Mocha coffee recipe makes good smoothie

Dear Heloise: I read your article and saw your mocha coffee recipe. I have gotten your pamphlet and love the different recipes, and have given them as gifts. My daughter and her family have added a new twist to the mocha coffee. They make the recipe, leaving out the powdered creamer and using a cup of low-fat milk, adding ice cubes and blending it. She has told me that it makes the most fantastic smoothie. Hope your readers will try and enjoy. Kay Hansen, Billings, Mont.

Kay, how nice of you to write about this delicious, tasty and cheap-to-make mocha coffee recipe. For my readers who want to taste it, here it is:

MOCHA COFFEE

1‚Ñ2 cup instant-coffee granules

1‚Ñ2 cup granulated sugar (or appropriate amount of artificial sweetener)

1 cup powdered milk or powdered creamer (nonfat creamer can be substituted*)

2 tablespoons (or more, to taste) cocoa powder

Mix the ingredients together. For a cup of mocha coffee, just put 2 rounded teaspoons (less if using artificial sweetener) of the flavored blend into an 8-ounce cup and add boiling water, stirring well.

*Note: Some nonfat creamers have sugar included, so you might need to adjust the sugar amount. Want to try cheap-to-make spiced, orange or chocolate extract coffee? All you need to do is just send $3 and a long, self-addressed, stamped (59 cents) envelope to: Heloise/Coffee, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. Did you know that you can freeze coffee (ground or whole beans) for up to six months? You can, so when your favorite brand is on sale or you have coupons, stock up and save money on your food budget. Heloise

Dear Heloise: I regularly make big pots of soup. I use a big pot with a metal colander insert to put chicken or turkey carcasses or bones in. When the stock is ready, I just take out the colander (using hot pads — Heloise) with all the bones in it, avoiding any getting into the broth. Then I set the pot in the fridge overnight so the fat hardens on the top and can easily be scooped off. Then it’s all prepared to add veggies, seasonings and noodles or rice. Jean Milici, Torrington, Conn.

Dear Heloise: I like to use just a little cooking oil to fry something, but it’s so easy to pour too much. A simple solution dawned on me. With my latest bottle, I punched a small hole in the seal instead of removing it. Now, I remove the cap and use the bottle like a squeeze bottle. John Chapman, Dallas

Dear Heloise: One of my worst frustrations was the trash bag sagging down and trash falling out. To keep this from happening, my husband put a large binder clip on the front and one on the back to hold the bag on the trash container. Frieda Gothard, Arlington, Texas

SBlt Send 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