Here’s bagful of hints for shells with smells

Dear Heloise: I read in The Washington Post the hint from a reader about putting shrimp shells in the trash. She said to put the shells in a plastic bag with a little vinegar, and they won’t smell as much.

Here’s my hint: After putting the shrimp shells in a plastic bag, take a kitchen spray cleaner and spritz a couple of times into the bag. This kills the fishy odor almost completely! Then, I put it into the freezer until trash pickup day. Sheron McCain, New Braunfels, Texas

Speaking of food scraps, etc., here’s a hint from Linda Alexander of Belmont, N.C. She says: “I label a zipper-top bag ‘scraps,’ then use it to dispose of any meat scraps (raw or cooked), shrimp shells, etc., that would cause an offensive odor in the garbage can. I store the bag in the freezer until the night before garbage pickup, then toss it into the trash. This eliminates garbage odors and reduces the problem of ants and other vermin being attracted to the garbage can.”

Both are good preventative stinky-smell hints. Just be sure that no one mistakes the “garbage” bag for soup starter! Heloise

Dear Heloise: If you are chopping or slicing several different kinds of vegetables, do the onions first, and by the time you have done the rest, your cutting board will not smell of onion. Marsha B., Haines City, Fla.

Dear Readers: A great way to warm up the kitchen on a cold, dreary day and fill the house with the inviting aroma of something scrumptious baking is to make this easy cake.

NO-MIX CHERRY PINEAPPLE NUT CAKE

1 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple in heavy syrup

1 21-ounce can of cherry pie filling

1 package of yellow cake mix (two-layer size)

1 cup pecans, chopped

1⁄2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by13-inch baking pan. Spread the pineapple with its syrup evenly in the pan and spoon the pie filling evenly over it. Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the other ingredients, then sprinkle the chopped nuts.

Cut the chilled butter or margarine into thin slices, then place the slices evenly on top of the nuts. Bake for 50 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

You can find this and a bunch of other easy-to-make and yummy cake recipes in my Cake Recipes pamphlet, including “Quick” Red Velvet Cake, Strawberry Gelatin Cake and the often-asked-for War Cake. Just send $3 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (58 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Cake, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001.

FYI: Want an easy way to chop up some nuts quickly? Just put them in a heavy plastic bag and use a hammer to break them up. Easy, and cleanup is a breeze. Heloise

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