Leftover Cereal Bars

We have a new word in our household.  Hangry.  It's a mix of "hunger" and "angry," for when lack of food makes you cranky, as in "I'm not mad; I'm just hangry."  Our pals Keriann and Alex introduced us to this word, explaining that this simple word has basically saved their relationship. It has quickly gone into heavy vocab rotation in our house.

During a particularly hangry moment today, Kent complained that we don't have any cereal in the house.  I calmly explained that we have three boxes of cereal in the house, the same boxes that have been there for a couple months now: All-Bran, Crunchy Raisin Bran, and Cheerios.  He gave me that look that says, "Sorry honey, but none of the above qualify as cereal."  And I have to admit, even as a person whose breakfast cereal often resembles something off the SNL Colon Blow mock-mercial, I saw his point. We went grocery shopping and stocked up on Frosted Mini-Wheats.

Still, those other stubborn boxes of cereal remained.  I wanted to reclaim the precious kitchen real estate they took up, but I couldn't throw them out, and the thought of another week of Cheerios for breakfast did not appeal. That's when I knew it was time to make cereal bars.

Gourmet these are not.  They even include the villainous sweetener known as corn syrup!  However, it's my go-to way of cleaning out the breakfast cereal shelf.  I've made these bars with Rice Krispies, corn flakes, Cheerios, Raisin Bran, Wheaties, and any combination thereof.  Although Frosted Mini-Wheats would be weird in this recipe, I think you could use most any basic flake or puff cereal - even Golden Grahams or Cocoa Pebbles would work (but probably not Froot Loops or Fruity Pebbles - the fruit and the peanut butter might be odd).

Fortunately for me and my husband, a big cereal bar and a glass of milk is a surefire cure for a case of the hangries, ensuring continued marital bliss.

Leftover Cereal Bars
I cribbed this recipe off the Cheerios website and found it works great with other types of cereal too.  Just use what you have and see what you come up with. 

6	cups cereal (i.e., Cheerios, Wheaties, Raisin Bran, Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, or any combination thereof)
3/4	cup raisins (optional)
1	cup corn syrup
3/4	cup packed brown sugar
1	cup creamy peanut butter
1/2	cup milk chocolate chips

	Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, combine cereal and raisins; set aside.
	In 2-quart saucepan, combine corn syrup and sugars. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter.
	Pour peanut butter mixture over cereal mixture; mix until thoroughly coated. Spread evenly in pan.
	Place chocolate chips in a Ziploc bag and seal.  Microwave chocolate chips on High 1 minute, squishing the chocolate around in the bag every 15 seconds, until melted and smooth. Snip off a corner on the bottom of the bag and drizzle over bars. Refrigerate 15 minutes or until chocolate is set.