Helpful Hints

DEAR READERS: Isn't it nice to come home at the end of a long day to the fabulous smells of a great meal? You can, and all it takes is a slow cooker and a little planning. Here are a few hints so you can have a tasty and safe-to-eat meal:

• Don't place frozen meats in the slow cooker. All meats should be thoroughly thawed before being placed in the slow cooker.

• Do make sure you add enough liquid so the meat cooks evenly.

• Don't peek! It is so tempting to lift that lid and take a look, but don't. Every time you lift the lid, it may add 20 more minutes to the cooking time.

• Do make note of the recipes that turn out super, as well as the ones that don't.

DEAR HELOISE: I enjoy watching cooking shows, and I always see professional cooks smashing garlic cloves with the side of a big knife. Way too scary for me! I won't even try it, because I know I will cut my hand. So I came up with the hint to smash garlic under a metal spatula. It's a safer technique.

-- Diane T. in Pennsylvania

DEAR HELOISE: After a Sunday dinner, I had a lot of cheesy scalloped potatoes left over. Hearing me wonder out loud what to do with them, my 12-year-old grandson said, "Make potato soup!" Good idea. I just warmed up some milk, added the cheesy potatoes and mashed them a bit, and it was delicious.

-- M. Moger,

Temple, Texas

DEAR READER: Smart grandson! Why waste something good when you can turn it into a tasty dish? Soups are a great meal that can start like yours did. This is a very smart way to use leftovers for something "new" and not waste money, either. If you've added too much water to soup, put a teaspoon of flour along with some broth in a jar, shake to mix and pour into the soup to thicken.

DEAR HELOISE: When buying bread, muffins, etc., I take the slices out of the sleeve and put cut-up pieces of waxed paper between them. I place them back into the sleeve and then into the freezer. Voila -- no more slices stuck together. This makes it easy to use slices as needed, once they are defrosted.

-- Joan W. in Florida

DEAR HELOISE: When needing to save a tomato you haven't completely used, place the first slice of tomato (that you normally discard) back on top of the tomato. Wrap in plastic. This keeps the tomato moist for future use.

-- Lynn W., Staunton, Va.

DEAR READER: Sometimes I use a lid from yogurt to "cover" the sliced tomato.

Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or email

Heloise@Heloise.com

Food on 10/22/2014

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