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I love this idea–a free downloadable summer reading kit–click here.

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

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Glorious Pecan Toffee Squares

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Filling:
• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1½ cups light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 1 pound pecan halves
• Topping:
• 2 cups chocolate chips, semisweet or bittersweet

Instructions

1. For the crust:
2. Preheat the oven to 350° and set rack to the middle of the oven. Line 9″ x 13″ pan with parchment paper and set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl for 3 minutes, scraping the bowl down as needed. Add the egg and vanilla. Lastly, add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until well blended.
4. Press evenly into the parchment lined baking pan. The dough is very sticky. Use a spoon to help guide the dough while holding the parchment paper from the other side of the pan or flour the palm of your hand before pressing the dough into the pan. Bake at 350° for 24 minutes, rotating the pan front to back halfway through.
5. For the filling:
6. While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. Bring the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup to a boil in a medium size saucepan over medium heat. Boil for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and add the cream, stirring to combine. Lastly, add the pecan halves and stir well.
7. Pour over the baked crust, evenly spreading the nuts and the caramel sauce. Return the pan to the 350° oven and bake for 18 minutes, rotating the pan front to back halfway through.
8. Remove the squares from the oven and turn the oven off. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top and place the pan back in the oven for 3 minutes.
9. Place the pan on a cooling rack and gently swirl the chocolate over the squares. Immediately place both the cooling rack and the pan into the refrigerator and cool for 1¾ hours. Score the top of the bars with a sharp thin knife and return to the refrigerator to cool completely. This is done so that the chocolate does not break apart once it is completely chilled.
10. Lift the parchment paper and transfer to a cutting board. Cut The Ultimate Pecan Toffee Squares into bars using a sharp thin knife, rotating the cutting board so that the square you are cutting is in front of you. Transfer to a serving plate.
11. Sneaky inside tips:
12. The parchment paper makes it much easier to cut the squares evenly. However, using a 9” x 13” ungreased and unlined pan will also work, but it is much harder to remove the squares this way.
13. I prefer bittersweet chocolate chips on top of my squares, but semisweet will work just as well. For that matter, milk could also be fabulous if that is your favorite chocolate.
14. When cutting Pecan Toffee Squares, cut one square at a time. I have tried cutting horizontally across all of the bars at once and have found that the top and bottom separate this way.

Culinary Credit Goes To: DessertRequired.com

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Gnocchi mac & cheese

Ingredients:

1 pound purchased or homemade gnocchi
2 Tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1/4 cup shredded fontina cheese
Salt and white pepper to taste
1/3 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
Basil leaves for garnish, optional (I chopped fresh basil and added it in to my cheese sauce)

Procedures:

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare gnocchi according to package directions. Drain and place gnocchi in a single-layer in a 1-1/2 quart shallow baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in flour until it thickens and bubbles, then whisk in milk and Dijon. Continue to whisk mixture and cook until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes.

Combine Gruyere and fontina, then add by the handful to milk mixture, stirring until melted before adding the next handful. Once all cheese is melted, season sauce with salt and pepper.
Pour sauce over gnocchi and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano over top. Bake gnocchi until they puff and the cheese is golden and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Let gnocchi rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Culinary Credit goes to: The Cutting Edge Of Ordinary

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Homemade Frozen Pizza

Yield: 3 (9-inch) pizzas

Total Time: 24 hours

Ingredients:

Directions:

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Download a free copy of The Ultimate Gluten-Free Cookbook Collection.

Please note that the price is currently $0.00, but that could change at any time. Be sure to check the price before checking out to verify that it is still free.

This ebook is specifically for Kindles, but you can go here to download a free application that enables you to read Kindle ebooks on your PC.

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

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If you’re new to Swag Bucks, it’s a free rewards program that lets you earn points for online shopping, web searches, taking polls and more. Just a few searches a day can help you earn points quickly. Then trade them in for prizes like Amazon gift cards, iPods, DVDs, video games and more. And who couldn’t use some Amazon gift cards!

You’ll earn 30 or more Swag Bucks just for signing up for the free rewards program. As a bonus, you’ll also earn an extra 50 Swag Bucks on your birthday!

Go here to get started!

Thanks, Coupon Cravings!

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Book Adventure

There are hundreds of books to choose from in all reading levels.  These are common books that can be found at your local library.  Once they have earned enough points they can trade them in for some fairly impressive swag.

Half Price Books – They are offering kids ages 14 and under a chance to earn a $5.00 Gift Card for reading just 15 each day throughout the summer!

National Amusements Theaters Bookworm Wednesdays - Your child can earn a FREE movie ticket from National Amusements Theaters when they read a book and complete a book report.

PBS Kids Summer Reading Challenge – This challenge kicks off on June 6th and includes a FREE six week reading program and the chance for your kids to win daily prizes for their participation.

Barnes & Noble Imagination Destination - This summer reading program through Barnes & Noble gives your child the ability to earn a FREE book after reading 8 books and keeping track of them in a reading log.

Local Public Library - Don’t forget to check out your local libraries to find out which programs they’ll be offering this summer.  My kids have participated in several Summer reading Programs through the library and it always includes FREE books & prizes.

TD Bank Summer Reading Program – Read and keep track of 10 books this summer and your child will get $10 added to their Young Saver Account FREE!

Chuck E. Cheese – Earn 10 FREE tokens every time your child reads for 2 weeks in a row.  Just fill out the form and bring it in to claim your free token.

Scholastic Summer Challenge - Log in your reading minutes to the Scholastic site and your child will be able to participate in a World Record challenge as well as earn digital prizes.

Thanks,  Saving Dollars and Sense!

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Pre-screened and already background checked!

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Chocolate Malt Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2    cups  all-purpose flour
•  1   cup sugar
•  1/4  cup unsweetened baking cocoa
•  1   teaspoon baking soda
•  1/2  teaspoon salt
•  1  cup water
•  1/3  cup vegetable oil
•  1  teaspoon white vinegar
•  1 teaspoon vanilla
•  1  cup chocolate fudge topping
•  6 cups vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
•  2 cups malted milk ball candies, coarsely chopped
•  1  cup whipping (heavy) cream
•  1/4 cup chocolate fudge topping
• *Additional malted milk ball candies, if desired–and I DO

1.  Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease bottom and side of springform pan, 9×3 or 10×2 3/4 inches, with shortening; lightly flour. In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Stir vigorously about 1 minute or until well blended. Immediately pour into pan.

2.  Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

3.  Spread 1 cup fudge topping over cake; freeze about 1 hour or until topping is firm. In large bowl, mix ice cream and coarsely chopped candies; spread over cake. Freeze about 4 hours or until ice cream is firm.

4.  In chilled medium bowl, beat whipping cream with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.

5.  Remove side of pan; place cake on serving plate. Top with whipped cream. Melt 1/4 cup fudge topping; drizzle over whipped cream. Garnish with additional candies.

Janelle gives culinary credit for this cake to Betty Crocker.com

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Thanks, One Cheap Chick!

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Cheap meals can be some the hardest to make interesting–click here for a free copy of “Low-Cost Healthy Dinners.”

OOO!  How fun to try a new wine and food pairing.  Click here for a new recipe book from the nice people at “Food & Wine”

“16 Amish Country Recipes” from Mr. Food.  That’s different…click here to take a look.

Is your waistline uncomfortably aware that we’re getting close to summer?  Here’s the “Lighten Up!” cookbook from Mr. Food–click here.

Mercola released an eCookbook that teaches you recipes that are right for your specific body type–click here to order.

“25 Ways To Cook Pork Chops”–now that’s ambitious, eh?  Click here for the Recipe Lion book.

Don’t fight your filthy love of the Cracker Barrel biscuits any more–click here for the “Top Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes.”

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Gluten-Free Coupons: 

Glutino Pretzels $3.22/Bag Shipped: Amazon has Glutino Gluten Free Pretzel Sticks, 8-Ounce Bags (Pack of 12) for just $38.66 with Subscribe & Save (down from $64.80), which makes these approximately $3.22 bag! Shipping is free, as usual, with Subscribe & Save.

P. F. Chang’s 15% Discount: Today, in honor of Tax Day, P. F. Chang’s is offering a 15% discount on all online orders (must pick up on 4/17). P. F. Chang’s gluten-free menu is here. Thanks, Gluten Free Birmingham!

58% Off Living Without eBooks: This week’s deal from Gluten-Free Saver is $15 for 4 eBooks by Living Without (a $36 value): The books include Gluten-Free Soups, Gluten-Free One-Pot Meals, Kid-Friendly and Gluten-Free Recipes, and Gluten-Free Desserts.

Free Kindle Books: Today, you can download Delicious and Nutritious Gluten-Free Lunch Recipes for free. It is priced at $0.00 today on Amazon. The Everything Grow Your Own Vegetable Book is also still free today. Remember, you do not need to have a Kindle to download these freebies.

Thanks, Janelle at Gluten Freely Frugal!

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Turbo Tax is still offering free federal tax prep AND tax extension filings through midnight today (Tuesday 4.17).

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• 6 slices of bread
• 6 slices of bacon
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup of shredded cheese
• salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin pan with butter non-stick spray.

2. Using a cookie cutter, cut circles out of bread slices about 3 inches in diameter. (I confess I do not have a cookie cutter so I use the lid to my tub of orzo pasta and just cut around the edges ;D)

3. Take bread circles and press them into the muffin pan, set aside.

4. Heat a large skillet on medium-high. Cook bacon on the skillet until partially cooked but still pliable, about 3 minutes.

5. Shape bacon strips into the toast cups, fill with 1 Tbs of shredded cheese. Place in the oven for 5 minutes, allowing the bacon to toast just a little more. Remove from oven.

6. Crack your egg and separate out most of the egg white. Drop eggs into the cups, sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste. Place back in the oven and cook until white begins to set, about another 8 – 10 minutes.  The yolk should be creamy.

7. Remove from oven when done and pop out using a spoon, serve warm.

Thanks and culinary credit goes to Stacey Snacks

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Arby’s will have a coupon for free value curly fries on April 17. Visit the Arby’s Facebook page starting April 13 to get a coupon and enter its sweepstakes to win $5,000 in tax relief.

Bruegger’s will offer its Big Bagel Bundle for just $10.40 — a savings of up to $5 — April 14 through April 17. The Big Bagel Bundle includes a baker’s dozen of Bruegger’s 15-plus bagel varieties and two tubs of Bruegger’s cold-packed cream cheese, available in more than ten varieties. You’ll need a coupon, which you can download from Bruegger’s Facebook page .

Chili’s has a coupon for a free appetizer or dessert with the purchase of an adult entree April 16 through April 18. You can print the coupon or show it to your server via smart phone.

Cinnabon will offer two free Classic Cinnabon Bites on April 17 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at participating locations as part of its Tax Day Bites promotion.

Hooter’s will offer 20 boneless wings for $9.99 as a Tax Day Special April 17 at participating locations .

HydroMassage locations nationwide will provide free massages between April 16 and April 20 to help eliminate the stress of tax filing. Get a coupon for a free message at www.hydromassage.com/taxday.htm and call ahead to schedule a session.

MaggieMoo’s Ice Cream and Treatery will offer a free scoop of frozen yogurt from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. April 17 at participating locations .

Marble Slab Creamery will also offer a free scoop of frozen yogurt from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. April 17 at participating stores .

Office Depot is letting customers make 25 single-sided black and white copies and offering up to 5 pounds of shredding for free through April 16. No coupon is necessary, and the offer is valid in stores nationwide.

Panda Express will give a free single serving of its new Shanghai Angus Steak at participating locations April 17. To get this free offer, you’ll need to download a coupon by “liking” Panda Express on Facebook starting April 11.

P.F. Chang’s is offering a 15% discount at restaurants nationwide on dine-in and carry-out orders April 17 (alcohol and happy hour items excluded).

Thanks, Kiplinger~

Print a coupon for a free scoop of yogurt at MaggieMoo’s on April 17, 2012, from 4-7 p.m.

Sonic is celebrating Tax Day by offering half-priced drinks and slushes all day long on April 17, 2012.

By the way…

If you haven’t even thought about doing your taxes yet, here’s a couple of free options:

H&R Block is offering free federal tax return preparation, click here to get started.

TaxAct has the same free tax return goodness.  Click Mr. Box above.

Turbo Tax still tends to be the most popular, in terms of ease of use.  Click the box above to get started.

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Well, this is perfect for slackers like me…  Think about how excited you get when you see a long list of happy birthday wishes on Facebook.  I love it, but I’m not nearly good enough about remembering to keep up on everyone’s birthday.  Birthday FB is a new Facebook app that automatically sends out personalized Facebook wall posts for al of your friends on their birthday.  Handy, eh?  Click here to sign up, and become the thoughtful one in your crowd.

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More interested in organic living?  Download a free copy of Live Organic: 52 Brilliant Ideas.

Sneaky inside tip: these ebooks are  specifically for Kindles, but you can go here to download a free application that enables you to read Kindle ebooks on your PC.

Find more free ebooks here.

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

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Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes

My MacLeanie informed me that this was “the best of breakfast without all that omlet crap.”  So, there’s Ringing Endorsement #1

Ingredients:

Directions

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Keep the Littles busy with a free craft book with some simple, FREE, Easter crafts from “7 Cute Easter Craft Projects”–most of these crafts can be made with stuff you’ve already got at home.

Trying to think of something more exciting than the usual green bean casserole?  Flip through the free cookbook from Mr. Food–the “Everything Easter Cookbook”–I’m hoarding eggs to try one of the Frittatas the next day!

Still haven’t sent Easter flowers to my mother-in-law, the Amazing Miss Virginia.  I’ll need to hop on that.  (Editor’s note: get it?  Hop on that?  HAH!  You know you’re laughing.)  ProFlowers can still send a tulip bouquet with a free vase for a mere $19.99.  Click here to look around.

New egg designs to make you look like the most clever bunny EVER.  The free “Favecrafts Easter Egg Designs & Recipes” can be downloaded by clicking here.

Coupons:

$2.00 off Hormel Boneless Ham, click here.

$1.00 off 2 bags of Nestle chocolate eggs, click here

$1.00 off 2 bags of Wonka Jelly Beans, click here

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Thanks, One Cheap Chick!

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• 3/4 lb ground pork breakfast sausage–try to get the lowest possible fat content–the fatty stuff really gums up the little pie shape.  If so inclined, try the recipe with 1 cup cooked, crumbled bacon: even better!
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms, cooked
• 1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)

• 1/2 cup Original Bisquick mix
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs

• 1   Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 12 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray.
• 2   In 10-inch skillet, cook sausage and onion over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Cool 5 minutes; stir in mushrooms, salt, sage and cheese.
• 3   In medium bowl, stir baking mixture ingredients with whisk or fork until blended. Spoon 1 scant tablespoon baking mixture into each muffin cup. Top with about 1/4 cup sausage mixture. Spoon 1 tablespoon baking mixture onto sausage mixture in each muffin cup.
• 4   Bake about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, and tops of muffins are golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. With thin knife, loosen sides of pies from pan; remove from pan and place top sides up on cooling rack. Cool 10 minutes longer, and serve.

From the “Impossibly Easy” cooking series from Betty Crocker

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Here’s the Sneaky Inside Tip part:

• Click on the orange star in the right hand upper corner of the main page and type in ERIN to change to price from $24.99 to $19.99
• If you like, you can get a $15.00 rebate on shipping by joining their partner FreeShipping.com
• AND, for buying at least $19.99 worth of Easter goodies, they’ll send you a 2 year subscription to “Oprah” magazine–FREE!  I’ve never seen a discount on Oprah, so that’s amazing.  If you already have a subscription to “Oprah,” you can request a $10.00 rebate instead!
• Adding it all up, your discount takes the total price from $102.00 (including the magazine subscription) to as low as $27.00.  Not bad, eh?

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DVD/Blu-Ray coupons:

$2.00 off Adventures in Lalaloopsy Land DVD
$3.00 off with your purchase of Dora The Explorer: Dora’s Easter Adventure DVD

Candy coupons:

$0.30 off 4 oz. or larger HARIBO product

Download the “7 Cute Easter Craft Projects” eBook free–there’s plenty of ideas to keep the little people busy.

Let’s pretend for a minute that I’m not completely helpless in the kitchen.  I would totally download this free eCookbook for some new ideas for Easter dinner.  Well, I will download it.  I’m sure The Todd will appreciate it.  See?  I’ve done my part!

I’ve noticed that the Personalization Mall already has items on clearance for Easter–really cute personalized baskets, ornaments, t-shirts…really cute!

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I just checked with the study coordinator at Jean Brown Research, and they still have a few openings for new mothers and babies for the infant formula study.  Here’s why I love this study:

For YOUR baby: four months of free formula (about $500.00) visits with a pediatrician and up to $225.00 for expenses.  I know the formula they’re researching–it’s already out on the market, a top-tier formula with all the important additions, like DHA and Lutein.  They’re simply testing it to show a weight gain study for the World Health Organization, who wants to be able to use the formula in third world countries for little ones in need there.

If you’re using infant formula, I love the idea that you’re giving your little one the best start possible with this study.  And it’s wonderful to me that your efforts will also be saving the lives of little ones around the world.  What a wonderful Karmic cycle, eh?  You do need to be local: this is a Utah-based study.  If you’re interested, please click here for more information.  PLEASE pass this info on to someone who might use it–I really want them to have a lot of babies for a strong study.  Thanks!

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Tax Act is new to me, but they’re remarkably easy to order and download your software.

H&R Block is fast and extremely simple to use–but it’s best for very clear-cut tax returns.

Turbo Tax is also offering free tax prep software, their system has been rated very highly by “Forbes” and “Money Magazine.”

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I was lying in bed last night next to a peacefully slumbering Todd and trying to plan my spring cleaning.  I still love to do it every year–but the cobwebs drifting right above my head on the ceiling wasn’t helping my  concentration.  Imagine my delight to find the Keeper Sweeper: cleans like nobody’s business and ordering here will get you an extra set of mop heads.  It’s $19.99 total.

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Thanks, One Cheap Chick!

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Mary Helen’s Magnificent Mustard Sauce

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp plain yellow mustard (NOT the fancy stuff)

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

6 tbsp white vinegar

4 tbsp water

Low heat, stir till thickened.  Next time you see me I expect a hug, but don’t make it weird.

What about the corned beef?

I’ve heard questions from some of you about the corned beef–apparently a little intimidated.  Trust me, if a cooking feeb like ME can do it, so can you.  There’s a little packet of spices attached and clear instructions.  You either boil or bake, it’s up to you.  The corned beef comes usually in two ways–flats or points.  Flats are a little more expensive, points a little more fatty, so it’s up to you.  Throw in carrots, cabbage, potatoes, parsnips, and you’ve got a feast.

Plus!

You’ll have leftovers, so tomorrow I’m giving you my mother’s secret recipe for Colcannon.  Oh, you gonna love me!

This is The Todd in his MacLean of Duart kilt, and my brother-in-law Bill in his…well…I think Bill just really likes wearing a skirt.

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Coolness!  Travel Alaska is back!  This is an absolutely gorgeous full-color book about Alaska–we’ve used our dog-eared copy for homework, vacation planning, and showing the twins where Mom and Dad went on their honeymoon.  (Editor’s note: Juneau for salmon fishing, incredible!)  You might even be planning an actual vacation there, and it’s full of discounts and savings.  Click the Moose above to order.  It’s completely free.

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Beef ribs?  Asian?  Not usually the combination you expect, but I love beef ribs and this combo is killer–tender and not fatty.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons ginger , minced
• 1 tablespoon garlic , crushed
• ¼ cup hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar or 3 tablespoons Splenda sugar substitute
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons instant minced onion
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons sake
• 1 tablespoon five-spice powder
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 lbs beef back ribs or 4 lbs short rib of beef

Read more here from Food.com

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I don’t want to get you all teary-eyed, but imagine this: a free meal-planning service that would create your menus, scout out local coupons for ingredients needed and help you plan your shopping list.  Sniff…pass the tissues this way, would you?  Click the yellow banner to learn more about Food on The Table.

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For every parent of a child with special needs, the first time with a new caretaker is bone-chilling.  For little ones who may not be able to articulate problems, being able to trust the caregiver is crucial.  Care.com is a new screening service that has a special department for hiring the right people to work with children with special needs.  Click here to learn more.

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