Make It with Malt-O-Meal Recipe Contest 2009

Patricia Lapiezo of La Mesa, CA made this 1st place RECIPE WINNER at the 2009 San Diego County Fair

Lemon Blueberry Biscotti

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups finely ground Malt-O-Meal Blueberry Muffins Tops Cereal (3 cups whole)
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup dried blueberries
• Milk and additional sugar
• White Chocolate for dipping

Instructions

Combine the cereal crumbs, flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together. Stir in lemon zest. Add the butter and stir to combine. Lightly beat the egg and egg white together and add to flour mixture. Stir in blueberries. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide the dough in half. On a parchment lined baking sheet, shape into 2 loaves, approximately 8 x 3 inches, flattening slightly. Brush top with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and turn temperature down to 300 degrees. Let cool for 10 minutes. Cut each loaf into 3/4 inch diagonal slices. Turn on their sides and return to oven for 10 minutes. Remove and turn over and bake an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Dip one side of each biscotti in melted white chocolate. Allow to sit to harden. Store in airtight container.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MALT-O-MEAL COMPANY FUELS ECONOMIC GROWTH;
OPENS FIRST EASTERN PRODUCTION FACILITY
State-of-the-Art Plant Brings 133 New Jobs to North Carolina

ASHEBORO, N.C.—September 29, 2009—Minneapolis-based Malt-O-Meal Company, the nation’s largest family owned cereal manufacturer, announces the grand opening of its newest production facility in Asheboro, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 29. North Carolina Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco will officially open the doors to the 350,000 square foot facility, which adds 133 new jobs to the community. (more…)

Malt-O-Meal Company will host it’s  7th  annual “Cereal Day For United Way” event  in the IDS Center’s Crystal Court on Thursday, October 8th. Malt-O-Meal will be selling a wide variety of its ready-to-eat cereals for just $1.00 per bag. Proceeds will be donated to the Greater Twin Cities United Way, up to $50,000. The popular event begins at 7:30 AM. In past years, the giant display of cereal packages has sold out by Noon, so please arrive early.

Writing for the popular blog, http://thedomesticdiva.org, I’ve had my fair share of moments with both the “fashion do” and the “fashion don’t. But over time I’ve learned what works for me and what doesn’t when it comes to being a “hot mom”.

One Hot Mom

To Need or Not to Need

Hot, not, or indifferent, I know being a mom is never easy. We all want to be the best parents we can be, and can often equate being a good mom with sacrificing our own wants and needs when it comes to things like shopping and dressing with more than just the basics in mind. I’ve met some Moms who feel like doing ANYTHING meant just for themselves is a thing of the past since they decided to have kids. It doesn’t have to be that way. Our needs as Moms are still as important as they were before we went domestic.

The Balancing Act

While it’s no small feat, we Mom’s manage to adjust our lifestyles to make it possible (and fun!) to take good care of our little ones amongst the usual chaos of everyday life. Adjustments, concessions, and the occasional ability to leap a tall building in a single bound are often necessary when you have a family, but there is no need to adjust your personal needs into obscurity. Even if most days you feel like you should be wearing a cape.

Priorities

If being a fashionable, hot mom isn’t the highest priority in your life, you don’t need to feel selfish if you want to keep it somewhere on your lengthy list of things to do. Personally, I try to keep in mind that the better I look, the better I feel. The better I feel, the happier I am. Everyone around me seems to reap the benefits of this notion.
Don’t get me wrong! I realize that sweats and old t-shirts are usually the required attire in getting though life’s ups (vacuuming cobwebs off ceilings) and downs (scrubbing dirty toilets) but your Everyday Diva can still weigh in on what she wears when the serious heavy lifting is finally at rest for the day.

Diva Do’s & Diva Don’ts

Even those of us who are lucky enough to have found a way around staying in our sweats to clean our homes all day every day, know that if it’s not one thing it’s another. You know what I’m getting at and trust me, like many others I struggle with the fact that my body doesn’t resemble in any way what it looked like before having my children.
I’ve been told that true beauty comes from within, and I agree with that 100%. But for those of us who are interested in making a bit more of a fashion statement, here are some basics to keep in mind while dressing the outside of your Inner Diva:

Do’s:

• Do look for well-fitting, age-appropriate attire that is comfortable to you.
• Do add a little color. Scared? Start small by matching a purse or belt with your shoes.

Don’ts:

• Don’t wear frumpy clothes. You know what they look like, and they are a big NO-no!
• Don’t wear baggy, saggy or raggy duds. (-the guilty among us know who we are, so let’s stop hiding in those overly-long, overly-loose, dated numbers.)

Dollars & Sense?

High-priced clothing is expensive. Personal style isn’t. Looking great in what you wear doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Finding clothes that look good on you is do-able even on a very limited budget. Some excellent stores to shop for exceptional fashion without breaking the bank are:

• TJMaxx or Marshallsstore where I found 3 fabulous budget friendly looks under $50.
• Kohls Department Stores have an awesome sales alert program and even better clearance prices.
• A.J.Wright a new store I recently discovered that has absolutely fantastic prices!

Read more on what I bought in The Domestic Diva archives:

1. Marhalls & TJMaxx :http://thedomesticdiva.org/blog/2009/06/08/monetary-monday-looking-fabulous-for-less-with-marshalls-and-tjmaxx/
2. Kohls: http://thedomesticdiva.org/blog/2009/05/18/monetary-monday-kohls-sales-alerts/
3. A.J. Wright: http://thedomesticdiva.org/blog/category/shopping-for-less-at-tjmaxx-and-marshalls/

Even a local Thrift Store or Goodwill can be a great place to snag some fashion finds!

http://thedomesticdiva.org/blog/2009/03/01/get-thrifty-finds-of-the-week/

Good Luck and Happy Shopping!

The Domestic Diva
______________________________________________________________________

This great fashion-forward Mom post was generously provided by Heather Batts, a.k.a The Domestic Diva. Heather is a mom turned professional blogger who dishes daily about products she loves, v-logs on being a tech-savvy diva, as well as offers, how-to tips and money saving tricks for our domesticated lives.

You can read more by the Domesic Diva at: http://www.thedomesticdiva.org
Follow her on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/thedomesticdiva
Or check out her YouTube videos: http://www.youtube.com/thedomesticdiva

Best,

MP Godfrey
& Team Malt-O-Meal

I spend a part of each day reading blogs written by people who share the amazing stories of their lives with us. Sometimes the blog entries relate to Malt-O-Meal cereal directly, and sometimes not so directly. No matter how they fit in, the stories and posts featured on this blog are often as educational as they are heart-warming. One such story comes to us from a family who recently endured the lengthy process of child adoption from outside the US.

About a year ago, the Henderson’s returned from Russia with two VERY tiny, new additions to their family in-tow. Many of us know what a challenge it can be to get our picky eaters to finish what we put on their plates. This family had an entirely different version of the “picky-eater” challenge ahead of them with trying to feed two children who were severely underweight, undersized, and unfamiliar with Western food.

I must further preface this story for the readers who don’t already know that Malt-O-Meal Hot Wheat® tastes really good when prepared using the recipe on the box. Increasing the caloric content usually isn’t necessary to get adequate nutrition and flavor benefits. It’s fortified with vitamins and minerals including iron and has been approved by WIC program dietitians and kid nutrition experts in 33 States. (However, I still add a serving fruit to mine, but I’m a somewhat of a rebel.)

This blog entry from www.clutteredpantry.com was written by Mr. Henderson about 7 months ago:

” It’s been 5 months since we brought home our two new, adorable, tiny daughters from eastern Siberia. We’re so unbelievably happy to have them in our lives, and we’re even more happy that these two sisters get to stay together. That day in October, when we finally began our 18 hours of air travel home with them, they were happy, but quite small (hardly on the US growth charts) and, as they only spoke Russian, difficult to anticipate with regard to what they’d be able, or willing, to eat. Once we got home to Chicago we kind of looked at each other, looked at them, and considered how we’d reach our goals for helping them to pack on healthy weight just as quickly as possible. (more…)

Makes about 24 clusters

• 1 (8ounce) pkg. white chips melted
• 1 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
• 1 cup pecans-toasted and chopped
• ¼ cup chocolate chips (any flavor) melted.

1. toast pecans in 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes
2. melt chips in a bowl over boiling water
3. add pecans, dried cranberries, and crispy rice cereal to melted chips and stir until evenly coated
4. drop by tablespoons onto wax paper ( the mixture will not stick together very well until cooled)
5. cool about 15 minutes in refrigerator
6. melt ¼ cup chips over boiling water and drizzle over each cluster