Breakfast Anyone?

It's been rather ordinary and routine around here since the end of the holiday season. I'm not complaining, I rather enjoy that. It just doesn't make for very exciting blog posts!  So, today I am blogging about the ordinary...breakfast!

One thing that I miss about the US is the huge variety and availability of breakfast cereal. The two times that I've been back in the States I have been overwhelmed at the immense aisle of cereal. Here we have a small section of cereal that basically includes corn flakes, frosted flakes, and chocolate balls. Occasionally you can find a few other varieties, but not always. The price is also an issue. The cost of a box that is about 20 oz. is approximately $7.00. That's a little steep for me. 

I say all of that to say that I try to limit cereal to once or twice a week. But that means that I have to come up with some other options that are fast and easy to fix in the morning, and that the boys will eat with "minimal" complaints. Since almost everything has to be made from scratch, that can be a challenge at times.

One thing that I have found that goes over well with the family is this recipe for homemade granola bars. I usually make them the evening before, so breakfast is quick and easy.

Chewy No-Bake Granola Bars

2 1/2 cups puffed rice cereal

1 3/4 cups quick oats

1/4 cup wheat germ (or additional oats, which           is what I use) 

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

2/3 cup peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2  cup chocolate chips

 Combine first three ingredients in a bowl. In a saucepan, mix the honey, brown sugar and salt. Stir and heat to boiling over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before mixing in the chocolate chips. Press into a greased 9x13 pan and let cool before cutting into bars.

So if you are interested, give it a try and let me know what you think. If not, enjoy your Lucky Charms!

Talented Toys

You may not be aware of how talented Lego men are. You just never know what you are going to find them doing. Recently in our house, the boys organized an orchestra with theirs. 



Can you identify all their instruments? I thought the boys were quite clever, but then again, I am quite partial.

The next time you hear some strange noise in the house, it might be those Lego men up to something!

In the News

The article begins like this {roughly translated}...
"Only two inmates who had the benefit of a temporary leave for Christmas did not return to the jail."

You see, here in Brazil, certain inmates are allowed to leave during the day to work, and they return in the evening to spend the night in jail. Some on these inmates are given a "Christmas break" from December 24 to January 2. This means that they are allowed to go home and spend the holidays with their families, and are supposed to come back to the jail by 6pm on January 2. 

Of course they don't let them all go. Only the ones who have demonstrated good behavior, and have completed 1/6 of their sentence (if they are first-time offenders - 1/4 of the sentence for repeat offenders.)

Here in our city, 51 inmates were given this privilege, and "only" two did not return. They are now considered fugitives, and if caught they will be returned to jail without the privilege of leaving.

I wonder if it is a coincidence that there seemed to be more occurrences of theft and burglary during this time?