Super ant killing sugar bombs!!!!

I hate, hate, hate, hate ants.  They are annoying and bothersome. They can spread germs and disease. As soon as we moved in to our new house I noticed that we were going to have an ant problem. My husband likes to use boric acid as an ant killer, but I really couldn't put that powder around on my counter tops in the kitchen. With our three year old, I don't want anything he can get into or reach.

I came up with the idea of mixing half and half sugar and boric acid in a cup. Then I added a little water (just enough to dissolve the mixture). Once it was mixed, I dropped a handful of cotton balls into my mixture. Once those were soaked in the mix, I place the balls in soda caps and on small pieces of paper plate.

I placed them in hidden spots that my son can't reach and then waited. The sugar draws the ants to them. At one point I couldn't see the cotton ball for all the ants on it.  Within, about 12 hours, I had not a single ant in my kitchen.

Crock-Pot Roasted Chicken

 

It's so hard to make sure our families eat a good home cooked meal everyday. I LOVE my crock-pots(yes, I said pots, I have two). It's very very easy to produce a nice "oven roasted" chicken in your crock pot.

 

Put your chicken in the crock pot and season however you would like it. Put 2 cups of water in the bottom of the pot. With lid on cook on low for 6-8 hours or 4-6 hours on high.  Enjoy.

DIY Pepper Pen Fridge Magnet

 

DIY Pepper Pen Fridge Magnet

 

 

 

This is one of the easiest projects I've ever done and a great way to upcycle.  All it takes is a strong magnet, a metal pepper box, and  a hot glue gun.





 

Remove the lid from the pepper box.

 

 

Glue magnet on to the back of the container.

 

Now you can use it on the fridge to hold those pens your always looking for. I also want to find something that I can use to hold a post it note pad. I like the idea of using things that we would normally find in the kitchen in a new a creative way.   Any ideas out there???????

 

A Different Style of DIY Laundry Soap

OK, So we all know that laundry soap isn't cheap and that there are so many to choose from. I have tried so many different kinds and find something I like and something I hate about almost all of them. I've also tried to do some of the different DIY soaps out there. There are a few different versions going around on pinterest. I like the idea of making my own soap and it really saves me money. I add a little twist to mine by adding a little of my favorite smelling surf powdered laundry soap.

2 cups washing soda
2 cups borax
3 cups Surf (our your favorite powdered laundry soap)
1 bar Fels-Naptha laundry soap

 Grate or cut Fels-Naptha in to small pieces. Put in medium size sauce pan with plenty of water. Place on stove over medium heat and stir frequently until all the soap is melted.

Add the other ingredients and mix until dissolved.

 

 Take off heat and mix in a bucket with 10 gallons of water. Mix well.

 Once mixed you can put it in smaller containers. I put mine in one gallon containers. I shake mine well before every load.

When I make this I get three batches out of the washing soda, borax, and surf. After the three batches I still have borax and surf left. I like adding the surf to the mix for the extra boost and smell. I still save tons of money and I use the extra surf in other cleaner mixes and for my carpet.  I hope you all find this helpful.
 

God Bless.

Oh So Simple....Chinese Fried Rice.....

Chinese Fried Rice.....That amazing "side" dish that I can make a meal of. I love going out to the local chinese spot and eating my weight that wonderful stuff. There is only one problem......It's expensive.  I was on Pinterest the other day when I came across a great idea.....Make it at home. I found a great recipe on another blog called Life as a Lofthouse. Check it out for some great Fried rice. I made a couple of changes though....

I doubled the recipe and used brown rice. I also added more onion. Plus I didn't use the sesame oil. I just used a bit of veggie oil..... It came out soooooo good. My husband, who is usually a bit skeptical about the things I find online, loved it. I plan to make it often.

Photo from Life as a Lofthouse

Southwest Egg Rolls or Burritos, Chili's Style

My husband and I have always loved Chili's Southwest Eggrolls, but don't eat there often due to the cost. I was on Pinterest one day and came across a recipe for them. I got my recipe from http://deep-fried.food.com/recipe/chilis-southwest-egg-rolls-18319. I liked this version because it allows you to change the amount of servings that you want to make. I found one problem though...I asked for 20 servings and upon making them I got 13 servings. I think it's because we made them so fat.  They were SOOOOOO GOOD. I don't really like to fry foods so next time I think I'm going to make the filling and use it as burrito filling. I'm not gonna lie. This meal seems like it takes forever to make, but it's worth it. Happy Cooking.

Flavorful Pumpkin Pie Pudding

We love pumpkin pie at our house but we don't eat alot of it because it's not very good for you. I have heard of pumpkin pudding before and decided to give it a try. I looked at tons of different recipes and didn't really like any of them. So I took a few of them and changed them until i came up with this. It's wonderful and no sugar added. (Both my husband and I are diabetic so this is a plus).

If sugar isn't an issue to you, you could substitute the regular stuff for anything sugar free.

1 sugar free vanilla pudding mix. (any brand)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 can (15oz) pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar free maple syrup (any brand)
3/4 cup or 6oz either plain or vanilla yogurt
1 tub cool whip
3-4 graham crackers (made into crumbs)

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add pumpkin, maple syrup, yogurt and vanilla extract. Mix well with spoon or whisk. Fold in 3/4 cup Cool whip. Divide in to 6 equal serving cups. Top with your desired amount of cool whip and graham cracker crumbs.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

Wonderful Easy Mexican Chicken Soup

My family loves to eat. Sometimes it's hard to find something that everyone agrees on. And my Mexican chicken soup is something everyone loves. I make it both on stove top and in the crock pot. It can be an easy throw together meal or you can let it simmer all day and enjoy it as your day allows.



 

 

The following recipe is for a stove top batch. I will put in adjustments for crock pot cooking at the end.

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

1/2 pound of chicken, breast or dark meat cut into small pieces

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup of chunky salsa (as hot as you like it)

1 cup cooked brown rice

1can whole kernel corn

garlic and salt to taste

 

In a large pot mix chicken broth with water and add chicken pieces. Cook until meat is tender. Usually 8-10 minutes. Add cream of chicken soup and salsa stir until well mixed. Add rice, corn, garlic, and salt. Mix well, lower heat and cook about another 8-10 minutes.

 

*****If you decide to crock pot it,  put all ingredients in the crock pot. Use uncooked rice and increase water by a cup. Cook on low for about 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.

 

I also always heat up some flour tortillas on the side. YUMMY!!!! I hope you enjoy.