HELPFUL HINTS
DEAR HELOISE: I love your Angel biscuits! Please, please reprint the recipe for me and everyone who loves good biscuits.
— Anne M., Alaska DEAR READER: Anne, this is a reader favorite, and one that was in my mother’s (the original Heloise, 19191977) column.
Heloise’s Angel Biscuits
1 package dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
21/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup buttermilk
Heat oven to 400. Grease a baking sheet. Let the yeast dissolve in the warm water, and set aside. Mix all the dry ingredients together as listed. Cut the shortening into the dry mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Gently stir in the buttermilk and yeast mixture. Thoroughly blend, but don’t overmix. The dough can be refrigerated as is, or, if using right away, knead it lightly. (If refrigerated, let it sit at room temperature until it rises.) Roll the dough out on a floured board or countertop. Use a biscuit cutter, or cut into “squares” for tasty square biscuits. Place them in the prepared pan, then set out, covered with a clean dish towel, so the dough can rise a little before baking. Bake them for
12-15 minutes.
Oh, here’s a hint from me when serving these: Make up some flavored butter to serve along with them. Add some herbs to the butter, or, for a sweet taste, add cinnamon for a sinfully delicious butter!
DEAR HELOISE: Before I cook dried beans, I add a couple of tablespoons of baking soda into the water used. By soaking dry beans in baking soda, the component that, well, can cause gas is reduced.
— Ruth L., Salem, Ohio
DEAR HELOISE: My husband bought a deep freezer so we could buy groceries in bulk. However, we’re not sure how long meats and poultry can safely be frozen. Help?
— Sandy T., via email
DEAR READER: Here are some general guidelines:
Beef, roasts and steaks: six to 12 months
Beef, ground: three to four months
Chicken or turkey, whole: 12 months
Chicken parts: nine months Be sure that the item is well-wrapped and put in a freezer-safe bag.
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