This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #GiveABox #CollectiveBias
Hi guys! Today I have a delicious snack recipe to share with y'all, but first let me explain the inspiration for it. Do you have any silly little traditions in your family? Maybe tradition is the wrong word. I’m not talking about the biggies – like, anything involving Christmas or the major holidays. Just silly little things you have always done, and maybe you don’t even remember why? Like how I cut pizza with scissors because that’s just how my mom did it when I was growing up. I didn’t even know that it was weird until long after I got married. Or how my kids settle every argument by rolling dice, instead of Rock-Paper-Scissors style like normal people.
A big one in our family was the “Church Cheerios™”. For years we marched our three small children into church every week in their Sunday best with baggies of cereal in hand. An hour is a long time for little kiddos to sit quietly and it was a fairly mess-less, wholesome snack to keep their busy hands, mouths, and minds occupied during church services. This went on, Sunday after Sunday, for nearly a decade – from the time our oldest was a toddler until our youngest was well into Kindergarten. My older sister did the same thing with her kids. Maybe we learned it from our mom. And I’m sure my daughter will someday take her kids to church, cereal in hand, because “that’s just what you do”.
It’s amazing when you realize how much of what we do as adults is influenced by our mothers. The way they do things day-in and day-out becomes etched in our memories and becomes a part of who we are. I think of my mom countless times every day as I find myself doing things that I have watched her do my whole life. Whenever I make sloppy joes in my electric skillet. Whenever I make my kids do “big cleaning” on Friday afternoon. Whenever I sew something. Whenever I sit at the table long after I have finished eating so that my slowpoke eater will not have to sit there alone after everyone else has abandoned him. The way I make my grocery list and answer the phone. All influenced by my mom.
I feel blessed beyond reason with the family I was born into. On days when I can barely keep it together raising my three teenagers, I remember my mom’s example. If she could somehow manage to make seven kids (whose ages span fifteen years) each feel uniquely special and loved, I can do the same for my three. And on days when I drop the ball a little, I take comfort in the fact that my kids have a pretty amazing grandma to turn to.
While doing my grocery shopping at Walmart the other day I saw these exclusive, specially marked "Buy a Box, Give a Free Box" packages of Cheerios™. All you have to do is buy a box of speciallymarked Cheerios™ at Walmart, visit the website to enter the code on the box, and fillout an E-card online for your special person to redeem at Walmart and receive afree box of cereal. Cool, right? I immediately thought of my baby sister who recently had her first baby. Who better to pass the "Church Cheerios™" tradition on to than our sweet baby Clara?! It's fun to see my sister become a mother and join the rest of us in passing some of our mother's goodness along to another generation.
My children have long since outgrown taking snacks to church and, much to their chagrin, are now expected to sit quietly through Sunday services sans cereal. But we do have three giant glass jars of cereal sitting on the kitchen counter top at home for convenient after church -- or school, or late night -- snacking.
I wanted to try something a little different for an after school snack this week, so I made my kiddos some Churro Cheerios™ Snacks, or Churrios as my son called them. It's a super simple recipe that is a riff on the old Hot Buttered Cheerios™ of the 80's. I'm bringin'em back, baby! I'm not even kidding when I say these only took about 5 minutes to cook up -- and barely longer than that for the fam to scarf them down. These are so stinkin' yummy!
Churro Cheerios™ Snacks
4 C. Cheerios™ cereal
1/4 C. butter
1/4 C. sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Melt the butter over medium heat in a large skillet.
When butter is completely melted, add cereal and stir to coat.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until cereal starts to turn golden brown. Watch it carefully because it will burn quickly if you leave it on the heat too long.
Dump the hot, buttery cereal into a large bowl and add sugar and cinnamon. Stir well to coat.
Serve immediately.
Who will you give your gift box of Cheerios™ to? A special teacher? A neighbor or friend? Go ahead, brighten someone's day with a special gift!
