Homemade crust is money-saver

Dear Readers: Saving money is No. 1 on everyone’s mind these days, but you don’t necessarily have to sacrifice taste when preparing a favorite dessert. In fact, with my quick and easy graham-cracker crust recipe, you can have homemade taste for less than you’d spend on a store-bought brand.

You’ll need only three ingredients:

1‚Ñ4 cup sugar

1‚Ñ2 cup melted butter or margarine

1 cup graham-cracker crumbs

Make the crumbs by crushing about 8 whole graham crackers in a closed plastic bag with a rolling pin or by using a food processor. Then mix the sugar, melted butter and graham-cracker crumbs together. Press the mixture into the bottom and sides of an 8- or 9-inch pie pan. Keep refrigerated until you’re ready to use it. Doubling the crumb-mixture recipe works well for cheesecakes made in a springform pan. Heloise

Dear Heloise: I find that if I spray a little cooking spray in my strainer when I am cooking pasta, the pasta does not stick. Saves pasta and scrubbing of the strainer. Jimmie Haury, Zachary, La.

Dear Heloise: Due to high cholesterol, I have to eat “fake” eggs, which are not very fluffy. Now I add about 2 tablespoons of low-fat cottage cheese to 1‚Ñ4 cup of fake eggs and stir over low heat. They come out fluffy and light, and taste great! Raul Kottler, Oak View, Calif.

I do egg-sactly the same, and it’s a nice way to “fluff out” an egg-white omelet, too. Heloise

Dear Heloise: My mother-in-law taught me to “look over” dry beans, peas and nuts for stones by pouring a single layer on a clean, flat surface. Yesterday, I was having trouble trying to sort fresh field-picked blueberries for stems, bad berries, etc. I got a tray and poured a single layer of berries, and the job was done quickly. I rinsed them well, drained in a strainer, packed and froze them. They are really good frozen. Dixie Howard, Huntsville, Ark.

Dear Heloise: My wife asked me to peel some spuds for dinner. They were small, round, red potatoes. I tried a new idea so I would not nick my finger with the peeler. I peeled about 1‚Ñ4 of the end of the potato, then stuck a fork deep into the peeled end. Then I held the fork, and my fingers were no longer in the peeler’s way! Brian, via e-mail

Dear Readers: There are several things you can use in place of sugar, if you need to watch sugar intake:

•Ground cinnamon adds flavor to applesauce or baked apples.

•Cinnamon, vanilla or other extracts help flavor coffee.

•Sweet potatoes taste good when sprinkled with pumpkin-pie spice and a little butter substitute. Heloise

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