Helpful Hints from Lela

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of Garlic.

Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!

Reheat Pizza Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm.This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.


Easy Deviled Eggs Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up....

Expanding Frosting When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in
A microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food Moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper weeds away Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers,
Put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and for-Get about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not Get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

No More Mosquitoes Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrel Away! To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.Flexible vacuum To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... At DA! ... Static is gone.

Measuring Cups Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such As peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield? Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelopes If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

Conditioner Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Goodbye Fruit Flies To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material .. I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. Well ..... the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free .... that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box ... well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very longtime (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!

Note: I went to my dryer and tested my screen by running water on it.. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water and a nylon brush and I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it .. the water ran right thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!

BEWARE A NEW CAR JACKING SCHEME IS NOW BEING USED

SIMPLE AS A PAPER PLACED ON THE BACK WINDOW OF YOUR VEHICLE TO OBSTRUCT YOUR VIEW.

You walk across the parking lot, unlock your car and get inside. You start the engine and shift into Reverse.  When you look into the rearview mirror to back out of your parking space, you notice a piece of paper stuck to the middle of the rear window. So, you shift into Park, unlock your doors, and jump out of your car to remove that paper (or whatever it is) that is obstructing your view. When you reach the back of your car, the carjacker appears out of nowhere, jumps into your car and take off. They practically mow you down as they speed off in your car.

So be sure to check before getting in. If there isn’t a paper there, you will know what’s going on. This is a good scheme to pull on ladies because most will leave their purse in the car providing the carjacker with the home address, money, credit cards, house keys, etc

So, if you see a piece of paper stuck to your back window, just drive away. Remove the paper later and be thankful that you got this warning. I hope you will share this with all your friends and family. Being aware is half the battle!

Toxins

Because am a business owner, I have come across information that concerns all of us about our silverware, pots, pans, plates, water, etc.

The State of California has found over 12,000 toxic items in things we consume and items we use to consume them. In 1986 they developed a Proposition 65 to make the companies send a note with the products to inform consumers of the toxins. The list contains a wide range of naturally occurring and synthetic chemicals that are known to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm. These chemicals include additives or ingredients in pesticides, common household products, food, drugs, dyes, or solvents. Listed chemicals may also be used in manufacturing and construction, or they may be by products of chemical processes, such as motor vehicle exhaust. If a warning is placed on a product label or posted or distributed at the workplace, a business, or in rental housing, the business issuing the warning is aware or believes that one or more listed chemicals is present. By law, a warning must be given for listed chemicals unless exposure is low enough to pose no significant risk of cancer or is significantly below levels observed to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.

A chemical that causes cancer, the "no significant risk level” is defined as the level of exposure that would result in not more than one excess case of cancer in 100,000 individuals exposed to the chemical over a 70-year lifetime. In other words, a person exposed to the chemical at the “no significant risk level” for 70 years would not have more than a “one in 100,000” chance of developing cancer as a result of that exposure.

Why do we have to make things with hazardous chemicals in them in the first place? What can we do to stop the manufacture of these things? Want to read more - follow the link.

Children and Holidays

Change the holidays and make memories not just free time. I have noticed that there are a large number of children left to roam around on the holidays without direction. Left on their own, these children often become injured and get into trouble. Bake cookies, making playdough animals, making memory books, teach them positive group games [cards, jump rope], go to the library and check out books together. Read together. Let them read to you or you read your favorites to them. Build positive memories they will never forget. Time slips bye quickly for everyone. Make the best of your holidays.
Holidays are a good time to discuss your family roots. Without a good foundation everything falls down. It is nice to go over the holiday pictures or get out old pictures and tell stories of what you did when you were little remember people in your life. Talk about your favorite aunt. Establish a sense of belonging. Telling them about their heritage will make them proud to be a member of your family! Sharing your positive past experiences as a child or young adult will help you get close to your children in a positive manner. Sharing is a way to build trust and it will pay off when they get older!

Child Safe Play Dough and Glitter

Katheryn sent this recipe in for parents who are wondering what to do with the children on break from school due to the holidays. She stated that eatable play dough was always a big hit in her home. She also has added eatable glitter for topping. She stated that the children used their creativity and there was never concern about them putting the dough into their mouth. Give it  try...

Play Dough
INGREDIENTS:
2 c. flour
1 c. salt
4 Tbsp. Cream of Tarter
2 c. boiling water
1 Tbsp of cooking oil
3 oz. Pkg. Sugar-free fruit flavored gelatin
DIRECTIONS:
Mix dry ingredients in pan. Add the water and oil and stir over medium heat until the mixture forms a ball. Pour out onto a sheet of wax paper. Wait until it cools then play. Store in the fridge.

Salt Glitter
INGREDIENTS:
1/2-cup salt
6-7 drops food coloring
DIRECTIONS:
After you add the food coloring, check to see if it is the desired shade. If not add more salt. Cook in
the microwave 1-2 minutes. If you prefer, you can air dry the product. Store in airtight container.

Onions and the Flu

Received this interesting tip in the E-mail. Mary sent this in about a way to fight bacteria in your home. Thought it wouldn't hurt to try and see if it works.Nice if it is true and not expensive to try! According to Mary, she heard this story from her hairdresser in AZ.

In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it and many died. The Doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the Doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.

Item 34246 - If this cure works maybe you should get these fine gardening tool sets and start growing onions! Cool gift idea available @ http://www.jams09.com/

The hairdresser said that several years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work. (And no, she is not in the onion business.) The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls around your home. If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under your desk or even on top somewhere. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and we never got the flu. If this helps you and your loved ones from getting sick, all the better. If you do get the flu, it just might be a mild case. Whatever, what have you to lose? Just a few bucks on onions!

Raising a Family