I played this game for awhile and felt like it was kind of a slog. Until I realized your hints and shuffle are renewed every single level and you have plenty of each. Just pick out all the easy matches. The side by sides first, then check all edges and snag the matches on each of the 4 sides. The minute you get stuck, use a hint or re-shuffle and repeat this.

Don't dwell on finding matches, if a match is not evident at after 10 seconds or so, use your hint or re-shuffle ability. By the time you get to the 3rd or 4th reshuffle you will have significantly whittled down the items to match making the game much easier, and you'll still have more to use if you continue to have a hard time.

You'll have all the achievements quickly, without spending a lot of time and what is otherwise pretty tepid game play.