Make potato patties from leftover mashed potatoes. Simply add an egg to 2 cups mashed potatoes, form into patties and fry in a pan with a little oil. You can add meat, seasoned breadcrumbs, cheese or onion for extra flavor. The first reader tip shares another way to use up leftover mashed potatoes.
Rid your home of pesky ants and roaches without the use of dangerous pesticides!
How do you keep pests out of your home and what do you do if they manage to find their way in?
There is sufficient evidence to support the fact that adults shouldn’t unnecessarily be exposed to pesticides anymore than children should. In 2004, Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) presented an analysis of pesticide related data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The results showed that many U.S. residents carry toxic pesticides in their bodies at levels above the government’s “acceptable” thresholds. Many of the pesticides found in the test subjects have been linked to serious short- and long-term health effects, including infertility, birth defects, and childhood and adult cancers. Parkinson’s Disease has been linked to pesticide exposure.
Obviously, pesticides are much more dangerous than the industry admits to. Many people in the business will say they use “safe” pesticides. There is no such thing as a safe pesticide and it is actually against the law to say so.
How do you combat pests?
Never use routine spraying of pesticides in your home. If ants find their way into your home or are making a nuisance of themselves in your yard, there are several non-toxic options you can use to control them.
If you know where the ants are coming in from, you can repel them with such products as food-grade diatomaceous earth (DE), baking soda, talcum powder, medicated body powder, damp coffee grounds, salt, cayenne, garlic powder, Comet Cleaner or Tide laundry soap. Place any of these materials in corners, under baseboards or in any cracks and crevices where you see ants emerging.
These products are mostly powders and won’t work around the perimeter of your home as they will be blown away or washed away. Diatomaceous earth is available at feed stores.
If you can find the ants’ entrance on the outside, you can block it with Vaseline Petroleum Jelly, any toothpaste or duct tape. You can also squeeze lemon juice into the opening and leave the lemon peel there.
You can spray the ants themselves with a mixture of 40 percent water, 40 percent alcohol and 20 percent dish soap (these proportions don’t have to be exact).
You can also spray them with Fantastic or WD40. You can spray around your foundation with a mixture of 2 ounce table salt and one ounce, white pepper in one pint water.
If you have ants making mounds in your yard you can flood the nests with club soda, a dilution of orange juice, Lemon Joy and peppermint or with white vinegar or food-grade DE.
If you use the DE, mix four tablespoons per gallon of water. You can also use one gallon of orange juice diluted with two gallons of water and a dash of soap. If you prefer, you can also spread dry instant grits on the mound. The ants will eat it and not be able to digest it and die.
Once ants are in the house, you can usually eradicate them with a non-toxic bait. However, whether it is non-toxic or not, I always recommend placing baits where children and/or pets cannot get to them.
When you use baits, the ants will take it back to the colony and kill the queen. If you are
seeing dead ants around the bait they aren’t taking it back and the problem won’t be solved. You may want to change baits if this is a problem.
You can mix apple sauce, Kara syrup, Crisco shortening, sugar water, canned cat food (fish flavored), creamy peanut butter, honey or jelly with boric acid or borax. Mix about 2 percent boric acid or borax into the bait. You can also use food-grade DE at a rate of 5 percent, or a packet of Equal, which contains aspartame (which you probably shouldn’t be putting in your coffee).
If cockroaches become a nuisance, here are some tips:
Combine half cup powdered sugar and quarter cup shortening or bacon drippings. Add half cup onions, half cup flour and eight oz. baking soda. Add enough water to make a dough-like consistency. Make balls of bait and put them wherever you see roaches.
Also you can mix one clove garlic, one onion, one tablespoon of cayenne pepper and 1 quart water. Steep for one hour, strain, add a tablespoon of liquid soap and spray it around the house for ant and/or roach control.
You can mix one cup borax and fourth cup black pepper and fourth cup shredded bay leaves and place them in areas to repel roaches. Keep all of these baits away from kids and pets.
Spraying the baseboards in a house or commercial building was never intended to kill bugs. It was intended to kill time in the customer’s house or business in order to instill “perceived value” It’s never necessary. If your exterminator wants to spray baseboards, find another one who only uses pesticides around the outside of your home.
1 eggIf you are whipping fresh cream, make sure you chill bowls, beaters and cream before starting. Get them good and cold. It will give the best results.
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Slow cookers make great servers for hot cider and also hot chocolate. Keep them on warm for as long as you like, and there’s no need to reheat — it’s always the right temperature.
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Never, never, never serve roasted poultry right away. Always let it stand for 15 to 25 minutes after roasting to allow the juices to redistribute. You will have juicier meat, and the bird will be easier to carve.
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For wood floors, make sure you dust-mop regularly. Dirt can scratch up your floors. Use a mop with a head that can be popped into the washer, and do so regularly.
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Plastic grocery bags always come in handy. Store them in empty tissue boxes for the car or bathroom, or use an empty 12-pack soda box to store even more under your kitchen sink or in the garage.
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To keep small screws in place, like the ones in sunglasses or eyeglasses, dab the screw with clear nail polish. It gets into the cracks and keeps it in place, but you can unscrew it if you need to.
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Rub a little petroleum jelly over the shower-curtain rod to help metal curtain rings glide better.
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Before you wash a load of towels, dampen one and use it to wipe down the sides and top of your washer and dryer. Then just toss the towel in with the load.
Ancho chile: When fresh poblano chiles are dried, they’re called anchos. Mildly spicy, like their fresh counterparts, anchos give a rich sweetness to marinades or a simmering pot of chili.
Cilantro; This familiar Mexican herb is used only when fresh; it loses all flavor when dried. It provides an explosive sprinkle over lots of street foods, mostly as a component of salsa and guacamole. Store it wrapped in barely damp paper towels in a plastic bag, in the warmest part of the refrigerator.
Guajillo chile: These smooth-skinned, brick- or cranberry-red dried chiles are a little spicier than anchos, and not nearly as sweet. They’re often ground into a powder that gives a tangy jolt to fresh fruits and vegetables; teamed with anchos, they lend multilayered flavor to stews and soups.
Jicama; This root vegetable is the color of a potato, and not much bigger. Sliced or julienned, it adds a slightly sweet, juicy crunch to chicken salads or coleslaw. You can also peel it, slice it, and eat it as a snack, as Mexicans do.
Masa harina: Corn tortillas are made from dried grain (field) corn cooked with mineral lime, then ground into a paste called masa. Several decades ago, a method to dehydrate and powder the perishable masa was discovered; the result became known as masa harina, or masa flour.
Poblano chile: This mildly spicy, dark-green fresh chile resembles a small bell pepper, but with a pointed end, tougher skin, and more compact flesh. The flavor is also similar to that of a bell pepper, only more concentrated and complex.
Queso anejo: This hard, aged cheese, made from cow’s milk, adds a salty kick to whatever it touches. Dishes that always get a dusting of grated queso anejo, such as enchiladas, grilled corn on the cob, and street snacks made from corn masa, would be naked without it—like pasta without Romano or Parmesan.
Serrano chile: These bullet-shaped, hot green chiles are about 2×2 inches long and 1 1-2 inch wide. They have a punchy flavor that is heaven to green-chile lovers—much less sweet than a jalapeno.
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