Homemade Fruit Fly Trap

Homemade Fruit Fly Trap! It really works!
We have had the worst problem lately with fruit flies and bugs in the house. We have horses behind our house and were wondering if maybe thats why there is such an abundance. They are so annoying and no matter how much I clean and keep the dishes done, they are everywhere. Earlier today I ran across this on pinterest and thought I would give it a try. After 30 minutes, I already had 6 bugs in it! I made 4 of them and put them around the house. My next thought it to figure a way to make a trap that looks prettier than a jar with some paper. But heres how you make it.

You will need:
An empty jar
1/2 inch of apple cider vinegar
piece of a banana
rolled up paper, i used newspaper
tape

Put the apple cider vinegar and banana in the jar. Roll up some paper but dont let the tip touch the apple cider vinegar. I taped around the edges of the jar so there is no opening. They say that the bugs will go in, but will never go out. Guess they arent smart enough to leave? or as my fiance said, why would they want to...they love vinegar! After you get a lot of bugs in the jar you can freeze it to finally kill them. Once you take it out of the freezer, you can still use the same vinegar and banana, no need to replace. I have a feeling this is definitely going to help our bug problem!

Teriyaki Bacon Wrapped Pork Filet

My mother-in-law gave me this easy recipe about a year ago. These bacon wrapped pork filets can be found in the frozen section. A local store we have puts them on sale for $1 every few weeks so I stock up. I defrost them in warm water in the sink for about 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Put the amount of pork fillets you want to cook in a glass dish covered in foil( I usually cook 2 per person eating dinner). I season them with McCormick Grill Mates Spicy Montreal Steak Seasoning and Teriyaki Sauce. I flip and season both sides. Pull the foil completely over the filets before putting them in the oven, forming a pocket. Let them cook for 1 hour. When they are done, open the foil and then put them back in the oven for about 20 minutes to get the bacon crispy. They come out so tender and juicy!

Steak & Grilled Veggies

Ignore the beans, they are Bushs from a can...but I wanted to share my recipe for Steak and grilled veggies. When I didnt know a thing about cooking, I thought I could never figure out how to grill a steak....or even pick out which kind of meat at the store. So heres what I do. In the meat section, I go for T Bone or Ribeye, someone once told me you cant go wrong if you buy one of those. I season it with Italian dressing, worcestershire, Saltgrass Steak Seasoning, garlic powder, and salt. I refrigerate it for about an hour or longer if you have time. The trick to cooking it on the grill is to get your grill really hot, put it on high. When you put the steaks on there it will sear them. Wait 30 seconds and then flip them. Once you flip it, put your heat down to low/medium to let it cook through. Searing it helps hold in the juices.
The grilled veggies I did are soaked in soy sauce, honey, garlic, and pepper. Tonight I did onion, bell pepper, and zucchini. I usually put chicken on them and do a chicken kabob but tonight I just thought the veggies would be perfect with steak. Im definitely still learning the different tricks to grilling, my fiance says I flip too much, Im just scared of burning it. The more you grill, the better you will get.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

This is a great beginner recipe for someone just learning how to cook. Its so healthy and very hard to mess up! Many recipes I see for this stew say to brown the stew meat in flour on the stove before putting it into the crockpot. I have always just put the meat in the crockpot raw and nothing bad has happened to me yet. Its up to you.

What you will need:
around 1-1.5 lb of stew meat (may say Beef for Stew on the package)
3 stalks of celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 average sized bag of baby carrots
1 package of Beef Stew Mix (I use McCormick, some will say "For Slow Cooker" and some just say beef stew, I have used both and it turns out just fine either way)
1 can of whole kernel corn (drained)

Directions:
Put the stew meat in the crockpot, like I said, I put it in raw, you can brown it in flour in a skillet if you would like. I then add the package of beef stew seasoning mix and add water to it. I always look on the back of the package to see how many cups of water it asks for. Usually its 2 3/4 or 3 cups. Stir it up. I then add all of my chopped vegetables. You can really do whatever you want, and put however much you want and I dont think you can mess it up. I peel the potatoes and then cut them in cubes, but you can always leave the skin on. Once I added a can of green beans to my stew, and I was thinking a can of peas may be good too. Add as many of the baby carrots as you want, you can cut them in half or just add them whole. Whatever is easier for you. I love this recipe because most of the ingrediants can just be thrown in right out of the package. This helps when you are preparing the crockpot in the morning before work. Cook it on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Honestly low is best because the meat gets so juicy and tender. This one will make your house smell delicious and its nice knowing that everything in the stew is fresh and healthy. I love this one!

Sugar Dispenser

So, I took my DIY mason jar project one step further and made this sugar dispenser. I cut the top circle part of a salt container I had that was empty. I put that piece under the mason jar lid and then covered it in rhinestones. I got the decals at Hobby Lobby in the scrapbook section. It turned out so cute!

Personalized Soap Dispensers

Personalized Soap Dispensers

I got the idea from pinterest to use mason jars as soap dispensers. I took it a step further by decorating them with personalized letters and rhinestones. I got a pack of 12 pint sized jars at Walmart. I got the rhinestones and decals from Hobby Lobby. There are so many stick on decals in the scrapbooking section that you can use. Poke a hole in the top of the jar and use a pump from a old store bought dispenser. I filled one with soap and am doing hand sanitizer in the other. I also thought about doing lotion. The possibilities are endless..BE CREATIVE! I am also working on a few for wedding shower gifts, one saying the new last name and the other with the wedding date.

The flash didnt pick this one up very well, but I made this for Harpers room, Im going to put baby lotion in it.

Honey Chicken Stir Fry

I made this yummy dish last night and wanted to share because it is so simple for anyone starting out. My fiance thought it was something I picked up because he said the sauce was so good, he didnt think I could cook something so delicious!

What you will need:
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes (It doesnt have to be 1lb exact)
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
salt & pepper to taste (sprinkle what you think is best)
1 package frozen broccoli stir fry vegetable blend (16 oz bag) any combo will do (frozen food section)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water
Hot cooked rice (make separately and serve with stir fry)

Directions:
In a skillet, stir fry chicken and garlic in 2 teaspoons of oil. After it starts looking like its almost cooked, add the honey, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until chicken is lightly browned and juices run clear. I cook it on medium heat. Once the chicken looks done, scoop out chicken and set to the side in a bowl, but leave the honey/soy liquid combo in the skillet.
Next, add the bag of frozen vegetables to the sauce and heat them thoroughly. You can buy any combo of stir fry veggies, broccoli, carrots, celery etc. You can even cut up your own vegetables, sautee them, and add them at this point. Like bell pepper and onion. Its up to you.
Once the veggies are done, add the chicken back to skillet. Then, in a separate bowl, combine the cornstarch and cold water until smooth, then add to the skillet. Bring everything to a boil, letting the cornstarch mixture thicken the sauce. I always make a little rice in my rice cooker to serve with the stir fry.