HINTS AND TIPS

When using bananas, slice them into pineapple juice, making sure the slices are covered by juice. You'll find the bananas won't discolour.

To clean pans easily after using on an outdoor grill, before using, coat the outside with an old bar of soap.

When there are steps to paint, paint every other one first. When they are dry, paint the ones you skipped. This way the steps will stay in use.

Meat loaf will not stick to pan if you place a strip or two of bacon at the bottom of the pan before packing the meat mixture in.

Absorb moisture in the bottom of the vegetable drawer with paper towels which are easily replaced when needed.

When marshmallows get hard, put in freezer overnight and then thaw the next morning to restore softness.

When making potato salad, brown two tablespoons butter and mix in last. This is for a large bowl of salad. One tablespoon is enough for a small bowl. Adds to the taste.

If needle, pin or safety pin will not go through material easy, run it through your hair a few times, and it will go through.

Make fried chicken crispy by adding baking powder to the flour.

When draining boiling liquids into the sink, always turn on the cold water first and let it run. It prevents steam burns.

To slice fresh bread, hold knife under very hot water until it is hot. A hot blade will cut the freshest bread into perfectly smooth slices.

To remove the black marks from flooring caused by non rubber heals, apply a little squirt of toothpaste with a soft cloth. Remove toothpaste with a damp cloth.

Place a jar lid in the lower container of a double boiler. This lid will rattle when pan is dry.

To remove dirt or grease from a rug, sprinkle corn meal on the area and scrub with a stiff brush (dry). Then vacuum the area. The soil will disappear without leaving a ring.

Prevent picture marks on your walls by sticking a thumbtack on each corner of the back of the frame. Allow the tacks to extend about 1/8 inch. This will allow circulation of air behind the frame and prevent marks.

When the phone rings or something else needs handling when you have messy hands from baking, solve the problem of getting the phone messy by slipping on a handy plastic bag over your hand.

For rancid nut meats, slice a raw potato, add nut meats and water. Cook until the potatoes are almost done. Remove nuts and dry. Store in refrigerator.

When butter is too hard to spread easily, use a vegetable peeler to shave off thin curls from the stick. Almost instantly they will be soft and easy to spread.

One or two tiny drops of wax dropped into the center of freshly cut tulips will prevent them from opening wide. Another method is to drop a copper penny in the water.

Line your refrigerator vegetable and fruit drawers with paper toweling to absorb excess moisture and make cleaning easier.

Soak up excess moisture that collects in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator by keeping a clean cellulose sponge in it.

If you continue to think the way you have always thought you will continue to get what you have always got!

Some men eventually stumble over the truth but they usually pick themselves up and walk on as if nothing ever happened."
-Winston Churchill

Can you believe this:

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little "stringy things" off of it. That's how the primates do it.

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 raw. 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 pupp the grease away from teh eat while cooking.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in a 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. Simple chop them up with a food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bak at 350 for 15 minutes. Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream..........mmmm

Removing white heat marks
To remove white spots from a wood table caused by heat , set your iron on steam and place a clean white cloth on the spot and quickly run your iron over the spot. Wipe dry. If a portion of the spot remains, repeat the procedure on the spot only. This will work on water marks also.

To make your house look and smell Christmassy: Tie a few branches together with a red ribbon to hang on your door outside or around the inside of your house.

Spray-paint some of the branches in a silver or gold, pop them in a vase and voilà ... elegant holiday decor. Take it a step further and dangle some ornaments on them or tie a few bows.

Tie small pine or cedar branches with a red/green ribbon and stick one in the soil with each of your houseplants.

Recycle that artificial tree that you don't want any more. Bend the branches and connect them to make either one very large wreath or several small ones. If you're not ready to part with an artificial tree, you can still watch at garage sales for inexpensive trees to use for wreaths in the coming year.

Recycle holiday ribbon. If every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet.

Add elegance to even the simplest desserts by serving it in stemmed glasses on your dinner table.

Keep Candles Steady: Rub the bottom of a taper candle with a glue stick. This will hold the candle in place.

Centerpiece: Fill a crystal bowl with cranberries and place a white candle tied with a red ribbon in the center for an easy dinner table centerpiece. Inset a sprig of holly inside the ribbon and place a few random sprigs greenery in the bowl with the cranberries.

Got more eggnog than you can drink? Use leftover eggnog for French toast. Just add a little cinnamon to it and it works

Poinsettias: Here are some pointers on how to keep these plants around as long as possible.