Put leftover cooked veggies to a variety of delicious uses

Dear Readers: Do you wind up with leftover cooked vegetables at the end of the week? Here are some delicious ideas for leftover vegetables:

• Think of them as the original precooked convenience food, and by adding some freshly browned onions or garlic, you'll have a new dish your family will love.

• Heat up a can of broth or make some beef, chicken or vegetable bouillon; add spices and let all those veggies simmer until hot, and you'll have a fast and healthy vegetable soup.

• Mix leftover chilled, already-cooked veggies with salad dressings or sandwich spreads or just arrange them on top of lettuce and add your favorite dressing.

• Cut or dice leftover potatoes, brown them with some onion and add eggs or egg substitute for a hearty breakfast or light supper. You can add diced red or green pepper for color or top with salsa or picante sauce.

• Make a vegetable hash by frying leftover mixed vegetables — such as corn, peppers, potatoes, peas and beans — with some seasonings. — Heloise

Dear Heloise: Here is my hint for the use of a pastry cutter: When making really delicious guacamole, use the pastry cutter to cut the avocado to the coarseness desired. Much better than mashing it. — Linda Nickerson, Fallbrook, Calif.

Dear Readers: Speaking of guacamole, do you know how to keep it from browning? Press plastic wrap into the guacamole so no air can get to the surface. If the recipe you are using calls for a little vinegar, lime or lemon juice, that will keep it from discoloring, too. — Heloise

Dear Heloise: I'm old and old-fashioned. I want my fish fried the way mother used to cook it (I say "saute" — it sounds better!). Instead of dredging in flour or bread crumbs, I use crushed potato chips. The flavor is really great, and it is a great way to use the broken chips in the bottom of the bag. Also, I fry my fish on the side burner of my patio barbecue to keep the fried-fish smell out of the kitchen. — Dick in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Dear Heloise: Utility shears are a wonderful invention — I use them for something different every day. My 87-year-old mother sits at the kitchen island and dices fruits, vegetables and meat with them instead of a sharp knife as she helps out with meals.

A preschool teacher of handicapped children used a sterilized pair to cut up their pizza for lunch.

Wish I'd had a pair of them 40 years ago when I started housekeeping and rearing three children. — Brenda Richardson, Shelbyville, Ky.

Dear Heloise: When you peel raw shrimp, nothing is worse than the smell when you put the shells in the trash! If you put the shells in a plastic bag with a little vinegar, they won't smell as much! — Betty Henderson, Deatsville, Ala.

You are right. Also, double-bag if you can, or use an old coffee can with a lid. — Heloise

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Send a great hint to: Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000; fax: 210-435-6473; e-mail: Heloise@Heloise.com. © King Features Syndicate Inc.