Crowley – Thirteen 4-Hers represented St. Martin Parish at the annual southwestern region 4-H cookery contest held here March 28.

The St. Martin 4-Hers competed against more than 100 dishes in 13 different divisions and schools from across 11 parishes.

Participation in the contest teaches:

•The skill of cooking.

•How to work independently in the kitchen as they get older.

•Creativity and safety in relation to food.

•Responsibility.

•How to follow rules, a recipe, and how to transport food safely.

4-Hers and their parents participated in a healthy living scavenger hunt where they learned about the importance of healthy eating, serving sizes and physical eight different stations.

St. Martin Parish cookery winners include:

•1st place: Sadie Wright, crawfish; Damon Lanclos, one-dish beef; Gabrielle Smith, quick and easy beef; and Leigh Ann Hebert, non-baked sugar.

•2nd place: Hailey Hayes, oyster.

•3rd place: Erin J. Blanchard, fish and other seafood.

•Blue ribbon: Gavin Thibodeaux, shrimp; Catherine Blanchard, low-calorie beef; Bailey Leger, rice main dish; Alexis Babineaux, rice side dish; Mya Andrus, rice dessert; and Justin Blanchard, baked sugar.

Red ribbon: Elliott Bernard, crab.

Participants included Hailey Hayes, Erin Blanchard, Damon Lanclos, and Bailey Leger, Cecilia Jr. High; Elliott Bernard, At-Large; Gavin Thibodeaux, and Alexis Babineaux, Parks Middle; Sadie Wright, Teche Elementary; Catherine Blanchard, and Leigh Ann Hebert, Cecilia High School; Gabrielle Smith, Breaux Bridge Elementary; Mya Andrus, Parks Primary; and Justin Blanchard, St. Bernard.

Winning recipes include:

Hawaiian Roll-Ups

Damon Lanclos, Beef-One-Dish

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp. prepared mustard

3 drops Worcestershire sauce

1 cup soft bread crumbs

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp. dried minced onion

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef

14 thin slices deli ham

14 bacon strips, cut in half widthwise

1 can (8 oz.) pineapple tidbits, undrained

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine milk, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, bread crumbs, brown sugar, minced onion, salt and pepper. Crumble beef over the mixture and mix well. Spread beef mixture over ham slices. Roll up each slice, starting with the short side. Cut in half widthwise, wrap a bacon slice around each. Secure with toothpicks.

Place in an ungreased 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Pour pineapple over roll ups. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes or until heated through.

Yields 28 servings.

Not So Cajun Meat Pie

Gabrielle Smith, Beef-Quick-and-Easy

1 lb. ground beef

2 tbsp. Cajun seasoning

1 medium onion, chopped

2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce

1 tsp. sugar

1 5 oz. can black olives

1 8.5 oz. box corn muffin mix

1/3 cup milk

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Season ground meat with Cajun seasoning in a medium sized bowl. Brown ground meat for 5 minutes in a 9 inch skillet (5 minutes total).

Drain grease and add onions and cook until clear. Add onions to ground beef. Cook together for three minutes. Add tomato sauce and sugar and black olives to skillet (4 minutes total).

Cook for 25 minutes on medium heat (25 minutes total).

While meat sauce is cooking, mix corn muffin mix, egg and milk in a small bowl. Set aside (1 minute total).

When meat sauce is done, spray an 8 inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Pour in corn muffin mixture. Add whole kernel corn on top of muffin mixture. Add ground beef mixture on top of whole kernel corn. Place in oven on middle rack and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool before serving (25 minutes total).

Serves 6, 8 slice servings.

Total preparation time, 1 hour.

Cookies and Cream Mini No-Bake Cheesecake

Leighann Hebert, Non-Baked Sugar

1 1/2 cup crushed graham crackers

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

7 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

2 1/4 cups heavy cream

1 lb. cream cheese softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla powder

1 tbsp. lemon juice

3/4 cup chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed

Combine graham cracker crumbs with sugar. Add melted butter and blend until combined. Press into cupcake liner. Set aside.

Beat heavy cream until medium peaks form. Set aside. Add cream cheese, sugar, salt, vanilla powder, and lemon juice to a bowl and beat until smooth consistency. Add cream cheese mixture to heavy cream and beat until incorporated. Gently fold in chocolate sandwich cookies. Fill foil cupcake liner with a slight mound in the center, as the cheesecake will become slightly sunken in the center. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours to set or leave overnight for best results. Remove from refrigerator and smooth on the top to level the edges. Serve with whipping cream and garnish with mini chocolate sandwich cookies.

Yields 16 servings.

Quick and Easy Crawfish Etoufée

Sadie Wright, Crawfish

16 oz. crawfish tails

4 oz. or 1 stick butter

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/4 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of shrimp soup

Cajun seasoning to taste

Red pepper (optional)

3 cups cooked rice

Rinse crawfish tails, drain, set aside.

Melt butter in a large non-stick 12 inch skillet. Add onions, celery, and bell peppers. Sauté on medium heat until onions are clear. Add crawfish tails; cook until they curl up. Add cream of shrimp soup. Sprinkle with Cajun seasoning to taste. Add red pepper for spicier etoufée.

Cook on low heat for 15 minutes and serve over 1/2 cup cooked rice.

Yields 6 servings.