Dear Heloise: You have a recipe for a Shrimp Dijon dish that I absolutely love. Since I'm trying to impress my new husband with some of my cooking skills, I was hoping you'd reprint that recipe. I lost my copy when my husband and I moved after the wedding.-Mimi F., Lakeland, Fla.
Mimi, I'm happy to oblige. Here it is:
SHRIMP DIJON
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 pounds peeled, deveined shrimp
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 6-ounce package cream cheese, softened
Melt butter or margarine in a frying pan. Add shrimp and onions and saute for 3 minutes; DO NOT BROWN. Sprinkle flour into the mixture while thinning the mixture with the milk a little at a time to avoid lumping. Add mustard, nutmeg, salt and pepper, and cook for 3-5 minutes. Stir in cream cheese until blended; warm through but do not boil. Serve over rice.
If you like this recipe, I have several more in my Main Dishes and More pamphlet. Just go to my website, www. Heloise.com, to order it, or send a stamped (70 cents), self-addressed, business-size envelope, along with $3, to: Heloise/Main Dishes and More, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001.
There's nothing that tastes as good as warm, home cooking at any time of the year. What a great way to enjoy time with your closest friends and your family.-Heloise
SALT OF THE EARTH
Dear Readers: Besides flavoring food, salt has a variety of uses. Here are some you might want to try:
- Sprinkle salt on areas where grass or weeds grow unwanted, such as between steppingstones. Then pour hot water over the salt. It's an eco-friendly and inexpensive solution.
- Worried that there might be fleas in your carpet? Sprinkle salt on your carpets and leave it overnight. In the morning, vacuum up thoroughly. Wash dog bedding in salt water.
- Stung by a bee? Wet the area and pour salt over it.
- Ants becoming a problem? Sprinkle salt in doorways, on windowsills and any other place where they might be coming in. If you have an ant mound, ring the opening with salt.
-Heloise
GINGER ROOT
WITH A TWIST
Dear Heloise: This isn't a recipe, but it's still a good way to keep ginger root for a long time. Peel and cut ginger root into small cubes. Place in a jar and cover with dry sherry. Store in the fridge. It does not affect the taste of the ginger and lasts for weeks.-Tina G., Purcellville, Va.
Tina, thanks! That's a new idea I hadn't heard before.-Heloise
DID YOU KNOW?
Dear Readers:
- You should never give a dog macadamia nuts. For a dog, the nuts are toxic.
- If you put a grape in the microwave and heat it, the grape will explode.
- Rice, wheat and maize comprise the world's three main food crops, with rice supplying nearly half the world's population with a staple food in their daily diet.
-Heloise
King Features Syndicate