Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake

INGREDIENTS
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon
7/8 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour (set aside 1/4 cup of this to toss with the blueberries)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
½ cup buttermilk


DIRECTIONS
1 - Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with lemon zest and 7/8 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy. (Note that 7/8 cup is just a cup minus the 1 Tablespoon which will be used for sprinkling over the top)
2 - Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.
3 - Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries.
4 - Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (or something similar) with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes. (Note: Baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary.) Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

THOUGHTS

I copied this directly from http://www.alexandracooks.com because my world would end if that website disappeared and I couldn't get back to this recipe.  It really would end. 

Slow Cooker Baby Back Ribs

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs baby back ribs
1/8 cup black pepper
1/8 cup paprika
1/8 cup turbinado sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 cup ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup bourbon
1/4 cup horseradish
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke (or hot sauce, if you are into that)

DIRECTIONS:
1 - The night before cooking the ribs, mix together the black pepper, paprika, turbinado sugar, salt, and dry mustard and rub the ribs.  If appropriate, cut the ribs so that they will fit in your slow cooker.  Put the rubs into an airtight container or plastic bag and refrigerate overnight.
2 - The next day, remove the ribs from the fridge and pre-heat the oven to 475 degrees. Place the ribs in a large roasting pan and bake for 30 minutes.
3 - Meanwhile, mix together the ketchup, brown sugar, bourbon, horseradish, and liquid smoke in a bowl.
4 - Place the ribs in a 6 quart slow cooker and add sauce so that it touches all ribs. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 9 hours.
5 - Remove the ribs from the slow cooker and keep warm by covering with aluminum foil. Move the sauce & drippings to a saute pan and simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes to thicken into barbecue sauce.  Serve the ribs with the barbecue sauce!

Fudgy Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars

INGREDIENTS:
 1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (approximately 32 crackers)
1 8 oz bag toffee chips
1 roll chocolate chip cookie dough
1 12 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 Tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS:
1 - Grease 13x9 dish and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Remove cookie dough from the fridge.
2 - In a mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup melted btter, 1.5 cups graham crumbs, and 3/4 cups toffee chips
3 - Press graham mixture into the bottom of the pan to form a crust.  Refrigerate at least 15 minutes.
4 - In a 2qt saucepan, heat the condensed milk, chocolate chips, and Tablespoon butter over medium heat.  Stir until melted and smooth being careful not to let it burn. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract.  Spread over the crust.
5 - In another bowl, break up the cookie dough into small bits and mix in 1/2 cup graham crumbs until well blended.  Crumble this mixture over the chocolate later.  Top with remaining toffee bits
6 - Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until top cookie layer is golden brown.  Cool at least 2 hours before attempting to eat.

THOUGHTS:
Delicious.  Thanks to http://familybites.blogspot.com/2011/07/fudgy-chocolate-chip-toffee-bars.html

Liberté Spring Chicken for One

INGREDIENTS:
1 Chicken breast
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 white wine
1 6oz Liberté Méditerranée Peach and Passion Fruit
1/2 peach, sliced, then cut to bite sized pieces
1 Tablespoon lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS:
1 - Season chicken with lemon pepper and dried basil. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat.
2 - Brown chicken in olive oil about 3 minutes per side
3 - Remove chicken from skillet and deglaze with about 2 Tablespoons of the white wine.  Combine remaining white wine with Liberté Méditerranée Peach and Passion Fruit, peach slices, and lemon juice and pour yogurt mixture into skillet.  Add chicken back to skillet, cover with yogurt mixture and put on med-low heat.
4 - Cover the skillet and cook about 20 minutes.  While cooking, periodically stir mixture and cut chicken into smaller pieces with spatula.  This assists you in knowing when the chicken is done - when you cut a piece of chicken that is done, juices should run clear and you should not see any pink.

THOUGHTS:
I was lucky enough to be selected for a Bzz Campaign for Liberté yogurt which resulted in me using coupons  for free samples.  During the campaign, I fell deeply in love with the Méditerranée Peach and Passion Fruit flavor.  You see, their yogurts are made with ingredients you can pronounce like milk and fruit! Anyway, since I love this yogurt so much, I wanted to try making a recipe centered around this tasty goodness.  If I may say so myself, I succeeded!!!  I served the above recipe to myself over rice and enjoyed every bite!