Never heard of it...5 bucks huh? Stacy

Yes, for each of them that you fill out. They send them to you.

Wouldn't it be more lucrative to do something in an area where you have an actual talent or skill? There are loads of online opportunities for people who write, or create recipes, etc. Just in the past month alone, I've earned about $5000 worth of prizes for recipes I came up with. Once made $25,000 for a recipe that I sat down and wrote up in about 10 minutes (didn't even test it).

Now I'm not saying everyone can do precisely that, but we all have our individual talents and I think we do best when we identify and use those talents.

Just a suggestion, though.

Azzalea, I am always creating a new way to prepare something - where do I sign up? I didn't realize it was a 'talent' to recreate a recipe!

The best place to find out about recipe contests is Cooking Contest Central (www.recipecontests.com) Part of the site is free, part is by subscription.

At any given time, there are usually 30-50 (sometimes more) open recipe contests. There are people who actually make a living through recipe contesting (some making $50,000-100,000/year). I'm more of a hobbyist with it.

If you don't want to commit to actually subscribing to a web, you could try googling. I'd suggest something along the lines of:

"recipe contest"+January+2008
That way you'll find some contests that have January deadlines. Then work forward to future months. Even though I belong to CCC, I often do internet searches, because not every contest is always listed at the site. Sometimes, by doing your own search, you find some interesting obscure ones. Other ways to find recipe contests--keep your eye on the food sections of your favorite magazines, or on the coupon section of the Sunday paper. Enter your state or county fair. Local festivals often have cooking/recipe contests. Sometimes supermarkets have contests for recipes using specific products.

Great hobby, and even better than the prizes are the wonderful friends you make doing it. I've got friends all over the country that I've met through contesting. Contrary to the public's perception, it's not really a very cutthroat type of competition. Most participants are wonderful people who will even help out a competitor with advice, ingredients or utensils.

Hope that helps a little. Good luck, and may there be many FedEx's in your future!

That's really interesting, Azzalea. I probably wouldn't have the time to devote to it, except for maybe a couple of months of down time in my business. It might be fun to google that month, as you outlined, and try it sometime.

Do you ever have to cook the dish in front of a group of people or judges? Or do you just submit a recipe online, and wait to hear if you won? I'm never comfortable with having anyone in the kitchen while I cook, so don't think I'd like cooking with people watching and scrutinizing my every move. LOL.

A lot of gals on the AOL penny pinching boards do the pinecone thing they love it.

Shea, there are different kinds of contests.

Some are purely recipe contests, where you send in a recipe, and at some point, they notify the winners that they've won (the $25,000 was one of those).

Some are cooking contests--where you submit a recipe, the sponsor chooses finalists, and then you go to a Cook-Off (Pillsbury is the granddaddy of those, but also Southern Living, National Chicken, The National Oyster Festival and others have cook offs.)

Lately, there have been a number of contests where the finalists were chosen by the sponsor, then they were listed on the sponsor's website and the winner was chosen by internet voting.

I've done all types. For me, the most fun contests are those with a cook-off. I love the travel (almost always paid for by the contest), enjoy meeting the other contests. And really love to make and present my foods attractively.

But it certainly is possible to pick and choose only the contests where recipes are submitted but you don't have to cook them.

One of the really nice things about this hobby? You can devote as much or as little time to it as you like. For the past year, with my mom needing more and more care, I've been really limited in how much contesting I was able to do. And I was by-passing most of the ones with cook-offs. But I still was able to get in enough recipes that I've won a few interesting contests. I am hoping to get back to being more involved now, though.

Can be a lot of fun, though--no matter how involved you want to get.

I'd recommend keeping a notebook of ideas, and jotting them down as they occur to you. Sooner or later, you usually find a good contest for almost any kind of recipe. Again--good luck!

This wasn't talking about my talents. I teach classes and I am fine with that. This was talking about surveys. I teach cooking classes out of my home actually, so that sounds right up my alley. I however, think that spending 10 minutes filling out a survey for $5 for my daughter's piggy bank is a bonus to my other skills.

Wendy, I checked out the site and have a couple of questions. First, I could not find a place to sign up on the site. How do I do it, do I need a referral? and it says they need pay pal information. Can't I set it up to have checks come to me instead? I am not sure I want to give out my pay pal information. thanks, Montana_ Jan

I do alot of online survery usually ZoomPanel. There you collect points to get different items. I couldn't figure out how to sign up at the pinecone either.

Can you help Wendy?

Wendy, have you actually received the money yet? Sometimes after a long day, I'm too tired to do anything real productive, but could handle filling out a survey.
Thanks.

Wendy, could you post a link where you can sign up? I didn't see to infor on the site. An extra few $$ looks good to me.
Donna

Wendy, I'd also like a link. Thanks much,
Lynne

This link provides a lot of info for those looking for answers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pine Cone Research FAQ

Thanks, Azzalea, for all the information and encouragement! You are most kind. And thanks, Wendy, for your links, too. This forum is so full of information and helpful people!

My take on this is that you can only sign up if you find a banner ad no other way am I correct?
Donna

You're very welcome, Shea, hope you find your way to the winner's circle.

That is the way I saw it also donner you have to wait for the banner..so I am going to keep my eye out for it....check it when I check out woot. And also going to check into the one bunny does sounds like something I could do while I am out on the road with Brian...Stacy

I also do one called My Survey that you get points for.
Donna

I used to do the Pinecone surveys, but it seems like they've slowed down. Yes, they have certain time periods when you can sign up.

You might want to check mypoints.com, if you do alot of online shopping they give you so many points per dollar spent if you go through them. I usually forget about them when I could be using them!
They also send you emails, (yes sorta spammy) if you click the button in an email you get 5 points. The points add up quickly, you get gift cards for your points (they usually arrive via snail mail in less than a week). Check them out, DH & I have belonged for several years.