5 Items or LESS: Sugar and Spice Tasteeos

WELCOME!! To a new segment I am going to try called 5 Items or LESS. 

We've all been there, those days when all we need to do is run in and run out of the grocery store and what we treasure more than the few minutes w/o the kids to make the mad dash is the beckoning sign under register #1 "10 items or less." Just as our trips in and out of the store need to be quick, often times our trips in and out of the kitchen need to be just as time efficient.  I don't know about your family, but mine is running as short on cash as it is on time making drive-thrus a luxury not a necessity. So once a week I would like to share with you a quick and simple meal or snack that was a big hit and only required 5 ingredients for me to make. 

This week I stumbled upon a recipe on the back of our off-brand Cheerio box.  I scanned it over and thought, "huh, that sounds quick, simple, and yummy."  Well tonight I was having an attack of pre-road trip insanity as the list of things to do before we leave for my mom and dad's house in the morning filled my mind.  I ran to the bathroom w/ my cell phone and sent my husband this text:  "WARNING: this is not a test of the emergency my wife is going crazy system. This is the real thing. Had this been only a test your wife wouldn't have locked herself in the bathroom to text you." With my S.O.S. sent and my deep breath taken I decided to "sugar coat it." What is better than a little baking therapy? 

I opened up the cabinet and pulled out the cereal box to return to the recipe I sighted earlier in the week. 


3Tbs margarine or butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups Tasteeos

You can do this in either a skillet on the stove or in the microwave w/ a large microwave safe bowl. 

1.) Melt the butter
2.) Stir in Sugar and Cinnamon. Mix Well
3.) Add cereal, stirring until all pieces are evenly coated
4.) Spread on waxed paper to cool
5.) Store in an airtight container (i.e. ziplock bag)
6.) ENJOY!!!!

These really taste like a honey nut cheerio to me.  Katie even asked if there was honey in them. I calmed down after my "therapy session" and now the girls have a snack for the car ride tomorrow. If my husband and I don't eat them all tonight after they have gone to bed!

*Just a little disclaimer, Cheerios, Tasteeos and Ziplock are all registered trademarks of companies. In case  you weren't aware. :P

Just a Spoonful of Sugar Makes the Medicine Go Down.

Well, here it goes. I have tried blogging before and it has died off quickly, but I LOVE baking, crafting and photography. I have pictures and crafts filling up my house w/ no purpose other than to say to people..."HEY!! Look at what I did today!!!" Not trying to toot my own horn, just love putting stuff together. I get intense pleasure out of taking the odds and ends I have lying around and making a wreath, or taking a pound of ground beef and a cup of rice and coming up with a unique dining creation to feed 14 people. (Me and my family (4) My best friends and their families (10)) 
I have been known to put my kids in the car and run over to my best friend Becky's house for some much needed "Crafting Therapy." As our kids join together in their bedlam we sit around a large box of ribbon or felt creating/finishing a project and taking deep breaths as we join together in our mommy mantra. "We love our kids, We love our kids." 

Me and Becky and ALL our kids!!

Wreath that I showed up at Becky's house w/ half finished  for Crafting Therapy.

 A cake I decorated for my December Mothers of Preschoolers meeting

 Chocolate covered strawberry cake for my friend Jamie's Surprise party. Even the cake was chocolate strawberry, and I was extra proud because this was my first attempt at Chocolate covered Strawberries. I thought they looked exquisite!

Chocolate Cupcakes filled w/ strawberry mousse. The cup of plain mousse in the middle was for my husband. He is allergic to chocolate. Poor guy!! :P

Nothing brings a smile to  my face more than giving someone one of my creations. Whether it is a craft or a dinner or a baked good.  The fact that making it gave me joy and receiving it gives them joy, makes the process wonderful. Sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively it is the sugar of my life. I see most of the responsibilities of my adult life like taking my medicine.  We never really want to. We most of the time fight it and put it off, knowing the whole while it is in our best interest. But what I have learned is that Mary Poppins had it right. A spoonful of sugar does help the medicine of my life go down a little smoother.