Ten uses for Leftover Cereal

We all have slightly used cereal- that is, dribs and drabs that won't make a full bowl, but are too big to throw away. Here are ten uses for leftover cereal and its packaging. I assume that you haven't bought preseweetened cereal, which is harder to reuse and way more expensive. I'm so opposed to the presweetened stuff that I haven't even bothered to write tips for it.
Tips for Slightly Used Cold Cereal
1. Cold cereal can be substituted in recipes for nuts, or other wise added to baked goods for more texture and flavor. I am currently working my way through a box of muesli that I purchased at a great price but which does not do much for me as straight cereal. It has done wonderfully, though, as an ingredient in a topping for fruit crisp and as an addition to zucchini and banana bread.
2. Cold cereals can be combined, put in a plastic bag, crushed with a rolling pin and used as breading for baked vegetables or meats.
3. Crushed cold cereal can be used in almost any recipe that calls for bread crumbs- for instance, as filler for meatloaf or meatballs.
4. Cold cereals can be sprayed with nonstick oil and seasoned with herbs of your choice and used to top vegetable casseroles.
5. Cold cereal can be mixed into the topping for fruit crisp.
Tips for Slightly Used Prepared Hot Cereal
1. Used hot cereal can be mixed into batters for things like muffins and fruit quickbread. It will change the texture, and make the result more dense, but it tastes great and you can sell it as a "heartier"version.
2. Used hot cereal can be mixed into ground meat and poultry to reduce the amount of meat needed for meatballs and meatloaf. While cold cereal added in acts more like filler, cold hot cereal added in acts more like additional meat.
3. Used hot cereal can be added to pancake and waffle recipes. It is best to reheat it with enough milk to moisten it, then add it as a liquid. This too will make the product denser or, alternatively, "heartier".
Tips for Used Cereal Packaging
1. The waxed paper bags in which cold cereal is packaged are great for packing sandwiches and they work as freezer bags if they are very tightly sealed and you plan to used the produce quickly.
2. Cereal boxes can be turned into magazine files by cutting out one of the sides and covering with contac paper.
3. Cereal boxes can be used as toys by covering with construction paper or painting for use in construction projects. Oatmeal boxes are great for the turrets of a castle, and the big rectangular boxes can become walls.
The plain backsides of deconstructed cereal boxes can also be used like cardboard. For instance, they can become the backing for homemade jigsaw puzzles or collages.