Joshua's Magic Muffins

Joshua, being a fan of Malt-O-Meal, asked me for months to try this recipe he found on the side of the Malt-O-Meal box. When I finally got around to it, I wished I had tried it sooner! These delicious morsels are so yummy and satisfying and just a little sweet. No need to put honey on them, just add a little butter and they'll stand on their own. Best of all, they are sooo easy to make.

Joshua's Magic Muffins
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Original Malt-O-Meal hot wheat cereal, dry
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Preaheat oven to 400ºF. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Stir together until all ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into greased or paper-lined muffin pans, filling cups 3/4 full. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until center is firm to the touch.

Yield: 12 muffins

Country Breakfast Pizza

I am a big fan of breakfast for dinner, and I especially love breakfast pizza, but I usually think the recipes I try are too dry and need some gravy. Then I found this version that has gravy included, and it's just right.

Country Breakfast Pizza
2 pkg crescent rolls (don't use generic brands unless you want it to be yucky)
1 lb bulk pork sausage
1/3 c chopped onion
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 envelope country gravy mix
6 eggs
2 Tb milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 Tb butter
1-1/4 c sliced fresh mushrooms
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 c pepper Jack cheese

Separate crescent dough into 16 triangles and place on a greased 14-inch round pizza pan with points toward the center. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of pan to form a crust; seal seams. Bake att 375 for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook the sauage, onion and green pepper over medium heat until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Prepare gravy according to package directions. Stir into sauage mixture; set aside. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, salt and pper. In a large skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Add egg mixture; cook and stir until almost set. Spread gravy mixture over curst. Top with egg mixture, mushrooms and cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Cut into wedges.

Notes: It's easy to adjust this to your tastes - just add your favorite omelet toppings, breakfast meats, cheese, etc. I don't like mushrooms or green peppers, so I took those out. I would add tomatoes and hash browns and probably broccoli next time. I used a 2-cup gravy mix. 1-1/2 tubes of crescent rolls filled my pizza pan, so I used the other half tube to make a small pan. This would be a good way to personalize it for the one or two picky eaters (or the not picky eaters) in the group.

Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home Simple and Delicious, contributed by Julie T. of Nebraska.