Hailing from a ranch in northern Oklahoma, Ree Drummond is a city girl turned rancher’s wife/mother/cook/comic.  Have you seen her hilarious (and scrumptious website)?  If not, where have you been?  It’s time, folks.

Enter here to see for yourself.

If you get lost–hello?  hello?–come back…please come back.

This is what I’m talking about.  Did you see all those recipes?  And photos of the results?  Can you resist not dragging everything out of your pantry and fridge, just to see if you have all the ingredients?  Or doing a midnight run to the grocery store, just to stock up?

I apologize in advance for ruining any self-resolve or self-control you may pride yourself on.  Because it will be like you never made those promises to yourself.  You’ll conveniently put off your good figure until NEXT YEAR, or even later.  If you don’t believe me, keep reading.

So, Ms. Drummond lives on a ranch with Marlboro Man (her husband) and their four adorable children.  If you still don’t believe me, pick up her new, fresh-off-the-presses cookbook called The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl, in which she has lovely pictures of all of them.  I’m still officially disgruntled at my friend Kelly for sending the book to me.  Seriously, I gained 10 pounds just reading the dang thing.  [Okay, no, really, I enjoyed it.  Thanks, Kelly!  But I’m plotting my revenge…]

Anyway, it’s not a book for people worried about trans fats, saturated fats, and otherwise fats that cling to your thighs and hips (and other strange places you never knew could display fat so, so, avidly).  It’s for those who want to cook some darn good crowd-pleasing food for whoever is right in front of them–the kind that causes guests to faint from joy…or ask for your hand in marriage (even when they already know you’re married).

[I’ve already blogged about Ms. Drummond here and here, if you want to see what else I’ve tried from her website.]

The best part about the cookbook is the actual reading of it.  It’s laugh-out-loud funny, very much like Ms. Drummond’s website.  For instance, do you see that fabulous fruit dessert at the top of this page?  Well, it’s in the cookbook.  I happen to like her online “dialogue” that accompanies the recipe a little better, though, so here’s a snippet (you’ll have to follow the link next to the picture at the top, just to see the pictures that accompany these instructions):

“Now take this deliciously cold, creamy, sweet, evil, decadent, ridiculous, sinful, ecstasy-inducing maple cream sauce…

“And start drizzling it all over the peach crisp.

“Don’t be shy…

“Really let it flow.

“I’m sorry, I know this is cruel.

“But I believe in full disclosure. I just don’t think it would be fair for me to hold back any of these photos. I want you to know what you’re getting into.

I’m all about keepin’ it real, you know.”

Isn’t she a hoot?  She’s my kind of girl!

Ya’ gotta live a little in life, don’t you think?

Well…what are you waiting for?  Now you can leave this page…go, go, go!

[Post image: Peach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce, from The Pioneer Woman]