These days in the cereal world, it's quite popular to take old favorites and spin them just a little bit, whether that means adding a variety of fruit or some extra flavor combinations. I've tried a number of these new variations, but they always left something to be desired. They were good, but they never reinvigorated my childhood cereal love ... until now.

I must have been living under a rock, because it took me over a year to spot Vanilla Flavour Rice Krispies, which debuted just over a year ago in Canada. They're just like the old classic with an extra hint of vanilla -- familiarity with a slight flair. I can't get enough of these damned things, and have gone through a box in a week. I don't know if they're available in the States yet (all my searches lead back to Canadian sites), but do keep an eye out. If you like the Snap, Crackle, and Pop, you'll probably dig these.

And it seems that I'm not the only one charmed by them. Recipes are already starting to pop up for the old-school cereal, like RK squares with the vanilla variety, and a Krispies crust.

In 2006, Treehugger.com wrote about the introduction of a line of organic cereals by Kellogg's. The article talked about concerns surrounding "organic" being taken over by a mega-corporation, but decided that ultimately organic of any sort was a good thing.

At the same time, a Rice Krispies-loving consumer (me) discovered Organic Rice Krispies on the shelf at her local supermarket. To say I was excited might be an understatement. I love the Snap, Crackle, and Pop, but I do not love high fructose corn syrup and pesticides - neither of which were found in the organic version. Sure, it was more expensive and sure, they didn't make it in the large box that I preferred due to my frequent cereal consumption, but I was willing to splurge.

Alas, one day, Organic Rice Krispies was no longer on the shelves. I assumed it had to do with lack of consumer interest at my particular store. Today, after much time had passed, I decided to find out where I could buy them by emailling Kellogg's. I will credit them for their speedy response, but it did not make me happy: "This product is no longer marketed by our company, since consumer demand simply does not warrant its continued production. At this time, there are no plans to reintroduce this product."

I didn't specifically ask about any of the other cereals in their organic line, but I assume the worst. Does anyone else miss them?

As if melting marshmallows, stirring them with cereal, and patting the mixture into a pan wasn't easy enough, now Kellogg's is making absolutely certain that you can have Rice Krispies Treats for your parties. No more having to buy the industrial sized box of individually cut Rice Krispies Treats snacks for lunch boxes, opening each package, and putting them all on a plate!

The Rice Krispies Treats sheet is 32 ounces of marshmallow-y, cereal-y convenience. All you have to do it cut them into bars! Of course, if you're ambitious, use cookie cutters to cut out shapes to match your party.

For the Super Bowl, footballs are a natural. Dip one flat side of a football shape in melted chocolate, let it cool, and decorate with melted white chocolate to create laces on the football.

Sandra Lee should hire me as a consultant.

After nearly a century Snap!, Crackle! and Pop! are getting some company in the breakfast bowl. Kellogg's has just released Rice Krispies with Real Strawberries. The company has yet to announce what noise, if any, the strawberries will add to the percussive trio.

All kidding aside, it's a good thing that they're using real strawberries. Lord knows kids need to start eating better. Of course Rice Krispies are probably one of the more healthful kids cereals out there. The company press release says that the fruity version of the cereal was born out research that shows kids are seeking more flavor, while Moms want their kids to have more fruit. I'm all for kids eating fruit, but back in the days before the era of so-called meal solutions my mother would just buy some strawberries and slice 'em up.

I have pie dough in the fridge, pies in the oven, a defrosted turkey and partially prepped veggies in various places around the kitchen. With all the holiday meal prep that we've been doing (I know I'm not the only one), something delicious, but simple, sounds really good right about now. Those pies aren't going to be fair game until tomorrow night. Thankfully, Allie, from Something So Clever posted some really tasty sounding Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Rice Krispies. The addition of peanut butter to the standard rice krispie recipe makes them a little bit more interesting. Adults will like them because the peanut butter adds a new salty-sweet dimension to the flavor and kids will like them because they almost all like rice krispie treats. Speaking of kids, these are so easy to make that if you have any kids around at the holidays, you can assign them the job of making a batch to keep them out of your hair as you work on the main meal.

This month's Saveur magazine has a small story about a new cookbook called The Breakfast Cereal Gourmet. The book, shaped like a cereal box, is the work of David Hoffman, who includes 31 recipes for foods that are made from regular breakfast cereals. However, we're not just talking about Rice Krispies Treats and Corn Flakes-crusted oven fried chicken. The author cook includes recipes from chefs like Annie Miller (Clementine, Los Angeles) and Rick Bayless (Topolobampo and Frontera Grill, Chicago), and have the requirement that the food has to benefit from the inclusion of the cereal, not just have the cereal as some sort of gimmick or garnish.

I'm sure the book has great recipes, and I've certainly tried incorporating bran cereal into a muffin, but I'm just curious as to what other things one could make with breakfast cereals like Cap'n Crunch, Honeycombs, and Pops.

I like cereal as well as the next person, even the plainer kinds like Rice Krispies and regular Cheerios, which are not exciting enough to be "kids cereal" nor are they healthy enough (i.e. made to enhance "regularity") to be strictly for adults. Let's face it: they're pretty uninspiring as far as cereal options go. I'll buy a box on sale and eat it when I run out of other things. They will last quite some time when the box is unopened. This is an excellent feature since it is only rarely when I put plain-jane cereals to their best use: marshmallow cereal bars. With three ingredients, there is hardly any simpler snack and few more delicious. Since these involve no baking, prepared entirely in the microwave, a batch or two is a great way to clean out the cupboard and make room for newer, more exciting breakfast options. It's also a great thing to make with your kids.