Just Bare Reveals ‘Just 5’ Cooking Challenge Winner

Just Bare, a brand of all-natural, American Humane Certified chicken, has revealed the winner of its second annual Just 5 Cooking Challenge alongside the release of its first-ever digital cookbook.

The Marsala Chicken with Roasted Garlic & Caramelized Burst Tomatoes recipe, submitted by Lindsey Bjorge of Spring Lake, Minn., received the most votes and will be featured in the January/February issue of Whole Living magazine. Five voters were also randomly selected and named Just 5 Cooking Challenge sweepstakes winners, each receiving a free Apple iPad tablet.

Compatible with desktops, tablets and mobile devices, the 2012 Just 5 Cookbook was designed as a busy weeknight dinner saver and fancy weekend entertainment planner. Twenty recipes from the 2012 finalists are included, each one offering a unique combination of simplicity and creativity.

“What people can love about this [digital cookbook] is how simple, diverse and unique it is, with plenty of ideas to please family and friends,” said Lisa Golden Schroeder, Just 5 Cooking Challenge culinary judge and Just Bare blogger. “The most effective 5-ingredient recipes are the ones that use ingredients more than once during the cooking process—like using the zest of an orange in a light crumb coating for the chicken, while the orange juice is used in a vinaigrette dressing or sauce.”

The contest, which ran from Nov. 5 through Dec. 5, included more than 250 recipe submissions and nearly 11,000 voters. Of the 5-ingredient recipes, 30 semi-finalists were kitchen-tested by Schroder and her team of experts and were scored based upon appearance, taste and overall ease of preparation. The 20 recipes with the highest score advanced to online voting on Just Bare’s Facebook page.

Just Bare is distributed nationally by St. Cloud, Minn.-based GNP Company, a family-owned provider of premium chicken products to retail, deli and foodservice customers throughout the nation.