June 2005 “Cooking Tips” Winner —
Paige Rohe

A lot of people pass by the baby food section without a second thought. But even after I moved on to solid meat and potatoes my mom continued to use baby food in many recipes. Baby food carrots or green peas are an excellent way to add extra flavor to home-made (or store-bought) chicken soup or beef stew. And if you're trying to save money on kitchen equipment, forget the hand-held blender, just use baby food bananas, carrots, asparagus, whatever! Most items you can think of are already made and available in your supermarket.

Paige Rohe

Prize:

• Cooking tips:
  Mexican Salsa
  Original Juan

June 2005 “Cooking Disasters” Winner —
Lisa Grant

I was getting ready to have a few families over for a barbecue. I decided to make the salads early so that when the guests arrived I could just relax and chat. I made a huge tossed salad , covered it with wrap and placed it in the fridge. I also cooked up some pasta and put it in a bowl in the fridge without a lid because I wanted it to cool off for a few minutes before I added the other ingredients. As I was cleaning the kitchen, I heard a loud crackling sound coming from my refrigerator. I opened the door to see an exploded bottle of root beer covering everything. The glass was everywhere and the pasta and salad had a nice dressing of bubbly root beer. I then realized that one of my darling children must have accidentally turned up the thermostat and everything on the top shelf froze causing the bottle to explode. Thanks for modern day conveniences of prepared salads at the grocery store, I was saved. What a way to be forced into cleaning your fridge!

Lisa Grant

Prize:

• Cooking Disasters:
  Chipotle BBQ Sauce
  Original Juan

Previous Winners

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