Dear Heloise: My family loves fresh pineapple, so I often buy a pineapple and cut it up for them. The one chore I disliked the most was cutting out the center core, but by accident I found a simple way to do that chore. I use a doughnut cutter to get the center core out. It's easy and quick for this task. - Lauren in Florida
Neat And Tidy
Dear Heloise: Several recipes I have for baking say to flour the greased pan. It always caused such a terrible mess. Then I had an idea! I took an empty plastic spice bottle, cleaned it and filled it with flour. Now I can sprinkle flour on my pans without the mess I used to have on my kitchen counter. The holes in the shaker cap are just the right size for sprinkling, and it makes baking much easier. - Esther in Iowa
Fast Shrimp Spread
Dear Heloise: I lost my shrimp spread recipe when we remodeled the kitchen. Would you please repeat that recipe? My son and my husband both loved it. - Donna in Wisconsin
Donna, here it is. You'll need:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 ounces tiny cocktail shrimp, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons seafood cocktail sauce
1/2 cup finely chopped onion (yellow, white or red)
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
Thoroughly mix the cream cheese and mayonnaise until well blended. Mash or chop the shrimp and add to the mixture; stir in remaining ingredients. Refrigerate until needed. It's best served at room temperature with crackers and veggies as a dip or spread on bread as a sandwich. Do not let it sit out for more than one hour.
This shrimp spread is a nice alternative to the usual dips found at parties and will never fail to please your guests and family. - Heloise
Dishwasher Safety
Dear Heloise: Just a reminder to your readers to never place knives in the dishwasher with the pointed end facing upward. I cut myself on the arm with a knife I had left pointing up as I was reaching into the back of the dishwasher.
I know I should wash knives by hand, but I don't. - Charles in Oregon
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