If there was a Miss America of cooking, if Betty Crocker could come to life, they might get the sort of questions Ellie Mathews still faces 10 years after she dreamed up Salsa Couscous Chicken.

How do you begin to conceive of a dish that will wow judges' hearts and stomachs? If you're Ellie Mathews, who won the $1 million grand prize in the 1998 Pillsbury Bake-Off, "it involves a fair amount ...

Ellie Mathews knows what it feels like to win a million dollars. Her Salsa Couscous Chicken won the grand prize in the 1998 Pillsbury Bake-Off, the second contest to award $1 million to the winner.

Ten years after winning the Pillsbury Bake-Off, Ellie Mathews still faces plenty of questions about her Salsa Couscous Chicken. Looking for a free mini puzzle? Play the USA TODAY Quick Cross now.

Flour power is out. Box mixes and quick-cook couscous are in. With an emphasis on quick cooking, the finalists in the 38th Pillsbury Bake-Off, which was held last week at the Renaissance Resort in ...

Good Food The World of Competitive Cooking Ellie Mathews won $1 million in the mother of all cooking competitions, the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest, in 1998. She talks about the world of competitive ...

All around her kitchen sat the pieces that would solve Ellie Mathews’ puzzle. Frozen chicken thighs. A jar of Old El Paso salsa. A sack of couscous. Raisins. Cinnamon. Combine and bake. Jot the ...

In this blasé memoir, Seattle author Mathews (Ambassador to the Penguins) recounts her journey from kitchen amateur to winner of the million-dollar 1998 Pillsbury Bake-Off. Mathews, a married graphic ...

Imagine winning $1-million for simmering chicken thighs with chunky salsa and seasonings. Or getting rich by transforming chopped honey-oat granola bars into a deliciously sweet pie. Or how about ...