Well, I hope you like Spam, because among the winners of the San Diego County Fair's one-day promotional contests were plenty of recipes using the canned spiced ham. North County racked up a number of prizes in the contests, which are sponsored by food manufacturers and usually incorporate one or more sponsored products in the recipe. You'll find a few more at www.nctimes.com in the online version of my column (and also last week's column).

Cardiff resident Debbie Morgan won first place in the "Fresh Taste for the Family Contest" with this recipe.

Hidden Valley Stuffed Veggies

7 assorted vegetables for stuffing (yellow squash, peppers, eight-ball squash, etc.)

1 pound turkey sausage

2/3 cup red onion, finely chopped

2/3 cup orange bell pepper, chopped

2/3 cup green chiles, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 packet plus 1 teaspoon Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning Mix

2 tablespoons bread crumbs

1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut lengthwise in half squash, 2/3 way up on peppers and eight-ball squash; remove all seeds and extra flesh from peppers and squash. Scoop out middle of squash until about 1/4 inch is left on edges all the way around. Set in nonstick baking dish until ready to stuff.

In large frying pan, saute turkey sausage, onion, bell peppers, and chiles with oil. Cook until meat is browned and onions are translucent. Add seasoning mix packet, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and tomatoes to pan; combine well. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and remaining teaspoon of seasoning mix.

Stuff veggies with mix, then cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil; bake for 5 minutes more, adding a little cheese if needed.

-- Hidden Valley Ranch Fresh Taste for the Family, Debbie Morgan, Cardiff, first place

And then there was Spam, with contests for adults and children. Here are the kids' winning recipes:

Spam Italiano

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup diced shallots

1 cup diced bell pepper (mixed color 1/3 cup each)

1-1/2 tablespoons chopped garlic

One 12-ounce can Spam Lite, cubed

1/2 teaspoon McCormick's Italian Seasoning

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 cups cooked angel hair pasta

1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Add olive oil to large frying pan on medium high heat. Add shallots, bell pepper, garlic and Spam to frying pan. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Add Italian seasoning and black pepper. Saute for 2 more minutes.

Add pasta to pan and toss everything together. Remove from heat. Squeeze juice of lemon over pasta mix. Put on serving plate. Garnish with parsley and serve. Serves 2.

-- Great American Spam Championship, Kid, Armando Cendali, 13, San Diego, first place

Spam Quiche Cups

1 can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

4 ounces cream cheese

2 eggs

1/4 cup onions, chopped

6 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained

1/2 cup Spam, cubed

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Salt and pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray. Separate can of dough into 8 triangles. Press one triangle on bottom and up sides of each muffin cup. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with mixer until smooth. Add eggs. Stir in onions, spinach, Spam, cheese, salt and pepper. Fill each cup to the top with egg mixture. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm. Makes 8.

-- Great American Spam Championship, Kids, Amanda Penny, 16, Murrieta, second place

Spamakopita

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 pound baby spinach

1 can Spam

1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled (2 cups)

1/2 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

10 phyllo pastry sheets, thawed if frozen

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, then cook spinach, stirring until wilted and tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat; cool about 10 minutes. Squeeze handfuls of spinach to remove as much liquid as possible, then coarsely chop. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in the Spam, feta, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt remaining 1/2 cup butter in small saucepan, then cool.

Cover up phyllo stack with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and then a dampened kitchen towel.

Take 1 phyllo sheet and arrange on a work surface with a long side nearest you (keeping remaining sheets covered) and brush with some butter. Top with another phyllo sheet; brush with more butter.

Cut buttered phyllo stack crosswise into 6 strips (roughly 12- by 2 3/4 inches).

Put a heaping teaspoon of filling near one corner of a strip on end nearest you; fold corner of phyllo over to enclose filling and form a triangle. Continue folding strip (like a flag), maintaining triangle shape. Put triangle seam side down on baking sheet and brush top with butter. Make more triangles in same manner, using all the phyllo.

Bake triangles in middle of oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool slightly.

Note: Pastry triangles can be formed, but not baked, 3 days ahead. Arrange in 1 layer in heavy-duty plastic bags, seal and freeze. Bake frozen pastries (do not thaw) in same manner as above.

-- Great American Spam Championship, Kids, Samuel Sugarman, 11, Encinitas, third place

Spam Fusion Fajitas

For salsa:

One 20-ounce can crushed pineapple in juice, drained

One 4-ounce can diced jalapenos, drained

1/4 cup sliced green onions

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup teriyaki sauce

For fajita meat:

One 12-ounce can Spam, sliced into 1/4-inch-wide strips

1 medium onion, sliced

1 red pepper, sliced into strips

2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

8 flour tortillas

Drain pineapple and jalapeno; combine. Add green onions, cilantro and teriyaki sauce. Mix.

Heat olive or vegetable oil in skillet over medium high heat. Fry onion and red pepper until soft and lightly browned, 5-8 minutes. Add Spam strips; fry until lightly browned, about 5-8 minutes. Heat tortillas. Spoon Spam mixture onto tortilla, top with salsa and enjoy! Serves 6.

-- Great American Spam Championship, Adult, Stacy Ann Slagor of San Diego, first place

And here are two winners of the Make It With Malt-O-Meal Cereal Contest:

Lemon Blueberry Biscotti

1 1/2 cups finely ground Malt-O-Meal Blueberry Muffins Tops Cereal (3 cups whole)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg

1 egg white

1/2 cup dried blueberries

Milk and additional sugar

White chocolate for dipping

In medium bowl, combine cereal crumbs, flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together. Stir in lemon zest. Add the butter and stir to combine. Lightly beat the egg and egg white together and add to flour mixture. Stir in blueberries.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide dough in half. On a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, shape into 2 loaves, approximately 8 inches by 3 inches, flattening slightly. Brush top with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and turn temperature down to 300 degrees. Let loaves cool for 10 minutes. Cut each loaf into 3/4-inch diagonal slices. Turn slices on their sides and return to oven for 10 minutes. Remove and turn over, and bake an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Dip one side of each biscotti in melted white chocolate. Allow to sit to harden. Store in airtight container.

- Make It With Malt-O-Meal Contest, Patricia Lapiezo, La Mesa, first place

Cinnamon Toasted Pecans

1 egg white

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 pound pecan halves

1/2 bag ground Malt-O-Meal Cinnamon Toasters cereal

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray.

In a bowl, beat the egg white until foamy. Mix in vanilla extract, sugar, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Mix well. Stir in pecan halves until well-coated.

Grind 1/2 bag Cinnamon Toasters cereal using a food processor. Set aside.

Spread a single layer of coated pecans onto foil-lined baking dish. Sprinkle with ground Cinnamon Toasters. Spread another layer of coated pecans and sprinkle with ground cereal. Repeat this process until pecans and ground cereal are gone. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, stirring with a wooden spoon every 15 minutes. Enjoy right out of the oven or once cooled off.

-- Make It With Malt-O-Meal, Christine LoPorte, Carlsbad, second place

Got a food question? Missing a recipe? Write to North County Times staff writer Laura Groch at Bites and Pieces, North County Times, 207 E. Pennsylvania Ave., Escondido, CA 92025 or e-mail to bites@nctimes.com.