Great freebie!!!

Here is a link to a free one year subscription to Every Day with Rachel Ray magazine and enter promo code JR44YNSE

I just ordered my free year:O) I love to cook and bake and Rachel makes it easy and quick!!

Some of my favorite recipes

Here are some of my go-to recipes. These aren't all of them but these are just the ones that were handy. And I will do my best to be as detailed as possible but my copies onto 3x5 cards are a little lacking in details:O) As I've said before, I'm pretty laid back with things and cookin' and bakin' isn't any different.

Ranch Dip
*2 tsp. minced garlic
*8 tsp. minced onion
*2 tsp. pepper
*2 tsp. sugar
*2 1/2 tsp. paprika
*2 1/2 tsp. parsley
I mix everything in a zippered bag. Add 1 tbsp. per cup of sour cream for dip. Add 1 tbsp. per 1 cup of mayo and 1 cup buttermilk for dressing.

Pancakes
*2 cups flour
*2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
*3 tbsp. sugar
*1/2 tsp. salt
*2 eggs
*1 1/2-1 3/4 cups milk
Mix together and cook as usual. If batter is still a little thick, add a tad more milk.

BBQ Sauce
*1 cup ketchup
*1 tbsp. mustard
*3 tbsp. Worcestershire's sauce
*2 tbsp. vinegar
*1 tbsp. lemon juice
*3 tbsp. brown sugar
*1 tbsp. black pepper
I will mix this up right before I use it and heat it a bit to melt the sugar. I also add other spices and a little more vinegar. This is just a basic recipe you can change to your tastes:O)

Creamed soup
*1 tbsp. butter
*3 tbsp. flour
*1/2 cup milk
*1/2 cup chicken broth or beef broth
Mix cold milk with flour and whisk in a pan while heating over lowish heat. Add the rest of the ingredients. I will also make this with mushrooms for a creamed mushroom soup base.

Blueberry Muffins
*1/2 cup oats
*1/2 cup orange juice
*1 1/2 cups flour (wheat)
*1/2 cup sugar
*1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
*1/2 tsp. salt
*1/4 tsp. baking soda
*1/2 cup oil (olive)
*1 egg
*1 cup blueberries
Bake 18-20 minutes at 400 degrees. Makes 12. I will double this recipe for our big family. I also change the fruit to banana nut and I've make chocolate ones. Have fun and experiment with them!!

Chewy Granola Bars
*6 cups oats
*3 ozs dry fruit
*1 cup brown sugar
*1 cup melted butter (real stuff!!)
*1 cup corn syrup (honey)
*1/2 cup flaked coconut
*package of choco chips (any chips), nuts, etc.
Press into a greased (spray) cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.

That is all I have for now. Please let me know if you have any questions or if I missed anything on the recipes.

I've got a ton of stuff to do in the kitchen today (yummy!!) but I will try to get pics of the property. I need to take some things down to my in-laws and I'll get that side too:O) It's a cloudy day though, so I'm not sure how the pics will turn out...I hate my new camera!

This place is cursed!

I swear...I get a few minutes in between bakin' and the kids gettin' home so I go out to see Spirit and take a few pics. Maybe see if I can capture what I see...the sadness and anger.

Well, one of the outside cats came with me to scrounge a little from the bucket, Missy. About the time my flash went off, so did Spirit on Missy's front leg...WTF!!!! What is goin' on here? I have never had so many injured, sick or dead animals in a span of 2 years...not even put together and I've had some animals over the years.

That is the look that haunts me...and the look in the first pic is how alert and spooky he is.

Just say the cat outside and her left front foot is just flappin'. Now I need to decide if needs put down. Cats have an amazing talent to heal but I just don't know. Gosh...I feel terrible.

And then to top off what should have been a good day...Brandon has to work tomorrow so we can't finish our Christmas shoppin' like we had planned. He has to work through next week. It's overtime but I say money ain't enough...

Guess I'm off for more bakin'. Finished a monster batch of Pumpkin Cookies. Now I need to finish cutting the pecan fudge, make no-nut fudge (crazy non-nut lovin' people), Russian Teacakes and the Truffles...MERCY...that's a lot. O-and make fried chicken for dinner...paint myself in a corner:O)