Some kids are patient, compliant, mindful of their space and the space of people around them. They’re well suited to helping in the kitchen because they’re attentive and able to wait for instructions.

That is not my child. My child is a curious thing, searching everything and nothing, demanding to know what this does, insisting on placing himself in the just-right spot for a perfect view of whatever is happening. This position also tends to be either right at my elbow or mildly perilous.

Cooking is fun at our house.

My Joyful blur of a boy — Meet my joyful blur. I mean boy.

Mercifully, I’ve found that popsicles are more or less fail proof for us, but I have to back up and explain why popsicles are suddenly such a staple treat in our lives.

See, in my old neighborhood, the ice cream truck didn’t really pass through. We lived near a pretty major intersection off a very busy street, so (wisely), the ice cream guys steered clear because ain’t nobody got time for that kind of liability.

But here in our new neighborhood, we have 3 ice cream trucks. Every afternoon around 2pm, Bug runs to my desk calling out the chiming of the ice cream truck (like I haven’t been humming along since it entered the neighborhood). Some days I’ll say not today, sometimes we’ll walk to the curb hand-in-hand to greet our sainted ice cream man and choose our treats, but more often than not, I’ll offer one of the popsicles we made together.

I found cute popsicle molds at the dollar store, so we’re more than a little obsessed with creating new flavors. Most of our creations are some variation on whatever we’re craving that week, which has led to some pretty interesting combinations, like mango-chili-chamoy or peanut butter banana. Bug has been on more than a bit of a Trix kick, which is super easy to find in the cereal aisle at Walmart, we decided to try making Milk & Cereal Popsicles.

His favorite part of the whole process is licking the ladle clean afterwards, partially because it tastes good and partially because getting messy is his favorite. Right after popsicles, of course.

Milk & Cereal Popsicles

Ingredients

1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 1/2 cups Cereal of Choice (separated as 1 cup and 1/2 cup; we used Trix this time)
1 cup Milk
2 tbsp Simple Syrup (add more or less to taste)

Instructions

Pour milk and 1 cup of cereal into a bowl. Let it soak for at least 45 minutes (in the fridge, because leaving it out would be gross)
About 5 minutes before you're ready to pull out the after-milk, whip the heavy whipping cream with simple syrup until stiff peaks start to form.
Pull out the milk and cereal mix, and strain out the soggy cereal. We're not going to be using it, so discard it but keep the milk.
Slowly incorporate the after milk into the whipped cream. You should have a runny enough consistency to pour it with a ladle, but thick enough that cereal will stay where it's dropped and it won't float around.
Ladle the cream mix into your popsicle molds or cups, just a little at a time so you can make layers of cereal and cream. Leave a little space at the top so you can fill it with cereal (see the pictures).
Freeze for at least 1 1/2 hours. Serve on a hot day, in the morning, in the afternoon, or sneak it as a midnight snack. I won't judge.

Milk & cereal never gets old, but it’s still fun to try it in different ways, so explore more cereal recipes on Pinterest or check out more Dia de los Niños recipes at quevidarica.com.

How do your kids help in the kitchen? Tell us in the comments!