Robin's Random Recipes

These are delicious on their own, even better as the crust for caramel nut bars.

14 oz. (28 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened
1.5 tsp finely chopped lemon zest
5 3/4 oz (.75 cup) sugar
.5 tsp salt
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
21 oz (1 lb 5 oz, 4.67 cups) flour

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine butter, zest, sugar, and salt, beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat it in well. Add vanilla. Stir in the flour until blended. Spread the dough out, about an inch thick, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until firm.

Roll dough, cut with cookie cutters, and bake for 15 to 20 min until the edges turn golden.

Adapted from Good Eats.

2 whole slabs pork baby back ribs

Dry Rub:
8 tablespoons light brown sugar, tightly packed (3.75 oz)
1.5 tablespoons kosher salt (the original rec. calls for 3T which makes the sauce too salty when it reduces)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon rubbed thyme
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Braising Liquid:
12 oz. beer or wine
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 cloves garlic, chopped

In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Place each slab of baby back ribs on a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, shiny side down. Sprinkle each side generously with the dry rub. Pat the dry rub into the meat. Refrigerate the ribs for a minimum of 1 hour. In a microwavable container, combine all ingredients for the braising liquid. Microwave on high for 1 minute.

Place the ribs and liquid in a crockpot and cook on high for six hours.

Transfer the braising liquid into a skillet (the larger surface area will help it reduce faster.) Bring the liquid to a simmer and reduce by half or until of a thick syrup consistency. Meanwhile, transfer the ribs to a foil-lined half sheet pan. Brush the glaze onto the ribs. Place under the broiler just until the glaze caramelizes lightly. Place the remaining hot glaze into a bowl and toss the rib portions in the glaze.

*This recipe makes several batches of dry rub. I make a double batch and keep it in the pantry.

I can't vouch for this personally because I hate, loathe, and despise bananas and everything they touch. My husband and daughters, however, love the damn things so being the devoted wife and mother that I am, I clothespin my nose and make them bread when the bananas go south. This is Kerri's recipe, verbatim.

1/2 C butter
1 1/2 C Sugar
2 Eggs
1 C crushed banana (I usually put whatever I have that is speckled - usually
2 bananas - the more brown the better)
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 C Flour
1 tsp Soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C sour milk (Regular milk with a dash of vinegar will make it sour)

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, bananas and vanilla; mix well. Sift Flour with soda and cinnamon, add all at once(I am a lazy cook - I never do the sifting part and it seems to turn out fine - I just kind of dump it all in the mixer). Beat until smooth. Pour in greased and floured loaf pan. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

(Editor's note: I typically make mini loaves instead. Each pan takes about 2/3c of batter and it makes 9-10 loaves. They bake for 20-30 minutes.)

Big thanks to Trina for the recipe pointer! I usually make Pumpkin Bread as muffins, but these are a true muffin. And practically health food! I used powdered buttermilk and no sunflower seeds.

These muffins are very moist and the added quinoa boosts the protein and offers a nice crunch.

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 1/4 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
3/4 Brown Sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 cup cooked* Quinoa Organic Grain
2 large Eggs
3/4 cup Unsweetened Canned Pumpkin
1/2 cup Low-Fat Buttermilk (well shaken)
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Sunflower Seeds (Raw Shelled)

Place a rack in the center and preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease muffin tin with pam or crisco w/ flour. Set aside.

Melt the butter and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the cooked quinoa, separating the grains with a fork to distribute them evenly.

In another bowl, beat the eggs. Add the pumpkin, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla. Whisk until the mixture is smooth.

Gradually stir the liquid into the dry ingredients just until the flour is incorporated. It's fine if the batter is slightly lumpy. Do not overmix.

Divide the batter among 12 muffin cups. (Each should be about 3/4 full.) Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sunflower seeds on top of each muffin. Bake until the muffins are nicely browned around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Set the tins on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Remove muffins to cooling rack. Eat warm or cool directly on the rack. If not eating the same day, freeze for up to 3 months.

*NOTE: To cook Quinoa, bring 1 cups water to boil. Stir in 1/2 cup Quinoa and reduce heat to medium/low. Cover and cook for 12 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with fork and let stand for 10-15 minutes.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION: One muffin contains: 200 Calories, 70 Calories from Fat, 8g Total Fat, 3.5g Saturated Fat, 50mg Cholesterol, 220mg Sodium, 30g Total Carbohydrates, 3g Dietary Fiber, 15g Sugars, 5g Protein.

These are inspired by the squash & cream cheese bars at the Roanoke Natural Foods Co-Op. I snagged the crust from my Lemon Bars and the filling from a Pampered Chef recipe.

Crust:
2 c flour (9 oz)
.5 c sugar (4 oz)
1 t lemon zest
pinch salt
1 c butter (8 oz)

Filling:
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. sugar
1 egg

Batter:
1 c. pumpkin, roasted and pureed (8.5 oz) (can sub canned)
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 c. flour (4.5 oz)
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine dry topping ingredients in food processor, pulse to combine. Add butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Press into a greased 9x13 pan.

Bake until lightly browned, 20-25 min.

Increase oven temp to 375F.

Whisk together filling ingredients; set aside.

For the batter, combine the pumpkin, sugar, egg, and oil; mix well. In a large bowl stir together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and ginger. Stir wet ingredients into dry, do not overmix.

Pour batter onto crust.

Drizzle cream cheese mixture over batter. Cut through batter with knife several times for marbled effect. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool; cut into squares.