It's fair to say I've become obsessed with microwavable desserts in a mug. I've made some fudgey 60-Second Brownies, a gooey Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie and a Crumb-Topped Mug Coffee Cake.

Now it's time for a muffin in a mug, or as I like to call it (because I'm super lame) -- a muggin. This blueberry muffin makes the perfect breakfast-for-one, easy mid-afternoon snack, or dessert (because who are we kidding, this is pretty much a glorified cake).

Here's how to make it:

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Mullenkedheim

Pair blueberry muffins with a Sea Breeze for a fruity breakfast.

On Mother's Day, Mom deserves royal treatment. What better way to make her feel like the queen she is than to make her breakfast in bed (and serve up some morning cocktails)? While the kids make breakfast, Dad can whip up a cocktail to complement her scrumptious and relaxing meal. He can also make nonalcoholic versions of the cocktails so the kids can enjoy a fruity drink as well, or if an alcoholic beverage is not your mom's cup of tea, she will enjoy any of these mocktails.

Here are five easy breakfast-in-bed meals with morning cocktails for Mom on her special day. And as Joanna said, take her out to dinner as well.

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Photo by Brooke Viggiano

The "RVP" in all its glory

If you've never been to brunch at Max's Wine Dive and you enjoy lovely things like hot cakes, wings and fresh mimosas, I urge you to check it out (they even do brunch on Fridays). Until then, I'm sharing a copycat recipe for one my favorite MWD brunch dishes -- The "RVP." That's a stack of fluffy and decadent red velvet pancakes served with a dollop of sweet and tangy lemon cream cheese frosting -- simply genius.

I love the pancakes dearly...and I'm willing to bet your mama will love them too (that's not some sort of weird yo' mama joke -- I'm just thinking they'd make the perfect Mother's Day treat).

Here's how to recreate The "RVP" at home:

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Photos by Molly Dunn

McDonald's new Egg White Delight McMuffin is a good healthy breakfast option.

In an effort to lighten up its menu, McDonald's offers new breakfast sandwiches made with egg whites. With its new motto -- "Turning breakfast on its head" -- McDonald's has reduced the calories in various breakfast options by employing egg whites instead of eggs and white cheddar cheese instead of American.

The chain has lightened up breakfast items from its Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit to its Sausage, Egg and Cheese McGriddle -- and even the Big Breakfast with Hotcakes. I decided to try out the new Egg White Delight McMuffin in comparison to the ever-favorite original Egg McMuffin to see if saving 50 calories, five grams of fat and 235 mg of cholesterol is worth it.

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Photos by Nicholas L. Hall

Dining out with children is an exercise in situational awareness. Each experience is unique, with different variables leading to different possible outcomes, DEFCON-like in their escalating threat levels. Keen observation, forward planning and prior experience are critical in determining the proper strategy. Here at DEFCON Dining, we do the grunt work for you. It ain't always pretty.

I forgot where Fountain View Café was. I have no idea how. All I know is, I pulled up in front of Harvest Organic Grille, after having waxed more than slightly rhapsodic about pancakes for the previous 25 minutes, only to find Fountain View, that bastion of lace-edged breakfast pastries, inexplicably "gone." Of course, I was just off by one strip-mall section, and apparently blinded by my desire for breakfast foods.

I raised the question on Twitter, no doubt confusing many a hash-brown-hound, and was met with confusion. Nobody knew what I was talking about. A few weeks later, I asked again. Assured that it was still a going concern, though no less baffled by my inability to spot if from 20 yards away, I headed toward Fountain View Café with the wife and kids on a recent Saturday.

Generally, I can count on breakfast as the Switzerland of meals. Everyone loves breakfast, including my sometimes frighteningly picky six year old. If she can order eggs, I can count on order. Or so I thought. I'm not sure what went wrong that weekend. Maybe it was the early wakeup call of a new Saturday activity. Maybe it was the fact that she's a six year old. You can never tell with six year olds. Shifty bunch.

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Photo by David Lifson

Through thick and thin.

"When did we decide to start putting breakfast foods on everything?" I wondered aloud while talking to my friend Stefanie Gans last week by phone. Gans is the dining editor for Northern Virginia Magazine, and was hard at work researching an article on national meat trends when she called me at home last Friday morning.

Beef, I told her, is as big in Texas as it ever was. We like short ribs -- like the slow-smoked ones drawing crowds at Killen's pop-up barbecue dinners, or the recent Menu of Menus-winning ribs over jalapeño-cheese grits from Frank's Americana Revival -- and we like Akaushi beef, such as is found in the aggressively flavored patties at The Burger Guys.

But we also still have a tendency to want to put bacon and/or a fried egg on everything. Pork bellies are still on nearly every menu, I laughed, as I looked down and realized in a bit of a stupor that I was making the very meal I was poking fun at.

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Photo by Francisco Montes

Trancito Diaz proudly standing before his pastries.

Who is he?

La Guadalupana Bakery and Café is a small unassuming restaurant tucked away in the corner of a small lot that it shares with a convenience store and a washateria. It's easy to miss if you're driving down Dunlavy any given day of the week and not actively looking for it. However, if you do venture inside you will discover some of the best Mexican food Houston has to offer.

Receiving recognition from the Houston Press numerous times over the last few years for its breakfast -- and its migas in particular -- La Guadalupana is a gem in Montrose. This is due to owner and head chef Trancito Diaz, who opened the restaurant over a decade ago. Diaz first came to the United States as an immigrant from Mexico in 1982, where he started out as a simple dishwasher. This first job would serve as a mere jumping off point that would eventually lead to Diaz opening his own establishment.

What does he do?

Diaz oversees the full menu at La Guadalupana. Over the years he has acquired a binder full of recipes. "This is my binder, It holds all the recipes I've obtained over the years with my own personal modifications to fit my own style and make them unique to me". He manages the restaurant every day and employees his son, Robert, as a manager as well.

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Photo by Brooke Viggiano

Sundays are made for mimosas. The weekend is nearly over and you can feel your freedom fading faster than a Houston winter. It all seems to be going downhill. That is, until you remember you have the holy grail of weekend activities summoning you from the cocoon of blankets you've so delicately wrapped yourself in: the forever-sacred Sunday Brunch.

Recently, still feeling the remnants of a particularly fun Saturday night, I tried Royal Oak Bar & Grill for the first time...and even with a wee bit of a hangover, I was pleasantly surprised.

After parking around the corner (you can also deal with the lot across the street or valet), we sat ourselves on the patio out front, where the fans were humming and the music was cooing just loud enough to bury the sounds of the Westheimer traffic. The relaxing atmosphere and promise of $7 pitchers of mimosa were enough for me to let go of my post-Saturday anxiety.

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Triniti only offers its special brunch service on Sundays.

After the third out-of-towner in a week asked me why Saturday brunch wasn't a "thing" in Houston, I got curious. Once is a blip, twice is a coincidence, three times is a trend.

The problem is that -- as far as I know -- Saturday isn't the traditional brunching day of choice in Houston. Saturdays are our "get shit done" days. We can't afford to fall into a pitcher of mimosas on Saturdays. They're the days of kids' birthday pool parties and errands you couldn't get done during the week and soccer matches and mowing the lawn. During football season, they're also our sit-in-front-of-the-TV-with-friends-and-yell days.

See also:
- Where to Brunch on Easter Sunday 2013
- Sunday Brunch at Triniti: Affordable Luxury
- Saint Genevieve's Brunch Scene: La Strada Lite

"Tailgating is Saturday brunch," as my friend Lennie Ambrose at Saint Arnold Brewery puts it. "Break out the smoker -- or at least some extra cheap hotdogs -- a bloody mary and a lawn chair in a college parking lot."

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Photo by Jon Mountjoy

From holiday classics like the Easter bunny and roast leg of lamb to Mexican-style brunch buffets and live bands, here's where to eat this Easter:

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