April 2007 “Cooking Tips” Winner —
Elizabeth Kander

When I make meatloaf, I shape the meat into patties instead of a loaf. This not only cuts the cooking time to 30 minutes, but also it’s easier to serve. My husband loves that they are already in patties for leftover meatloaf sandwiches.

Elizabeth Kander

Prize:

• Cooking tips:
  Martini 101
  El Paso Chile Company

April 2007 “Cooking Disasters” Winner —
Heather Buckman

My husband will tell you I’m an “awesome” cook and that I’ve never made anything he didn’t like…well…except for maybe that one time. I had just seen a recipe for hash browns on a television show and thought it would be interesting to try. You peeled the potatoes, cut them up in chunks and put them in the blender on “grate.” Well, by the time I was done “grating,” I had a blender full of green mushy-looking potatoes. I thought to myself that I did just what the television host did and so, following the instructions, put them in the frying pan. I’ll just say by the time the whole thing was over, my sweet husband tried (and I mean REALLY tried) to eat them and literally threw in the plate…he said he just couldn’t do it (and mind you, this is a man who will eat ANYTHING.) In my attempt to finally get them cooked I had sort of (ok, really) burnt the outside while the inside was a not-so-wonderful undercooked layer of mushy greenish-brown something that used to be potatoes. It was horrible! (And they say ketchup can make anything taste good!)

Heather Buckman

Prize:

• Cooking Disasters:
  Margarita 101
  El Paso Chile Company

Previous Winners

Click here to see our previous "Cooking Tips" and "Cooking Disasters" contest winners!