Free Helpful Hints

Easy-Peel Bananas. If you peel a banana from the bottom you won't have to pick the little "stringy things" off of it. That's how all the primates do it.

Storing Bananas. Separate bananas when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen much faster.

Storing Cheese. Store opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. The cheese will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

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

Remove grease from meat. Add a teaspoon of water when sauting ground beef. It helps pull grease away from meat.

Leftover Candy Bars. Snickers bars leftover from Halloween or Christmas make a delicious dessert if chopped up with a food processor or sharp knife and baked with apples. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place in a baking dish and sprinkle chopped candy bars over them. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.

Reheating Pizza. Heat leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove. Set burner to med-low and heat until topping is warm. This keeps crust crisp. No soggy microwaved pizza. Saw this on a cooking show and it really works.

Easy Fancy Deviled Eggs: Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash until they are broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, and keep squishing until thoroughly mixed and soft. Cut the tip off the baggy and squeeze mixture into eggs in a pretty design or swirl. Easy cleanup; when done, just throw away the bag.

Reheating Refrigerated Bread. To warm biscuits, pancakes, muffins, or bread that was refrigerated, place 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 wet newspapers in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Put layers around the plants, overlapping as you go. Cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic but not wet newspapers.

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

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

Squirrel Away! To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle plants with cayenne pepper. The pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

Reducing Static Cling. This one is AMAZINE! Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a problem with a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works when wearing panty hose under your slacks. Put a pin in the seam of each leg of your slacks and --TA-DA! -- static Is gone. The metal in the pin dissipates the static electricity!

Measuring Cups. Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill it with hot water then dump out the hot water, but don't dry the cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter or cooking oil or shortening or marshmallow creme or honey, etc. and watch how easily it comes right out.

New Use for Conditioner. Use hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot 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 on your hair.

Goodbye Fruit Flies and Gnats! To get rid of pesky fruit flies or gnats, fill a small glass with 1/2" Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish-washing liquid and mix well. Flies are drawn to the cup where they drown. Just pour them into the commode or down the sink.

Get Rid of Ants. Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home but can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works, without the worry about pets or small children being harmed.