HELOISE Shrimp Dijon remains delicious reader favorite

Dear Readers: For your next get-together, why not dazzle your friends by whipping up a delicious meal that will taste gourmet without much fuss? It's a reader favorite -- Shrimp Dijon.
You'll need:
1 1/2 pounds of peeled, deveined shrimp
1/4 cup butter or margarine (not diet)
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 of real cream cheese, softened
Melt butter or margarine in a frying pan; add shrimp and onion and saut & eacute; for 3 minutes. Do not brown. Sprinkle flour into mixture while thinning the mixture with 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. You'll find Shrimp Dijon and some other tasty recipes in my Main Dishes and More pamphlet. Please send $3 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (60 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Main Dishes, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. You'll also find a couple of great rice dishes, a microwave chicken-fajita recipe and an easy, one-pot chicken entree. P.S. Here's an easy-as-a-snap, unusual dipping sauce for boiled shrimp: Mix equal parts grape jelly and red cocktail sauce. Heat until bubbling and serve. This is also nice for meatballs. Heloise
Dear Heloise: While writing out my shopping list, I take a few moments to empty the refrigerator of anything that has been there too long and to wipe up spills. I get to see if there is anything that I need to get that I didn't think of, and it helps me keep the fridge clean between major cleanings. Linda Kiss, Brick, N.J.
Linda, I love double-duty hints, and this is a winner in my book! Heloise
Dear Heloise: The extra-strong, wax-paper-like bags some cereal brands are packaged in are great for pounding meat, such as chicken breasts, pork chops and steaks. Placing the meat inside one of those bags also reduces the cleanup. The bags are stronger than wax paper and do not tear as easily under the pressure of a meat mallet -- and they are free (almost). Dagmar Cain, San Antonio
Dear Heloise: My kid's favorite summer food: dog in a tortilla. Using any hot-dog type (even Polish sausage), slit the dog down the middle to receive a slender strip of cheese (any flavor). Trim a medium-size flour tortilla to fit the length of the dog and roll it up in the tortilla. Fry the result (flap side down first) in a nonstick skillet (I use olive oil) until the tortilla is golden-brown. Serve with ketchup, sour cream or your choice of salsa, ranch dressing, etc., to dip in. Yum! Peggy Lacroce, Ventura, Calif.
Dear Heloise: When I fix peas and green beans, instead of seasoning them with butter, I use dill weed. When having corn, I season it with chili pepper and chopped chives. We like that very much! Dixie Hambleton, Steinauer, Neb.
XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate