Take your discounts for a ride
Dear Heloise: We keep coupons and gift cards to various restaurants in an envelope in our car’s glove compartment, just like one of your readers suggested. We used to pass by a place to eat and suddenly remember that we had a gift card for that restaurant at home! Now, those discounts are at our fingertips. — Nell P., Rock Hill, S.C. Pizza stone Dear Heloise: My slow cooker gets very hot underneath, so to protect my kitchen counters, I place the slow cooker on my pizza stone. I feel safe leaving the house, knowing that the pizza stone is protecting my counter from being scorched. — Nancy H., Albuquerque, N.M. Cookie conundrum Dear Heloise: The best way to keep cookies fresh when you put them in a cookie jar is to first place them in a plastic bag, then put the bag in the cookie jar.
Most cookie jars today are pretty and decorative, but if they lack a seal around the lid, they aren’t airtight. — Monica F., Lima, Ohio Hash brown secrets Dear Heloise: If there is one thing my husband dearly loves, it’s golden hash brown potatoes.
The secret to flawless hash browns is to remove as much water as possible from the potatoes.
Use a paper towel, folded two or three times, and put the shredded potatoes on it. Then take another two paper towels and place over the potatoes, and gently press out as much water as you can. Fry them in butter for a crispy outer crust and a tender inside. — Maddie M., Lancaster, Pa.