Midwest Living 2nd Annual Cook-Off Winning Recipes
Cranberry Sausage-Stuffed Pork Chops with Pumpkin Gravy [1]
In our annual Best of the Midwest recipe contest, we winnowed 500 entries down to eight finalists for a showdown at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. Our $10,000 winner: Linda Kay Drysdale of Riverview, Michigan. Linda's recipe calls for chops cooked in a pressure cooker, which reduces cooking time to a fifth of the oven version. Watching calories? Half a chop satisfies most people.
Cranberry Sausage-Stuffed Pork Chops with Pumpkin Gravy [2]
Download a printable collection of all top contest recipes [3]
Peanut Butter Buckeye Brownie Cheesecake [6]
Dawn Moore of Warren, Pennsylvania, grew up sampling buckeye candy from neighboring Ohio. It was the muse for this outrageously rich and creamy dessert she created.
Peanut Butter Buckeye Brownie Cheesecake [7]
Sweet and Sassy Walleye Chowder in Bread Bowls [10]
Linda Rohr of Darien, Connecticut, came up with a Midwest version of East Coast chowder using lake-fresh walleye, corn and sweet potato chunks in a golden bread bowl.
Sweet and Sassy Walleye Chowder in Bread Bowls [11]
Skillet Pork and Apple Mini Meat Loaves [14]
Patrice Hurd of Bemidji, Minnesota, says this moist, sweet and tangy comfort food reminds her of Sunday dinner at her grandmother's in northern Minnesota. Best of all, it's fast.
Skillet Pork and Apple Mini Meat Loaves [15]
Orange-Laced Blueberry-Rhubarb Cobbler with Almond Biscuits [18]
Barbara Estabrook of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, topped a juicy base with so-tender drop biscuits tasting of almonds—from almond flour! Purchase it online or at large supermarkets. This recipe was a People's Choice award winner.
Orange-Laced Blueberry-Rhubarb Cobbler with Almond Biscuits [19]
Dark Chocolate-Walnut-Cranberry Mousse Pie [22]
Bernice Janowski of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, puts tart cranberries in her chocolate pie. Be sure to thaw the cranberries ahead. If you don't, you may have to bake longer, giving the crust a chance to burn.
Spiced Pecan Sweet Potato Cake [26]
Deborah Biggs of Omaha, Nebraska, completes this amazingly moist dessert with Maple Whipped Cream.
Roasted Tomato Chicken Crostata [30]
Gloria Piantek of West Lafayette, Indiana, uses a purchased piecrust in this many-layered main dish. It won the People's Choice Award in the main dish category.
