1. since you usually do not eat a kzayit of crust within 3-4 minutes, you should not say al hamichya. but if the crust and the filling combine for at least a kzayit, then you should say a borey nefashot. (see further Mishna Berura 208:44)

2. for a clear soup there is no need to say a beracha achrona because it is usually eaten slowly. but if you eat a kzayit of vegetables within 3-4 minutes, then you would need a beracha achrona.

3. no beracha achrona is needed when you eat less than a kzayit, or a kzayit in over 3-4 minutes

4. when you mainly want the soup then it is ikar and needs its own beracha, and the noodles or rice cannot be tafel. the mezonot beracha may exempt the soup so it is better to say the shehakol on the soup or something else first

5. this is only when you eat at least a kzayit of the crust. if not, then you make the beracha achrona for the filling.

6. here the small beet pieces would be tafel to the borscht

7. here the borscht would be considered tafel to the beets

8. the ha'adama for the potatoes may exempt the borscht so it is better to say the shehakol on the borscht or something else first

9. since the pie and the filling are usually baked separately, the filling is not tafel, and needs its own beracha.

10. since bran flakes contain some of the actual grain, a mezonot beracha is needed.

11. if the piece of french toast contains a kzayit of bread, then even though it is fried, it is still considered bread.

12. Torah.org writes: "Recent research [By Kashruth Kurrents (Star K), Winter 1997 (Ralston)] indicates that it is made of whole pieces (milled corn). If so, its blessing is ha-adamah."

13. this is based on the weekly halacha from Torah.org, which says, "Based on research done by the Orthodox Union and Star K, who have determined that the oat flour serves only as a binder. In the past, some had ruled that the proper blessing was mezonos - see The Laws of Berachos, pg. 371, and Harav Forst's responsum in the Hebrew Notes, pg. 260-263, but it now seems that their ruling was based on erroneous information." (http://www.torah.org/advanced/weekly-halacha/5759/mishpatim.html)

14. Star K advises to say mezonos and eat from the dark side; then says haadama and eat from the light side. see http://www.star-k.org/cons-appr-cereal.htm

15. if you want the taste of the bread, then the bread isn't tafel, and so hamotzee must be said.

16. The Proper Beracha for Cereals Containing Both Corn and Grains

17. The Proper Beracha to Recite Over Rice Krispies, Puffed Rice, Rice Cakes, Hot Cereals and Granola

18. See Kashrus Kurrents, Volume 27, No. 1. Autumn 2006. There, Rabbi Dovid Heber writes: "There are different opinions as to which beracha is recited [on puffed wheat]. Some opinions say this is processed enough to become Mezonos. This psak is based on the Mishnah Brura which says one can recite a Mezonos on pearled barley, a product that is similar to puffed wheat. Others are of the opinion that regular puffed wheat is not processed enough, and the brocha is Hoadama. In order to be Mezonos, the product must be a “ma’aseh kedeira”, similar to a bowl of oatmeal in which the grains stick together. In puffed wheat this does not occur, so the brocha is Hoadama. L’halacha, puffed wheat should ideally be eaten in the middle of a bread meal. Otherwise, Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l, says one can recite either a Mezonos or Hoadama. Rav Moshe also says the brocha achrona on puffed wheat is Borei Nefashos. This halacha applies also to Kellogg’s Honey Smacks and Post Golden Crisp."

19. Igros Moshe EH 1:114. The “klipos” of the chameishes minei dagan refer to bran.

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