Here’s a terrific vegetable-beef soup
Dear Heloise: My mother-in-law made a terrific VEGETABLE-BEEF SOUP, which she said was from a recipe found in one of your pamphlets.
Could you reprint that soup recipe for me? — Charlotte S., Dime Box, Texas
Charlotte, this was one of my mother’s favorite recipes. You’ll need:
10 ½ ounces unsalted
chicken broth
½ cup water
2 cups frozen mixed
vegetables for soup 16-ounce can of tomatoes 1 cup beef, cooked and
diced
1 teaspoon thyme leaves,
crushed
Dash of pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
2 ounces (about 1 ¼ cups) narrow-width noodles, uncooked
Heat broth and water. Add vegetables, meat and seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Add noodles; cook until noodles are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving. Makes about four 1-cup servings.
If you really enjoy a tasty, hot bowl of soup on a chilly day, you’ll love all the recipes for soup I have in my pamphlet Heloise’s Spectacular Soups. To order a copy, send $5, along with a stamped (70 cents), self-addressed, long envelope, to: Heloise/Soups, Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 782795001. Or you can order it online at www.Heloise. com. FYI: When adding noodles in a soup, cook them until they are firm or “al dente.” Drain and add to the soup. — Heloise
Onion salt hardens
Dear Heloise: I have a problem: I bought a jar of onion salt, used it a few times and then it hardened. How do I avoid this situation? Your column appears in the Antelope Valley (Calif.) Press, and I read it faithfully! — Christine F., Lancaster, Calif.
Christine, the next time you buy onion salt or garlic powder, consider placing a few kernels of rice in the container, and make sure the cap is on very tight. This may eliminate the moisture and prevent clumping. — Heloise
Stop that roll!
Dear Heloise: I was going to wrap a pie with plastic wrap when the roll suddenly came out of the box after I pulled, and it fell to the floor. I told my son that the plastic wrap and foil both come out when I try to use them. My son showed me two cutouts on the ends of the boxes. You push them in, and they hold the roll in the box while you unroll the product. I wonder how many of your readers are unaware of this also. I thought it might be worthwhile passing it on. — Jim J., Girard, Pa.
Grandmother’s method
Dear Heloise: I remember my grandmother’s method of boiling eggs. She’d bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and, with a slotted spoon, gently and slowly immerse eggs, one at a time. She’d boil the eggs for 15 minutes (for hard-boiled eggs), then remove them from the pan of hot water and place them in cold tap water. She never had a messy egg. — Bettie B. in Houston Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to 1-210-HELOISE or email it to Heloise@Heloise. com. I can’t answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.