Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest Now Accepting Entries for Simple Sweets and Starters Category

MINNEAPOLIS, April 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Get creative in the kitchen and compete to win $1 million in dough! The redesigned 46^th Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest is now open for entries in the Simple Sweets and Starters category at www.BakeOff.com.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130404/NY88937LOGO-a )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130404/NY88937-b )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130404/NY88937-c )

Original recipes that use two or more different eligible ingredients may enter online to compete in the Simple Sweets and Starters category from April 4 (Noon CST) to May 9 (11:59 a.m. CST), 2013. To encourage easier to prepare recipes, submissions must include no more than seven ingredients (not including table salt, ground black pepper or water) and take 30 minutes or less to prepare (not including baking or cooling time).

"A sweet and salty Pumpkin Ravioli with Salted Caramel Whipped Cream dessert won the 45^th Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest," said Jann Atkins, Bake-Off® Kitchens Manager. "We can't wait to try the delicious desserts and appetizers this year's contenders will bring to the table. This is a really fun category filled with simple crowd-pleasing dishes that are perfect for any occasion."

For the first time in the 64-year history of the nation's premier cooking competition, America is voting among entries selected by the Bake-Off® Kitchens to determine which 100 recipes will vie for the $1 million grand prize. Those 100 finalists will compete at the Bake-Off® Contest finals, November 10-12, 2013, at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. 

Other sponsors of the 46^th Bake-Off® Contest are The J.M. Smucker Company, GE Appliances and Green Giant.

Chances to Enter, Vote
This year's Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest features three recipe categories with separate entry periods. Judges will select 60 recipes from each category for public voting at www.BakeOff.com. During the voting periods, consumers who are 18 years of age or older, can select their favorites, sending the top vote-getters to compete in the Contest finals in November. The first category, Amazing Doable Dinners, closed earlier this year. However, there are still two chances to enter and vote for recipes in the following categories: Simple Sweets and Starters (entry period: April 4 – May 9; voting period: June 13 –27) and Quick Rise and Shine Breakfasts (entry period: July 4 – August 8; voting period: September 12 – 26).

Amazing Doable Dinners Category Finalists
America has selected the 33 Amazing Doable Dinner category finalists. They're from 15 different states and range in age from 25 to 64 years. Their recipes are available now at www.BakeOff.com and include simple main dishes that are true weeknight wows, such as Easy Caprese Pizza Bake, Mediterranean Chicken Vegetable Galette and Sweet Pulled Pork Pizza. The Amazing Doable Dinners category finalists will compete, along with finalists from the remaining two categories, in the Bake-Off® Contest event in Las Vegas, where final judging will be conducted by a panel of food experts.

Awards
The 46^th Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest will award a total of nearly $1.1 million in cash, prizes and trips. The grand prize winner will receive $1 million and $10,000 in GE kitchen appliances. The second prize winner will receive $10,000 and $3,000 in GE kitchen appliances. The third prize winner will receive $5,000 and $2,000 in GE kitchen appliances. Contest finalists are also eligible for special awards from contest sponsors including: The GE Imagination at Work Award, The Jif® Peanut Butter Award, The Crisco is Cooking™ Award and the Eagle Brand® Signature Recipe Award.

Contest Details
The Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest began in 1949, and the first $1 million grand prize was awarded in 1996. At the 45^th Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest, held March 2012 in Orlando, Fla., Christina Verrelli of Devon, Pa., won the $1 million grand prize for her Pumpkin Ravioli with Salted Caramel Whipped Cream recipe.

Official contest rules, including lists of all eligible ingredients and the amount of each that must be used in each recipe submission, are available online at www.BakeOff.com.

About the 46th Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest Sponsors
Pillsbury products have been trusted by families to make meal times special times for more than 130 years. Favorite Pillsbury products include refrigerated cookies, crescent dinner rolls, breads, biscuits, pie crusts and sweet rolls as well as frozen biscuits, pie crusts and breakfast items. For product information and great-tasting recipes, visit www.pillsbury.com. Log on to www.generalmills.com for company information.

Green Giant started out in Le Sueur, Minnesota, as the Minnesota Valley Canning Company in 1903, when some 11,750 cases of white cream-style corn were sold in the company's first year. For the past 100 years, the Giant's Valley is where fresh and great-tasting vegetables are grown and picked at the peak of perfection. Green Giant has been implementing sustainability into the business since 1929 when the company introduced vacuum-pack technology and Green Giant has plans to continue to become "greener" in the future. The brand is now part of General Mills, Inc.

General Mills is one of the world's leading food companies, operating in more than 100 countries. Its more than 100 consumer brands include Pillsbury, Green Giant, Cheerios, Fiber One, Haagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Yoplait, Betty Crocker and Old El Paso. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills had 2012 worldwide sales of US $16.7 billion.

For more than 110 years, The J.M. Smucker Company has been committed to offering consumers quality products that bring families together to share memorable meals and moments. Today, Smucker is a 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. The Company's wide variety of iconic brands and products include such trusted favorites as Smucker's^® jams, jellies, preserves, fruit spreads and ice cream toppings; Jif^® peanut butter; Crisco^® oils, shortening and no-stick cooking sprays; Eagle Brand^® sweetened condensed milk; and Pillsbury^® baking mixes, ready-to-spread frosting and flour. For more information and delicious recipes, please visit www.smuckers.com, www.jif.com, www.crisco.com, www.eaglebrand.com and www.pillsburybaking.com.

GE Appliances is at the forefront of building innovative, energy-efficient appliances that improve people's lives. GE Appliances' products include refrigerators, freezers, cooking products, dishwashers, washers, dryers, air conditioners, water filtration systems and water heaters. General Electric (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter to build a world that works better. For more information on GE Appliances, visit www.ge.com/appliances.

SOURCE Pillsbury