The Pillsbury Bake-Off

Dear Pillsbury Bake-Off judges,

I am a mother of 4, and have a husband that reminds me that I shouldn't use mealtime as the time to "experiment" on my family.  He complains that I rarely use recipes when I cook, and whines when he finds out that the "secret ingredient" used in any given meal had any hint of nutritional value.  Because of this, I think that you should highly evaluate my recipes that I entered into this year's bake-off.  Since I'm apparently used to inventing new and sometimes unusual foods, it would really prove to my husband that mealtime is truly a great time to show creativity and that recipes are for suckers who actually plan their meals in advance...and the million dollar prize would be nice.  

Thank you,

Roxanne Risenmay

Yes, I entered this year's bake-off.  No, I don't expect to come close to winning a million dollars.  BUT it was a ton of fun inventing recipes using their products and guidelines.  I had several ideas for their bake-off a few years ago and then had a baby, needless to say, inventing recipes on a few hours of sleep, not tasty.  So this year, I finally did it.  

In the top picture: Brie Dumplings with an Apricot Butter Sauce (made with Pie Crust).  Below: Maui Smothered Breakfast Sandwich (made with Biscuits).  

I took the pictures while still experimenting so the final product looks a lot more appetizing then shown.  They both however taste terrific.  My kids loved it when I had "Pillsbury Bake-Off" night and made all of my ideas for dinner.  They also made pretty accurate judges, telling me that "they wished I'd have done this, or that."  Chris just liked that it was creativity with a purpose.  (He really doesn't complain or whine a lot, by the way.) When I told the kids that I was entering the contest, I made it explicitly clear that I am not expecting to be called as a finalist, let alone win.  Tens of thousands of people enter, and most of their stuff is pretty fantastic if you check the site.  In fact, I didn't even tell the kids the grand prize (a million dollars) because I knew they would make a big deal out of it, and I knew the chances were about 1 in a million anyway.  The next day when my friend Amber asked how the recipes were going and Aubrey excitedly blurted "She can win a million dollars!" I knew that somehow the news got out despite my efforts.  So yes, it was a ton of fun to do, and these are recipes that I'll actually make in the future.  And no, I'm not thinking that I'll come close to winning.  I really feel the need to make that clear lest you think I am that delusional.