Main Page Category and Excerpt Restrictions

I've just switched to Create Pro from Simple Catch. I would like to have only a specific post category show on the main page and don't see an option to specify this in the Create Pro. I also would like to have images in a post appear in the excerpt, I've played around with the length, but it will only include words. The site in question is: http://www.thecollegecook.com Could you help me out?