Have your cake and eat soup, too

Dear Readers: Here is a different and quite unusual dessert recipe that is a real conversation starter — Chocolate Tomato Soup Cake! Really, it’s good! Put one 18-ounce box of dry chocolate cake mix into a large bowl. Then add one 103‚Ñ4-ounce can of undiluted tomato soup, 1 teaspoon of baking soda and two eggs. Mix well and bake according to the cake-mix directions. For an easy frosting, cover the top of the cake with marshmallows just before you remove it from the oven.

If you would like other Heloise Central family and friends’ favorite cake recipes, like Chocolate Sauerkraut “Surprise” Cake and four versions of Red Velvet Cake, just send $5 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (59 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Cake, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. When making a chocolate cake, sprinkle some cocoa or a little of the mix in the bottom of the pan instead of flour. The bottom of the cake will look nice instead of looking white. Heloise

Dear Heloise: I did not have a vegetable peeler on hand, so I used the front of a tablespoon while putting some pressure on the back of the spoon to make the peeling of a sweet potato easy to slide right off. This is a great utensil to use when you need to take the peel off. A.R. in Virginia

Dear Heloise: I try to buy dishwasher detergent on sale, but even the smallest boxes are very heavy and difficult to handle. My solution was to pour the powder into a recycled plastic quart-size milk jug. A funnel makes this task easier, and once the jug is filled, pouring detergent into the dishwasher is so much easier because of the handle. Extra bonus: If some detergent is spilled into the sink during the transfer, it makes for a great cleanser there, especially if the sink is stainless steel. Paula J. Lewis, Houston

Good storage hint! Please note that dishwasher detergent contains chlorine bleach, so the sink should be rinsed well to avoid staining. Heloise

Dear Heloise: I am notorious for forgetting to thaw out hamburger meat in the morning for that evening’s dinner. So, I started buying it in bulk (you get a better price per pound) and then cooking it all at once. I drain the meat, let it cool for a few minutes, then scoop one pound’s worth into zipper freezer bags. When it’s time to cook dinner, I pull it out of the freezer, defrost and pop it into my favorite hamburger recipe, and I’m set. Nancy Grimmett, Farmington, N.M.

Dear Heloise: When placing my kitchen utensils, such as stirring spoons, spatulas, turning forks, egg turners, etc., in a drawer, I turn the handles to the back of the drawer so that the “business end” of the utensil is visible without opening the drawer completely. This eliminates scrambling through the drawer to find the one I want. Judy V., via e-mail

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