Local woman’s recipe places in contest

   Hillsborough resident Ellen Sweeney’s carrot nut muffins proved tasty enough for a third-place prize in a contest sponsored by Quick Chek stores on Saturday.
   Quick Check’s Souper Chef Contest was held at the company’s store on Durham Avenue in South Plainfield, culminating a month-long search for recipes incorporating one of Quick Chek’s 14 fall menu soups. More than 65 individuals put their culinary skills to the test to submit an original recipe. Finalists were selected by a panel of three experts from the Center for Food Development and Manufacturing Technology at the School for Environmental and Biological Science of Rutgers and the H. J. Heinz Company.
   Ms. Sweeney recipe used Quick Chek’s Roasted Tomato and Garlic soup. Her third-place entry won her Quick Chek soup for a year, a prize valued at $250.
   The other winners in the contest were:
   First place winner Monica Garcia, of Rahway, whose recipe for Pancetta Tomato and Garlic won a set of gourmet all-clad cookware, valued at $750.
   Stacey Palermo, of Middlesex, received second-place honors for her Scrambled Breakfast Wrap using creamy cheddar broccoli soup. Ms. Palermo won a $500 gift card to Bed Bath and Beyond.
   Runners-up included Alison Bond, of North Bergen, for her roasted tomato and spinach risotto; and Devon Delaney, or Princeton, for her warm brie and mushroom steak sandwiches. Both received $50 Quick Chek gift cards.
   In addition to the prizes each contestant won during the competition, all finalists’ original recipes will be published in a Quick Chek brochure to be available at each of the company’s retail locations.
   For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.quick-chek.com.