Orange Poppy Seed Muffins

Years and years ago when I was a young mom, I got this recipe from another young mom. It's been a staple in my rotation for at least 20 years....maybe longer. Oh wait...how can that be when I'm only 19?? Hahahaha...I crack me up. Give these little muffin-y treasures a try this weekend and say "Barbara" when you eat one...cuz she's the one who gave me the recipe!


Orange Poppy Seed Muffins

1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup butter - melted
1 egg
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoon grated orange peel

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Spoon into a muffin tin lined with 12 baking cups. Bake for 15 – 18 minutes or until golden brown.

OPTION 1: For a sweet glaze, mix the juice of 1 orange (the rest of what you used for the muffin batter works), 1 cup of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon grated orange peel and 1 teaspoon of butter. Cook in the top of a double boiler until warm and butter has melted. When muffins are out of the oven and still warm, pierce the tops several times with a fork, and then…holding the muffin by the base, dip the pierced tops down into the glaze and let it soak up some of the glaze for a few seconds. Let set…or not. Then eat.

OPTION 2: Stir 1 cup of dried cranberries (Craisins) into the batter before filling muffin cups.

Here's whatcha need....

....and here's whatcha get!!

Messy Misters

I went to a birthday party the other day and as we sat around the table talking about food, one of the girls started telling about this recipe. The name intrigued me and the simplicity of the recipe made it even better. I made the mistake of not writing anything down, so I had to improvise.  I think I came pretty close to her recipe description. Use any kind of bbq sauce you want. I used a 1/2 recipe of my homemade honey chipotle sauce. That recipe is HERE. The men in my family thought these were fantastic! They'd be great for a quick lunch or for a snack as you're heading out the door. They're yummy! 

Messy Misters



1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup bbq sauce
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
salt & pepper to taste
2 containers 8-count Crescent rolls
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a skillet, saute the diced onion for a few minutes. Add the ground beef and cook until meat is no longer pink.

Add 1 cup bbq sauce, salt and pepper and heat through. 

Spray muffin tins with cooking spray.

Separate the crescent rolls into triangles. Stretch the triangles a little bigger than normal.

Fit the dough into the muffin tins with some of the edges hanging over.

Fill each muffin tin with a couple of spoonfuls of the meat mixture then top with cheese.

Fold dough over to enclose beef. These will not be neat...hence the name Messy Mister.

Beat egg in a small bowl and brush tops of dough.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. 

The line-up.

Stretch the crescents rolls a little 

larger than their normal size. I just

 pressed them out on my countertop.

Then lay them in the greased pan 

with the edges hanging over. I used

 a 12-cup muffin tin and then 4 

more cups from a 6-cup tin.

Saute the onion for a few minutes

 then add the ground beef and brown.

Add the bbq sauce and heat through.

Fill the cups with the meat mixture, 

dividing equally. Then top with a little grated cheese.

Fold up the tops. No need to be 

precise and neat. They're called Messy 

Misters for a reason. Then brush with the beaten egg.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes 

until golden brown on top. Allow 

to sit in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing.

Gobble 'em up!