stir to coat all the cereal with the marshmallows.

Turn the mixture out into the prepared baking pan. Wet your hands with cool water and press the mixture down evenly into a pan. Re-wet your hands as needed to keep the marshmallow from sticking. You could also use a spatula, but hands are easier.

Cut one or two large marshmallows into small pieces. Or, if you have mini marshmallows, cut them in half. Arrange the marshmallow bits randomly on top of the bars.

Use a torch to soften the marshmallows, then use a spatula to spread and affix them to the top of the bars. If you have gaps in the bars, you can tuck marshmallow in there. Use the torch again to toast the marshmallows.

Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe measuring cup, heating in 30-second increments and stirring in between heating, until the chocolate is melted and easily pourable.

Drizzle the chocolate over the bars in a random pattern.

Let the bars cool completely (and make sure the chocolate has hardened again) before removing from the pan. Cut into bars.

I received cereal to work with from General Mills via 37 Cooks.

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Fiesta Chex Mix

I have no idea why I don't make Chex Mix all the time. It's soooo tasty, and compared to downing a hunk of pie or cake, it's a reasonable snack food. And now that there are gluten-free versions of the cereals, it would be easy to make it a gluten-free snack.

Well, it's not gluten free if you throw crackers in there like I did. But you know that, right?

So anyway, this particular version of Chex Mix has a bit of a south-of-the-border theme. For several reasons. First, I've been on a Mexican food binge. Things like that happen. I wander into a cuisine and I get stuck there for a while. I've had chicken mole, fajitas, tacos, tamales, and enchilada recently. So my taste buds are leaning towards that flavor profile.

And second, my friends at General Mills sent me some margarita-themed holiday swag. So that reinforced my craving for Mexican flavors.

Chile con Limon seasoning is often used for sprinkling on fresh fruit, but it's also great for seasoning other things. As the name implies, it's spicy and has lime flavor as well.

Perfect for Chex mix. It's got a nice amount of spice, but it's not too crazy. If you want more heat, you can certainly add more.

Why, yes, that is felt mistletoe!

While Chex Mix might not be considered a holiday food, I know a few people who make large quantities right before Christmas and they hand it out as gifts. It's also nice to have around for snacking and noshing with guests, or to stave off hunger while you're busying doing all that holiday stuff. You know, the wassailing, and all that.

And it's a nice snack to have around in bowls when you have people milling about during holiday visiting.

Or, you know, just stash it away for yourself as a little holiday treat.

Fiesta Chex Mix

1 stick butter
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
6 cups Chex cereal (I like using different flavors, but you could certainly use all of one type.
1 cup Cheerios
1 cup peanuts
1 cup cheese crackers
1 cup corn chips
1 tablespoon Chile con Limon seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat the oven to 350 degrees with the butter in the pan. By the time the oven is heated, the butter should be melted. Add the worcestershire sauce and stir it around. Add the cereals, nuts, crackers, and chips. Stir and toss it all around until everything has had a chance to meet the butter.

You might notice that in the photo above, I hadn't added the O's. They got there. Just not for the photo.

Now, imagine me saying this in my best "Ina" voice:
If you don't have Donna O's, you can use regular store-bought Cheerios.

I crack me up. I really do.

Sprinkle the Chile con Limon and salt over the top and give it all another stir.

Put the pan in the oven and bake until the cereal is a little toasty and the butter is mostly gone, stirring a few times during the cooking, about an hour.

Let the mix cool before storing.

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Confetti Cookies

Since I don't have any of those small people scurrying underfoot here, I don't buy a whole lot of cereals marketed to little folks. But that doesn't mean I can't have fun with those cereals in other ways.

This time my victim was Fruity Pebbles.

Oh, sure, I could have used Cocoa Pebbles. Chocolate is always good, right?

But I wanted to have fun with the colors. Yup, Fruity Pebbles deliver on the bright and crazy colors, and I thought they'd be perfect for cookies. I used them in the dough as well as a coating for the cookies.

These cookies are crisp on the outside and softer inside when they're first baked. They become harder as they are stored.

Confetti Cookies

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups Fruity Pebbles, divided

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and like a baking sheet (or two, if you like) with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, and whisk or stir to combine. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a bowl using an electric hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined.

Add the flour and mix until barely combined, then add 1 cup of the Fruity Pebbles and stir until fully mixed.

Use a small scoop or a spoon to portion the cookies as desired. Roll each portion to form a ball, then roll each ball in the remaining pebbles, to coat the cookies with the cereal.

Place the finished balls on the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between the cookies.

Bake at 350 degrees until the cookies are lightly browned on the bottom and you can see a little browning along the edges, about 15 minutes.

Remove the baked cookies from the pan and let them cool completely on a rack.

This post was sponsored by Post Foods. For more info, you can find Pebbles online:

Twitter: @GoTeamFruity, @GoTeamCocoa
Facebook: @Pebbles Cereal
Instagram: @TeamPebbles
Website: http://www.postfoods.com/our-brands/pebbles/

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Sweet 'n Spicy Crunchy Crumb-Coated Chicken

I love a good challenge, so when the folks at Honey Bunches of Oats asked me if I'd like to adapt or create a recipe using their product, I decided to create my own masterpiece.

And this is truly a masterpiece. It better be. I've eaten more than my fair share of it.

Apparently, everyone's mom used some kind of cereal to coat chicken. Except mine. It was never part of her repertoire, but I think it's a pretty great idea. So the first trial batch of cereal-coated chicken was left fairly plain, so I could decide what direction to take next.

Second batch was flavored with spices I use in barbecue sauce, and it included some lemon flavoring to give it a little tartness. I thought barbecue flavors would go well with the slight sweetness from the cereal. The result was good, but not perfect. Something was missing.

The final piece of the puzzle was cumin. It doesn't make this taste like Mexican chicken, but the cumin adds a slightly smoky savoriness that rounded out all the other flavors perfectly.

Oh, but that's not all. I used this same breading on pork, which was very good, by the way. But then I decided I liked it better on chicken. So I made more chicken.

But of course, part of being a blogger is taking photos of the food. Oops, we ate it all before I got photos. I made it again and the lighting was terrible. I took pictures but they looked dull. Which isn't so bad for tomato soup, but not so great for crunchy chicken.

Finally, the last batch (because I'm out of cereal now!) was made and photographed and eaten. I served it as an entree with rice mixed with spinach and a little lime, and leftovers made terrific sandwiches with a lettuce, tomato, and a little bit of mayonnaise.

This would also work well with tomato sauce and some melted cheese on top, like a chicken parmesan. Or sliced and served on a salad. Or stuffed into a tortilla and topped with salsa and guacamole. It's good hot or cold. Trust me, I know. I might have snuck a little nibble as a late-night snack.

But I'm still not tired of eating it. It's that good.

Chicken and rice ... so nice!

When you make this, consider your paprika. This includes both smoked and regular paprika, but the regular could be sweet paprika, sharp paprika, or half-sharp. The sharpness refers to the level of spiciness - paprika is ground peppers, after all. I found that the half-sharp gave it a nice little hint heat without making it a super-spicy dish. But use what you like - or what you have.

If you want to amp up the heat, you could add a little cayenne pepper. Start with 1/4 teaspoon, and add more if you think you need it.

I used the plan Honey Bunches of Oats cereal for this recipe, but I'm sure it would also work with the version with almonds.

Sweet 'n Spicy Crunchy Crumb Coated Chicken

For the crumb mix:

Stack 'o Crunchy Chicken

4 cups Honey Bunches of Oats cereal
2 teaspoons paprika (I used half-sharp, but sweet is fine)
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon True Lemon or Fruit Fresh
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
For the chicken:
3-4 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup all purpose flour (more, as needed)
1 large egg
Olive oil or vegetable oil, for cooking

To make the crumb mix
Combine all of the ingredients in your food processor and pulse until you have crumbs - but don't process too much. You want crumbs, not flour.

Transfer the crumbs to a suitable storage container. This makes enough for several batches of chicken, but since all the ingredients are dry, it stores well between uses.

To make the chicken:

You can see how crunchy it is!

If the chicken breasts are large, cut them in half. Place the chicken breasts, one at a time in a plastic bag. Use the flat side of a meat mallet to pound the breasts to an even thickness. You can make them a little thinner, if you like, but don't keep pounding until you've shredded them.

Yes, I know it's fun to whap them, but you have to have at least a little restraint. Flatten all the chicken breasts in the same way.

Set up a breading station with three flat bowls or deep plates, with flour in one, the egg in another, and about a cup of the crumb mix in the third. You can always add more, if needed.

Add about 2 tablespoons of water to the egg and beat lightly, just to combine. If you need to coat 4 larger chicken breasts, you might need a second egg, but start with one, You can crack another one later if you really need it.

Coat each piece of chicken in the flour first, then dip in the egg, then coat with the crumbs. As you finish coating the pieces, you can place them on a wire rack or baking sheet.

Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan on medium heat. Or, if you have a lot of chicken and don't want to cook in batches, use two pans. When the oil is hot - but not smoking - add the pieces of chicken to the pan.

See those crumbs? Good snackin'!

Cook the chicken on one side until the coating is nicely browned, then flip and cook on the second side. If you need to add more oil, do so. The chicken shouldn't be swimming in oil, but you need a little oil to get the right browning.

When both sides are nicely browned, check the chicken for doneness - you can use a thermometer or simply cut a slit in a piece and peek inside. The temperature should be 160 degrees and it should be barely pink.

If the chicken isn't cooked through, lower the heat a bit - you don't want it over-browned - and continue cooking, flipping the chicken over as needed.

Serve hot, at room temperature, or even cold.

Thanks to Honey Bunches of Oats for sponsoring this post. For more about the cereal, you can find them on Facebook (@HoneyBunchesofOats) Twitter (@HBOats) and Instagram (@HBOats).

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