Winning the H-E-B/ConAgra Meal Maker Challenge 2012…A Dream.

A few years ago I would never , have in my wildest dreams, ever have thought of participating in a Cook-Off.

As a new bride I couldn’t cook to save my life. I still remember the evening my father-in-law walked into our apartment with a bag filled with all the essentials to make a hearty Indian lentil curry. He insisted on teaching me how to make this one dish, just so that his son would never go hungry!

This memory never fails to put a smile on my face.

Fast forward a few years…

It’s only when we moved to Texas that I realized I needed to get my act together. As a stay at home Mom to a 1 year old, it hit me that I needed to embrace the desire (finally!) to cook.

Hubs ofcourse was thrilled considering he could take a break from the kitchen. (Even though he’s self taught,  he can whip up a culinary storm whenever he dons the Chef’s hat at home!) 

Today…

God has been good!

I’m a little more confident about the food I cook today. So when the invite to compete in the Meal Maker Challenge came my way, I decided to give it a shot. (I gave it a pass last year!) 

You all helped push the votes up there…Thank YOU!

Evin Cooper and I finished with the two highest tallied votes…

which meant I was going to the Cook-Off in San Antonio on September the 22nd!!

 The Cook-Off

Our family loves watching Food Network challenges, so being in the H-E-B/ConAgra Cook-Off was like living out one of those challenges!

I had the best assistants to help me- Sara {a.k.a. Sensibly Sara} and Hubs {yes, my Life Assistant too!}…

And had the sweetest supporters egging us on. {Bunny girl and Bunny Boo}

Bunny girl’s prophetic poster, made 2 days before the Cook-Off, got a little crinkled on our drive up to San Antonio.

The Juicy Details…

To say the Cook-Off was fun, would be an understatement…

It was a blast!!

We had 45 minutes to shop for our ingredients,

30 minutes to prep,

a little over an hour to cook and

15 minutes for the shoppers at H-E-B to vote.

I made my Hearty Tex-Mex Wraps, Easy Spinach Chili-Roni and Fruit & Nut Breakfast Rolls Surprise.

The Rolls were an absolute hit…Praise God for that!

One of the PR ladies at the event even admitted to coming back for her 4th helping!!

The Results of the Shopper’s Votes?

Yes, I WON!!!

If you don’t follow me on Facebook, this was the announcement I made…

I can’t ride on the wave of victory without acknowledging God’s Favor in all of this.

I know where I stood in the culinary department years ago and where He has brought me today.

I’m humbled and overwhelmed by it all.

True this isn’t a huge contest like Master Chef or Iron Chef…but in my world it’s just as big.

God gave me the opportunity to live out a dream…

and wow, this sure is an awesome one!

* Enjoy a few pictures from the Challenge. Most were taken by my 6 year old before our battery died out. Will share more photographs once I get the professional set from H-E-B *