FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SATURDAY, OCT. 18, 2008

Gail Fuller takes home blue ribbon in
Make it with Malt-o-Meal recipe contest

RALEIGH – Gail Fuller of Raleigh took home a blue ribbon and $100 for the top dish in the Make it with Malt-o-Meal recipe contest at the N.C. State Fair. Fuller’s recipe was Crispy Craisin Nut Crunch.

 Mary Boury of Knightdale got second place and $50 for her Apple Raisin Stuffing, and Eli Donaldson of Apex took home third-place honors and $25 in Malt-o-Meal coupons for his Autumn Surprise.

The winning recipe follows:

Crispy Craisin Nut Crunch

• 1 eight-ounce package of white chocolate chips, melted
• 1 cup dried cranberries (Craisins)
• 1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
• 1 cup Malt-o-Meal crispy rice cereal
• ¼ cup chocolate chips (any flavor), melted

Toast pecans in 350-degree oven for about five minutes.  Melt chips in a bowl over boiling water.  Add pecans, dried cranberries and crispy rice cereal to melted chips and stir until evenly coated.  Drop by tablespoons onto wax paper. The mixture will not stick together very well until cooled.  Cool about 15 minutes in refrigerator.  Melt ¼ cup chocolate chips over boiling water and drizzle over each cluster. Makes about 24 clusters.

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Apple Raisin Stuffing
Second Place: Mary Boury of Knightdale

• 4 cups of stuffing mix  (Pepperidge Farm brand used)
• 2 cups Malt-O-Meal  Raisin Bran
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 4 tablespoons butter
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• 1 ½ cups chopped apple (honey crisp used)
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup water
• 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 eggs
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix stuffing and cereal. In a large pan cook celery and onion in butter for 10 minutes. Add apple and parsley and cook for an additional five minutes. Remove from heat and add to the stuffing mix. In a small bowl mix the remaining ingredients and pour over vegetables and stuffing. Mix well and pour into a greased baking dish (or use to stuff chicken or pork chops). Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Autumn Surprise
Third Place: Eli Donaldson of Apex (age 6)

• 1 package refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough (16 ounces or more)
• 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 can Eagle Brand condensed milk
• ½ cup cold half and half
• 1 3.9 ounces package chocolate instant pudding
• 1 ½ cup Cocoa Dyno-Bites Cereal
• 1 cup toffee pieces
• Topping – Hershey kisses (pumpkin spice flavor)

Roll out cookie dough into a circle or square ¼ inch thick. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the edge is set (the cookie will still be soft). Let cool 15 minutes, then loosen cookie from pan running a knife under the edge. Let cookie completely cool before adding the other layers.

Mix cream cheese and sugar in a small bowl. Mix condensed milk, half and half and pudding in another bowl. Mix until well blended. Let sit for 5 minutes. The pudding will be very stiff and feel more like frosting.

Spread cream cheese mixture on top of cookie. Sprinkle 1 cup of the cocoa cereal on top of the cream cheese. Then sprinkle ½ of the toffee pieces on top as well. Press these toppings into the cream cheese gently.

Next spread the pudding mix on top of the cookie. Then, sprinkle the rest of the cereal and toffee pieces on top of the pudding. Use the Hershey Kisses as garnish around the edges, or in the middle of each piece! Serve immediately or refrigerate.