While our cooking tools, implements and ingredients have changed dramatically over the last century (think of the microwave and fat-free ingredients, for instance), the favorite recipes are still those that were cooked up well over a century ago. Old-fashioned favorite traditional meals still make up the majority of the meals that are cooked for families across the United States and other nations around the world. While the way we cook may have changed, the food that we eat really hasn’t. Although it may be presented in different ways, the old-fashioned favorites are still showing up in recipes just as frequently as they were a century ago.

And can you really blame anyone for enjoying old-fashioned cooking and recipes more than the new-age, bland, strange food that is served up in some new restaurants? The best-tasting recipes are the ones that our grandmothers and great-grandmothers treated their families to many years ago, and some people count family recipes as their most prized possessions. They commit these family recipes to memory and pass them on to their children as heirlooms that are to be treated with reverence and respect. In fact, even suggesting a small change to grandma’s traditional recipe is enough to anger some of today’s cooks in their own home kitchens.

But wait: what about new fat-free and healthy eating crazes that have captured much of the nation? For some, it is heresy to transform traditional family recipes into fat-free or healthy versions, but luckily it is still indeed possible to create those traditional recipes while using healthier ingredients. Thankfully, many new healthy ingredients taste much the same as our traditional less healthy counterparts, so most people won’t notice much of a difference. But just to be safe, it is probably better not to mention to the most traditional diners that you went out of your way to make their meal a little healthy. Let them eat and enjoy, and the healthiness of your traditional recipe can be your own secret!

It really doesn’t matter what kind of cooking you’re best at, since there are recipe contests for pretty much every kind of food out there. Whether you are good at desserts, traditional meals, Italian, healthy foods, or even special drinks, there is probably a recipe contest that you can enter your creation into. While recipe contests are not as numerous as other kinds of contests and sweepstakes, there are a few simple steps you can follow to find the perfect cooking competition to enter right from your home computer. By using a simple search query, you’ll find more than a few contests that will let you show off your culinary skills.

It’s pretty simple: go online and use your favorite search engine to type in a query about contests that cover your favorite type of recipe. You will likely see quite a few results, from online coking websites to television program contests. It’s a smart idea to at least take a quick look at as many as you can, not just the first result, because sometimes the best recipe contests aren’t on the first page of search results. For each contests, write down the entry requirements, how they judge the winners, and what the possible prizes are. You can then use that list to compare recipe contests and decide which one is best suited for you.

Early on, you shouldn’t be too worried about winning recipe contests that have large cash prizes. Winning a significant prize is nice, but your first few recipe contests should be for getting yourself comfortable with sharing your recipes ad getting feedback from other participants and the contest administrators. You might not win your first few recipe contests, but use the feedback you get to inspire you to create new recipes and enter them in other contests. Make sure that you interact with other entrants if possible, and use your experience in recipe contests to meet other amateur chefs, share cooking ideas and experiences, and have lots of fun.

Finally, it’s very important to remember that you should never give out any credit card or bank account information when entering an online recipe contest. There isn’t really any reason that smaller websites or companies should charge you a fee for entering a recipe contest, so if they ask you for your credit card number you should not enter their contest. There are plenty of opportunities online to enter cooking contests that don’t cost you a dime, but that still allow you to showcase your best recipes for everyone to experience. Use some common sense, do a little research, and with some tenacity you’ll be winning your first recipe contest in no time!