Another Addition

I'm a pet lover - as you can tell from my blog and photos of my two little pups (Rudy & Lizzy), plus the dog treat recipes that are also available from this site. BUT- I never imagined that I would be a proud pet owner of not one, or two- BUT THREE (Yes, that's right) three dogs.

This is the newest addition to the family- Max. He's 17 weeks and a Boxer/Terrier mix.

You're asking yourself- how, why, what, seriously? Well, all I can say is Max is a rescue puppy. My husband and I were at my parent's lake house on Bull Shoals Lake last weekend and that is where this little stole my heart. My mother and I were driving back from a shopping trip to Harrison, AR and that is where I popped over a hill and saw this small little puppy running at me in the middle of the road. I swerved to miss him, the car behind me did the same, as did the the car behind them. The little guy looked lost, confused and so needy.

I pulled off the road a little ways on up the highway and then made a trek up the highway to try and get this little puppy out of the highway. During this time the little guy (Max) was still running scared all over the road and somehow dodged two boaters and a SUV.

He finally came to me and I instantly fell in love! How could you not with those puppy dog eyes.

Since this part of the lake is desalinate- I took him around to five houses to see if he belonged to anyone. No takers.

I brought him back to my parent's house and when Charlie saw me bring him in the house- asking..."What is that..." and I began to explain the story...then he said "I understand" - I knew we were going to add another to the family.

So- welcome Max!

Cranberry Lovers Muffins

Who doesn't like cranberry muffins for a nice morning treat! Pair up these muffins with a cold glass of milk, add a little butter to the muffins when they come out of the oven- and you can't go wrong!

Don't like cranberries substitute for blueberries.

Cranberry Lovers Muffins
¾ cup whole wheat flour

¼ cup ground flaxseed or oat bran

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1½ cups old-fashioned oats

2 large eggs

1 cup white grape juice concentrate

½ cup all-fruit cherry or raspberry preserves

1/3 cup canola oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries

½ cup dried cranberries (preferably unsweetened)

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a standard-sized 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In large bowl, combine flour, flaxseed, baking powder, soda, and salt. Stir in oats. In another bowl, combine eggs, juice concentrate, preserves, oil, and vanilla until smooth. Slowly stir into flour mixture; be careful not to overmix. Gently fold in all the cranberries.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin. Bake 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack; let cool completely. Store muffins at room temperature in tightly sealed container for 3 days or frozen for 3 months. Makes 12 muffins