Natural Flea & Tick Remedy

For all those with pets, here's something to try that may help you rid your home and pets of fleas. I'm going to give it a try if we have another bad flea summer. Last year was the first time any of my animals had fleas and I hate putting the poisons  on their bodies.

Flea & Tick Remedy

8 oz apple cider vinegar
4 oz warm water
1/2 tsp salt
... 1/2 tsp baking soda

Mix dry ingredients first then slowly add to wet as the vinegar and baking soda will react slightly. Put into spray bottle and spray pets down. Be careful not to get in pets eyes.

Use Borax throughout the house, sprinkle it on the carpets and let sit for a few hours, then vacuum. This should kill all the fleas and ticks in your home and on your pets.


* It is safe for any animal, apple cider vinegar has a shelf life of about 3-5 years so I would assume you'd be fine to store it for a long time, just keep it out of direct sunlight and it shouldn't spoil. As for application, if your pet if flea and tick free then once a week, or after every bath. If they're infested, spray every couple days until infestation is gone, then do maintenance spraying of once a week or after every bath.

* Borax on animals: I wouldn't put borax directly on the animals, it might irritate their skin, but use on the floor is perfectly fine. I've used this combo in the past when I had dogs and cats that were indoor/outdoor. Works great! Also cedar chips in and around pet beds works to repel fleas and ticks.

Slow Cooked Beef Brisket

 1 jar (16 ounces) Pace® Picante Sauce
... 1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons reduced sodium Worcestershire sauce
1 large onion, sliced (about 1 cup)
1 beef brisket (3 to 4 pounds)
How to Make It

1

Stir the picante sauce, molasses, vinegar, Worcestershire and onion in a 5-quart slow cooker. Add the beef, trimming to fit, if needed, and turn to coat.
2

Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours or until the beef is fork-tender.

TWO INGREDIENT LEMON BARS

 Oh yeah you read that right only Two simple ingredients to make these melt in your mouth ( middle of the... pie) lemon squares!
Yep this is like you cut your self a slice right out of the middle of the pie!
This is all you need:
1 box angel food cake mix( I use Betty Crocker)
2 cans lemon pie filling
I used two 21 oz cans of Comstock pie filling ( total of 42 oz)
Mix dry cake mix and cans of pie filling together in large bowl.
I just mixed it by hand...
Pour into greased 9 x 13″ baking pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until top is starting to brown.
NOTE...Mine took the full 25 minutes to get done and did not brown on top at all :))
Cool on wire rack and sprinkle with powered sugar. It has a melt in your mouth spongy texture.

 

 

BROOKIES

A wonderful combination of brownies and chocolate chip cookies.
What a great idea (and why didn't I think of it?) for the chocoholic
in your family. Enjoy.

1 scoop of brownie batter + 1 scoop of cookie dough in a muffin pan = brookies!

Use your favorite brownie mix and chocolate chip cookie mix (I make mine from scratch). If you use mixes, bake using directions on box but shave a few minutes off the time.

Handmade Cupcake Holders for Birthday Parties

Here are the cupcake holders I made for my grandson's 1st birthday. What do you think? Should I start selling some of my handmade paper crafts? I am seriously thinking about it.

Today was one of those sit back and read kind of days. The power went out about 6:30 this morning due to the storm.  Since I couldn't clean the house, watch TV or go online (and my kindle's battery died after 20 minutes since I forgot to put it on the charger) I sat down and read a book I had planned to get around to. My problem is once I start reading I can't put it down until I'm down. The power came back on around 10:30 am. By then I was so engrossed in the book that I just kept reading. The book had 428 pages so there went my whole day. Oh well, there's always tomorrow and the dishes will be there waiting for me.

Pumpkin Dog Biscuits

2 eggs
1/2 c...up canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons dry milk
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 cups brown rice flour *
1 teaspoon dried parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

In large bowl, whisk together eggs and pumpkin to smooth. Stir in dry milk, sea salt, and dried parsley (if using, optional). Add brown rice flour gradually, combining with spatula or hands to form a stiff, dry dough. Turn out onto lightly floured surface (can use the brown rice flour) and if dough is still rough, briefly knead and press to combine.

Roll dough between 1/4 – 1/2″ – depending on your dog’s chew preferences, – and use biscuit or other shape cutter to punch shapes, gathering and re-rolling scraps as you go. Place shapes on cookie sheet, no greasing or paper necessary. If desired, press fork pattern on biscuits before baking, a quick up-and-down movement with fork, lightly pressing down halfway through dough. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully turn biscuits over, then bake additional 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely on rack before feeding to dog.

* Brown rice flour gives the biscuits crunch and promotes better dog digestion. Many dogs have touchy stomachs or allergies, and do not, like many people I know, tolerate wheat.

FRIED MOZZARELLA PEPPERONI EGG ROLLS
12 pieces of string cheese
12 egg roll wrappers
36 slices of pepperoni
Oil for deep-frying
Marinara or pizza sauce

On top of an egg roll wrapper, place three pieces of pepperoni as shown in the picture. Place a piece of string cheese on top. Fold corners over cheese. Fold bottom corner over cheese and pepperoni and keep rolling until cheese is tightly sealed. Moisten corners with water to seal. Repeat with the rest of wrappers, cheese and pepperoni.

In a skillet, heat oil to 375 degrees F. Fry sticks, a few at a time, for 30-60 seconds on each side until completely brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve with sauce

1-2-3 Cake. I love this idea!!!
You need two boxes of cake mix. One can be any flavor you prefer, but the other MUST be Angel Food cake mix. Mix them together (shake them in a big bowl). Then simply store the mixture in an airtight container until you get the urge for dessert. Then just put 3 Tbsp. of the dry mixture in a big coffee mug and stir in 2 Tbsp of water. Microwave it for one minute and you will have a single serving of cake! Top with fruit, ice cream, whipped cream or whatever! Awesome for those of us who want something sweet every now without making an entire cake!!!

Crafts - Yarn Easter Eggs




Fill small balloons with small toys or candy. Blow up and tie off balloon. Mix equal parts of white glue and water. Take strips of yarn in the color(s) of your choice and wrap around balloon until it looks like the pictures above. Let dry completely. Pop balloon and remove from dried egg. Enjoy!

 

Consider this for different holidays:  Fill with patriotic items and make the "eggs" in red, white and blue for Federal holidays like the 4th of July (who says hunts are only for Easter). Fill with little bells and toys for Christmas and hang on the tree. The possibilities are endless. Try different shapes of balloons too.

Breakfast in a bundt pan

This recipe sounds absolutely yummy. It was posted on a friends Facebook page and I decided to save it here. I hope you will all enjoy it.

 It's breakfast in a bundt cake pan! I like making these...they are so easy and come out really pretty. And they taste wonderful. I love how the cheese oozes out the sides!

Breakfast Sausage Ring

1 roll of bulk Jimmy Dean sausage (any flavor)
... 2 7.5 oz cans of Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits
2 cups shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Brown sausage in frying pan, drain. Open one can of biscuits and flatten each biscuit into larger circle. Place in bottom of greased bundt cake pan, overlapping each biscuit so that it makes a ring around bottom of pan.

Top biscuits with 1 cup of shredded cheese, next place cooked sausage on top of cheese then top sausage with remaining 1 cup cheese. Open second can of biscuit dough and flatten out each biscuit, repeat placing dough around the top of bundt pan so it looks like a ring.

Cook for 25 min or until golden brown. Let sit in pan for 5-10 min before inverting onto a plate. Slice and serve. This makes a gorgeous centerpiece for a breakfast buffet!

Note: If you like spicey....choose Jimmy Dean spicey hot sausage and use Pepper Jack Cheese!