Prize Winning Dessert Recipes

First Place Winner: Over Easy Creme Caramel 

1 cup Eggbeaters
2/3 cup sugar
2 cups fat free milk or Half and Half
1 cup skim milk
1 tablespoons vanilla
6 to 8 tablespoons caramel syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In large bowl, combine Eggbeaters and sugar.  Mix well with an electric mixer.  In small saucepan, combine fat free (or Half and Half) and skim milk, heat on low until warm.  Add to Eggbeater mixture.  Mix well using the electric mixer.  Add vanilla.  Mix well.  Pour into 6 to 8 custard cups with 1 tablespoon of caramel sauce in the bottom.  Set filled custard cups in a 13x9 inch baking pan filled with very hot water.  Bake 45 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. 

Second Place Winner: White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Bars


1 (24 ounce) package vanilla flavored almond bark
1 1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
14 Nabisco Nutter Butter Peanut Butter sandwich cookies, crushed fine

Line a 11 1/2 x 7 3/4 sheet pan with parchment paper, allowing 1 inch to extend over the edge.  Microwave almond bark until melted, stirring after each minute.  Add peanut butter. Mix well.  Pour into sheet pan, spreading to cover bottom of pan.  Microwave chocolate chips until melted, stirring after every 30 seconds.  Drizzle over peanut butter layer.  Using a knife, swirl chocolate into peanut butter. Sprinkle crushed cookie over top.  Press firmly into bark.  Place pan in freezer for 15 minutes.  Cut into 36 bars.

Third Place Winner: Apple Cider Cheesecake

1 (9 inch) shortbread pie crust
1 (20 ounce) can apple pie filling
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
6 packets instant apple cider mix
1 (8 ounce) container whipped topping

In large bowl, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy.  Add cider mix. Mix well. Add whipped topping. Mix well.  Pour into pie crust.  Top with apple pie filling.  Refrigerate until time to serve.  All ingredients were purchased at Fairway grocery store.

It is really hard to judge a cooking contest!  Almost everything you try is delicious.  There was only one dish that I judged that I wanted to spit out.  If I hadn't been setting in front of an audience, I would have.  Instead I swallowed quickly, and followed it with several gulps of water, in an attempt to rid my mouth of the flavor.

These prize winning recipes will have you going back for seconds, not reaching for the water.  When I received the recipes, they did not have the winners names printed on them.  I know the third place winner, but to be fair to the other two, I will leave her name off too. 

The Apple Cider Cheesecake, is a perfect dessert to add to your Thanksgiving menu. 

My new cookbook will soon be available at schools, businesses, hospitals, and book fairs in cities across the United States.  Be sure to pick up a copy or two, when you see them.  They make great gifts!

Check back on Tuesday, 

for Tuesday's Tip and Tricks post! 

Follow me on my Facebook page!

Visit my friends blogs!

You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also visit my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  for more great recipes!  Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too!

Iowa State Fair II

I love the Iowa State Fair!  The food, the animals, the midway, the Butter Cow, and now the Chocolate Moose, all make the fair a fun place to be.  But my favorite thing about the fair is spending time with my mother!  My mom, is not just my mom, she is my best friend. I couldn't promote my cookbooks without her help.

I spent most of my time in the Elwell Family Food Center building.  Outside of the giant Chocolate Moose, the Ugly Cakes are what people wanted to see.  It is a contest where kids make gross cakes.

The Ugly Cakes are not the only contest for kids at the fair.  My favorite contest for kids is the Animal Face Cake contest. 

There were all kinds of wonderful food items to see in the Elwell Food Center!

The put most of the contest winners in display cabinets.

There was a cake ball contest with lots of cute entries. 

The Sandwich Guy from the Food Network, showed up to host a coffee recipe contest.

My new cookbook will soon be available at schools, businesses, hospitals, and book fairs in cities across the United States.  Be sure to pick up a copy or two, when you see them.  They make great gifts!

Check back on Friday, 

for the prize winning dessert recipes from one of 
the contests I judged at the Iowa State Fair! 

Follow me on my Facebook page!

Visit my friends blogs!

You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also visit my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  for more great recipes!  Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too!

Iowa State Fair

I love the Iowa State Fair!  There are all kinds of fun, amazing, and strange things to see.  I sit at a table in the Elwell Family Food Building where I autograph my new cookbook.  It is right next to the new hot attraction to see at the fair, the Chocolate Moose.  The moose is 10 1/2 feet tall and carved out of delicious chocolate.  I keep waiting for some small kid to try and take a bite out of it.

I haven't been able to get out of the building and see the sights, so my friend Darrellyn snapped a few photos for me.

The Butter Cow is an Iowa tradition.  It is a life sized cow, carved out of butter.  You haven't been to the fair until you have seen the cow.  Along with the cow, they always make other figures out of butter.  This year they had character from Disney's Sleeping Beauty. 

A strange sight to see at the fair is a demonstration on how to wash a chicken.  I don't know why you would want to wash a chicken, but apparently it is done.  I guess if you are entering it in a contest, you would need to groom it like you would a dog.

  

One of my favorite things to see at the fair are the beautiful cakes.

 

Next Tuesday, I will post pictures of the Ugly Cakes.

Check out my Facebook page for more pictures, and to see the new fair food items, like the Bacon Corn Dog and the Everything Square.

My new cookbook will be available at the Iowa State Fair, and soon it will be available at schools, businesses, hospitals, and book fairs in cities across the United States.  Be sure to pick up a copy or two, when you see them.  They make great gifts!

Check back on Friday, 

for the prize winning recipes that I am judging this week! 

Visit my friends blogs!

You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also visit my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  for more great recipes!  Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too!

Iowa State Fair

It is time for the Iowa State Fair again!  I love going to this fair!  It has one of the best and largest food departments.  While there I will be conducting two Cooking Seminars and I will also be judging six Cooking Contests.

One of my favorite things to do at the fair it to try all the new and strange food items that the vendors will be selling.  I will be posting pictures from the fair on the My Kind of Cooking  Facebook page.  You know you want to see the Double Bacon Corn Dog and the Deep Fried Pickle "Dawgs" pictures!

Outside of all the fun and food, my main reason for attending the Iowa State Fair is to promote and sale my new cookbook, the Ultimate Busy Woman's Cookbook.

If you are going to the Iowa State Fair, please stop by and say Hi to my Mom and I at the Elwell Family Food Building

Cooking Demos
Sunday August 12th at 11:00 am
Thursday August 16th at 9:30 am

Cooking Contests
August 15th at 11:00 am:  My Kind of Cooking - Desserts
August 15th at 1:30 pm:  Kids in the Kitchen
August 16th at 11:00 am:  My Kind of Cooking - Kid's Snacks
August 17th at 2:30 pm: Desserts for Jake/No Chocolate Desserts
August 18th at 9:30 pm: Beginners Contest
August 18th at 1:00 pm: Desserts for Christina/Chocolate Desserts

My new cookbook will be available at the Iowa State Fair, and soon it will be available at schools, businesses, hospitals, and book fairs in cities across the United States.  Be sure to pick up a copy or two, when you see them.  They make great gifts!

Check back on Friday, 

for my all time favorite Iowa recipe!

Visit my friends blogs!

You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also visit my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  for more great recipes!  Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too!

Prize Winning Mexican Casserole Recipes

Southwestern Chili Cheese Dog Casserole

4 cups chili, divided
8 hot dogs
8 fajita size flour tortillas
16 tablespoons Monterrey jack queso dip, divided
1 1/2 cups shredded pepper jack cheddar Mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Spread 2 cups chili on the bottom of 11x7 or 13x9 baking pan.  Spread 2 tablespoons queso dip on each tortilla.  Place a hot dog on each tortilla, roll up like an enchilada.  Place tortillas seam down in baking pan.  Spread 2 cups chili over tortillas.  Sprinkle pepper jack cheese over top.  Cover will foil.  Bake 20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.

 Nacho Chicken Mac & Cheese

1 (12 ounce) box mac and cheese
1 1/4 cups salsa, divided
1 (10 ounce) package frozen cooked fajita chicken strips
1 1/4 cup shredded Mexican cheese
2 cups slightly crushed nacho cheese tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare mac and cheese according to package directions.  Spray a 9x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. In baking dish, combine prepared mac and cheese and 3/4 cup salsa.  Mix well.  Microwave chicken strips for 3 to 4 minutes or until heated through.  Arrange on top of mac and cheese mixture.  Spread 1/2 cup salsa over chicken.  Sprinkle 1 cup shredded cheese over salsa.  Top with crushed tortilla chips.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup shredded cheese on top.  Bake 20 minutes.

One of the highlights of being at the Iowa State Fair was judging cooking competitions!    I judged sugar cookies, desserts, scones, casseroles, and bread contests.  There are fabulous cooks in Iowa and it is very hard to pick a winner.

 

I am really glad you don't know who makes the dishes you are testing.  As it turned out, many of my friends won or place in the contests I judged.  My friend Darrellyn, won second place in the, "Quick and Easy 5 Ingredient Casserole Contest", with the above, Southwestern Chili Cheese Dog Casserole recipe.

Visit my friends blogs!

You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also visit my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  for more great recipes!  Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too!

Cakes: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

The Ugly Cakes, are probably the most popular items for people to look at in the food center at the,
Iowa State Fair.

It is a kids contest, and tends to lean to the gross side of things.

All I can say about this one is, YUCK!

One of my favorite cake contests is the, Kids Animal Face Cakes.

It is nice to see kids can be creative it a cute way.

 The professional cake contest results in some amazing cakes! 

 This would be perfect for a baby shower! 

If it is a girl, that is.

Do you eat this, or wear it?

This cake looked even better in person.  It was one of my favorite ones!

This one looks like it belongs in a contest at the fair.

I had a great time at the Iowa State Fair!  I am always sad to see it come to an end.  

Two people who are probably happy to see it come to an end, are the brother and sister who were trapped in a ride high in the air for 2 1/2 hours.  Other than a slight sunburn, the pair were just fine.

The ride was shut down for a day and a half and then was back up and running.

On Friday, I will be posting more 

prize winning recipes from the, Iowa State Fair!

Visit my friends blogs!

You will love Bo and his blog,  Bo's Bowl.  Not only does he host great giveaways,  his recipes are incredible!  One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also visit my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,  for more great recipes!  Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too!