Getting Rid of Fruit Flies and Ants

I saw this on Pinterest and thought this is just what I needed! I have been having fruit flies everywhere and they are bugging me. Literally. So let’s get rid of them! Here is an awesome way to get rid of them naturally. It is the same concept as the bee traps!

Fruit Fly Trap

1 quart jar
1 piece of paper, rolled up into a funnel
tape
apple cider vinegar
small slice of banana

Fill a quart jar with a 1/2 inch of apple cider vinegar and a small piece of banana. Roll up your paper into a funnel shape (larger at the top) and tape it in place. Place the funnel into your jar and make sure all the edges are secured shut with tape. You may have to adjust the size of your funnel to make sure it fits nicely into your jar. Place the jar where the fruit flies are flying around and let it go to work. You will be amazed at how well this trap works. The fruit flies will smell the fruit and climb inside, but they don’t fly back up the funnel to get out. When you have caught a good supply, place the entire jar in the freezer. After a short time that flies with die and you can remove the jar from the freezer and use it again without even removing the old contents. Use repeatedly until your fruit flies are eliminated.

As you can see in the picture, this easy trap is amazingly effective!

Courtesy of http://doitandhow.com/category/around-the-house/page/21/

Ant Trap

We are often plagued with ants in the Spring and Summer time. We have various sorts of carpenter and sugar ants. This little concoction does the trick!

1-2 Tbsp. borax (borax is a natural laundry boosting powder available in the laundry section of the store)
1-2 cups hot water
1 cup sugar
folded paper towel
small shallow cup (like a creme burlee dish)

dissolve borax in hot water. Stir in sugar. Dip the folded paper towel, using tongs, in the solution till completely saturated with solution. Cram the paper towel in the dish. Place in location where you have seen the ants, preferably inside and outside the house. This solution will be eaten by the ants and taken back to the nest to share with the other ants and thus eradicate the entire nest. Keep away from children by placing on a counter top or cupboard, if possible.

~Master Sissy~

 

Who is up for a challenge?

Challenge, you say?? Yes challenge, not that our lives have enough here is one more to add!

We have been making our sandwich bread for a while now. I have an awesome Whole White Wheat recipe that I have been using and makes a good couple loaves! The only down fall: I don’t have a dough hook, so I have to do it by hand.

Enter bread machine.

From high school.
(yes I got one for my birthday, maybe around 14/15, so the sucker is minimum 12yo)

Just dated myself but I digress… old but yet effective!

So I have another awesome recipe for the machine, and it simple, allows for soaking the grains (aides in digestion! 😉 ) and it will be ready come lunch time!

So here’s the deal, making things from scratch, it’s a pain sometimes, but it saves a ton! You can make a lot on the cheap! And on the cheap, let’s be honest, that’s how we roll around here!

With bread you can make several loaves, allow to cool, slice and freeze. That way you have bread all week. Or if you have a bread machine, throw most of the ingredients in the night before, quick mix to incorporate, let soak all night, add the rest in the morning and turn it on, fresh bread! Every. single.day.

Cookies, well lets just say the cook and I are tight, we have an understanding with each other. I devour them and well, they devour me, aka:the spare tire around my waist.

I didn’t say it was a good understanding but hey, you take what you can get!

Make a good couple batches, roll them into balls, place on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once completely frozen, place in a container or bags and pull as needed. Need a quick snack, dessert or the like? You will have fresh-baked cookies in under 15 minutes!

So the Challenge…

I challenge each of you sissies to think about what is the one staple you spend a ton on? (bread, cookies, seasonings, ice cream, crackers, pancakes, waffles etc.)

No, that’s not the challenge, just to think, ha.

Make it! Yep that’s right, make it. Now, it WILL take a few times to find that perfect recipe that everyone loves (or at least majority rules!).  Try a few recipes, see what you like and don’t like, but once you get the groove it will come easily and you will start seeing the savings!

~Master Sissy~

Welcome Sissies!

Well, we are up and running. Sort of. I am still figuring things out and still trying to navigate so please bear with me! This website is all new to me and a bit confusing at times but I think I have figured it out for the most part! I am so excited to have this going and you will probably see some changes to the site as we go along!

This is the second post, the first is one of my favorite chili recipe that I posted in trying to figure out WordPress! So enjoy! There is not much up yet but that will change soon! So please come back frequently for more posts!!

~Master Sissy~

Hearty Vegetable Chili

 

2 cans black beans (I usually use 3-4 cups cooked dry black beans, I like the more homemade flavor it gives it)

1 can pinto or garbanzo beans

1 can kidney beans

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic minced

1 large or 2 medium onions

1 orange bell pepper or color of choice

2 stalks celery w/ leaves, chopped

½ summer squash, chopped

1 small zucchini, chopped

2 cans diced tomatoes

1-2 cups frozen corn

1/4 cup Sucanat

2+ Tablespoons chili powder

½ -1 ½ Tablespoon sea salt (to taste)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon pepper

Juice of ½ -1 whole lime (to taste)

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Be sure to drain the beans well you can use canned or cook your own dry. Use whatever variety of beans you want. In large pot saute garlic, onion, bell pepper, celery, squash, and zucchini in olive oil for a 3 or 4 minutes. Add the drained beans, diced tomatoes (DON’T DRAIN), and corn. Add rest of ingredients except cilantro, bring to a boil and boil off a bit of the liquid until it is a chili consistency. Remove from heat stir in the cilantro, can reserve some to sprinkle fresh on top. We had this chili on baked potatoes with sesame dip, some fresh sliced tomatoes. With fresh cilantro on top!