monster mush

I was one of those odd kids who ADORED oatmeal. ADORED it. But, then again, it often came in a tan and green pouch chock full of dehydrated apples and brown sugar. Still, Cap n' Crunch had nothin' on me, it was the oatmeal that did me on. Here's a kooky yummy recipe to kick off October. It being the month of tricks and treats, this bowl full of goodness is surprisingly good.**

What you need:
*1 cup rolled oats (not the quick or instant kind)
*1 cup water
*3/4 cup of green juice
*dash o salt
*a gummy worm or 2
*dried fruit & nuts
*milkish drink of choice

scrumdilly-do it:
Pour your liquids into a small saucepan and bring to a low boil. I used the green machine as it was pretty much the only green juice I could find, plus you get all sorts of vitamins in it's tasty!Once your liquids come to a boil, add your oats and a dash o salt, give it a stir and turn down the heat. Allow your oats to simmer until the liquid is absorbed, about ten minutes.

Remove from heat, dollop some of the cereal into a bowl and dress with your goodies. You can let the kids do this part or nit, it's up to you. Add nuts, seeds, dried fruit, etc. You will not need or want to add any sweetener as the juice will have already flavored the whole shebang. Add you milk or soy if you will, top it off with a gummy worm and dig in!The heat from the cereal will melt the gummy worm in a matter of moments. The residual flavor and ooze from the candy will add an additional bite to the cereal. This is the part that I'm not the biggest fan of as I don't like cherry flavoring but kids? Kids LOVE faux flavors!

So there ya go, a hot bowl of monster mush, Happy October!

**What? Gummy worms in my breakfast cereal? Are you crazy? Here's the deal. If yer tot is an oatmeal lover then omit the worms. If you need to figure out ways to get yer kidlet to try the stuff, add the worm. One worm isn't too far off from those juicy fruity bites that kids often have in their lunches. Get the kind by Black Forest and you've got a smidge (a teeny tiny smidge) of Vitamin C in the bowl. Got a kidlet with an awesome imagination? Skip the candy and add dried cranberries, cherries and raisins and call 'em bugs. This is just a guideline to get you to think outside the box. I am not encouraging you to serve up a bowl of corn syrup for breakfast. But I am encouraging you to try this...it really is yummy, except I'm really not a fan of the worms...they're ooey.