Grand Prize Winners Announced In the Hungry Jack(R) 'Use Up the Box' Recipe and Essay Contest

Three Creative At-Home Cooks Each Win a Year's Worth of Groceries

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Apr 09, 2010, 08:44 ET

ORRVILLE, Ohio, April 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Opening up the pantry to discover mealtime solutions has never been so rewarding! The makers of Hungry Jack Instant Mashed Potatoes, Pancake Mix, and Syrup are pleased to announce the three Grand Prize winners of the first-ever Hungry Jack Use Up the Box Recipe and Essay Contest. Hungry Jack teamed up with Food Network Chef Adam Gertler to spark creativity and encourage home cooks to look to their pantries for meal time inspiration. Consumers were invited to use Hungry Jack Instant Mashed Potatoes, Pancake Mix, or Syrup as ingredients in their own original and unique recipes for a chance to win a year's worth of groceries. After an initial judging and a nationwide vote, the winners in each of the three categories are:

Mashed Potatoes

Marla H. of St. Paul, MN for her recipe Beef N Cheddar Tater Boats

Pancake Mix

Maryanne S. of Harveys Lake, PA for her recipe Zucchini Pizza with Caramelized Red Onion

Syrup

Julie D. of Clementon, NJ for her recipe Chicken & Pear Salad with Incendiary Bacon & Walnut Vinaigrette

The creators of the three winning recipes put their pantry staples to work by creatively incorporating Hungry Jack Instant Mashed Potatoes, Pancake Mix or Syrup with other basic ingredients. Their "out of the box" thinking has helped each to win a year's worth of groceries.

"We are delighted to discover how recipes come alive with Hungry Jack products," said Maribeth Badertscher, Vice President, Corporate Communications, The J.M. Smucker Company. "Many pantry staples can be used as time- and money-saving meal solutions and we hope these recipes inspire families to stir up their own creative meal possibilities."

The Hungry Jack "Use Up the Box" Recipe & Essay Contest kicked off in September 2009, when Chef Gertler unveiled five creative recipes using Hungry Jack products, including Turkey Burger Sliders and Chocolate Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting. Creative home cooks across the country were inspired to submit their own innovative and delicious recipes. Qualified entries underwent an initial round of judging based on creativity, nutritional balance, taste, appearance and ease of preparation. The qualified entries were narrowed down to a group of nine finalists – three in each category, Instant Mashed Potatoes, Pancake Mix, and Syrup – and posted on www.useupthebox.com for a nationwide vote between January and March. The finalists with the highest combined scores from the initial judging round and the nationwide online vote were declared the winner in their respective category.

The winning recipes, as well as those from Chef Gertler and Hungry Jack, are available in a downloadable cookbook featuring inspiring meal possibilities made with Hungry Jack Instant Mashed Potatoes, Pancake Mix, and Syrup. Visit www.useupthebox.com to view and download a copy of the cookbook.

About The J.M. Smucker Company

For more than 110 years, The J.M. Smucker Company has been committed to offering consumers quality products that help families create memorable mealtime moments. Today, Smucker is the leading marketer and manufacturer of fruit spreads, retail packaged coffee, peanut butter, shortening and oils, ice cream toppings, sweetened condensed milk, and health and natural foods beverages in North America. Its family of brands includes Smucker's®, Folgers®, Dunkin' Donuts®, Jif®, Crisco®, Pillsbury®, Eagle Brand®, R.W. Knudsen Family®, Hungry Jack®, White Lily® and Martha White® in the United States, along with Robin Hood®, Five Roses®, Carnation®, Europe's Best® and Bick's® in Canada. The Company remains rooted in the Basic Beliefs of Quality, People, Ethics, Growth and Independence established by its founder and namesake more than a century ago. The Company has appeared on FORTUNE Magazine's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in the United States 12 times, ranking number one in 2004. For more information about the Company, visit www.smuckers.com.

The J. M. Smucker Company is the owner of all trademarks, except Pillsbury is a trademark of The Pillsbury Company, LLC used under license; Carnation is a trademark of Societe des Produits Nestle S.A., used under license; and Dunkin' Donuts is a registered trademark of DD IP Holder LLC used under license.

SOURCE The J.M. Smucker Company