Special recipes ensure beets aren't boring

Dear Heloise: Would you print your recipe for Chinese beets? I lost mine and don't remember how to make them. They were so good! Pauline Anthony in Monroe, La.
This is one of the most-requested Heloise recipes. It was one of my mother's (the original Heloise) favorites and is more than 55 years old.
To make it, you will need:
3 cans (16 ounces each) beets (sliced or whole)
1 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
24 whole cloves (fewer if the taste is too strong)
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons oil (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Salt to taste
Drain the beets, reserving 11/2 cups of the beet liquid. Place the beets in a medium saucepan with the reserved liquid and the remainder of the ingredients. Mix well, then cook for 3 minutes over medium heat or until the mixture thickens. Let cool and refrigerate. Sometimes I use a sugar substitute and only six to 12 cloves and skip the vanilla for a different taste. Heloise
Dear Heloise: I prepare pickled beets using canned, sliced beets. Put sliced beets and one small sliced onion in a jar. Add 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons vinegar. Fill the jar with beet juice. Let stand in the refrigerator overnight. Delicious, quick and easy. Mildred Henninger, Washington, D.C.
Dear Heloise: Here's a hint for those who like cold drinks but hate drinking watered-down beverages after their ice cubes melt. Instead of freezing water in your ice-cube trays, try freezing some of the beverage you want to drink: juice, pop, etc. When the cubes melt, you just get more of your water-free treat. Jodie Krafft from Kansas
Dear Heloise: Here is a wonderful batter-mixing hint that I just learned from my mother. I make minimuffins quite often, and this little tip has helped me a lot. I mix the dry ingredients together with the milk in a quart-size mayonnaise jar and give it a good shake. Sometimes I mix up several batches and store it, covered, in the refrigerator overnight. All I have to do is shake it up and pour into the muffin tin. Savannah in Alabama
Dear Heloise: My husband and I like homemade meatloaf, but I never liked mixing the ingredients with my hands, as the ground beef tends to be a little greasy. I put all of the ingredients in a large plastic bag -- the ground beef, onion, eggs and cracker crumbs, etc. -- and mix it in the bag. I then drop the ingredients into a baking dish and shape with two large wooden spoons! So neat, and no messy cleanup. I also use this method when making chili. After the ground beef and onions are browned well, I drain off the excess grease, let cool and pour into a plastic bag, then break up the beef with my hands. Mona in Greenwood, Ind.
King Features Syndicate