By Kristen Friesen
For The Independent

Print Story | e-mail Story | Visit Forums

Featured Advertiser

Lane Hickenbottom (From left) Tonya Howell, Mitzi Stinson and Nicole Thomas film an episode of Simply Cooking, the Grand Island Independentıs online cooking show, recently at a kitchen set up at Kenıs Appliance. Lane Hickenbottom Mitzi Stinson, the star of Simply Cooking, shows viewers how to make quick and healthy meals for their families. Click Thumbnails to View

And though meals such as London Broil with Crispy Potatoes and Peppers sound as though they take all day to make, nothing that takes more than 30 minutes to prepare makes it on the show.

"One of our goals at 'Simply Cookin'' is to make the recipe for you as simple as possible," Stinson said as she dumped precut, preseasoned potatoes into a sauce pan.

The ease with which Stinson commands the kitchen tells of her passion which began to simmer at age 5 when she received her Easy Bake Oven. In high school she began cooking for others, once preparing an entire meal for her French class. With robust laughter she recalls her first attempt at "bombe" (a French dessert). But you won't find that on "Simply Cookin'" as there was nothing simple about it.

Stinson's college degree was in finance from Central Missouri State University and, for years, she was a banker at National Bank of Commerce in Lincoln. But in the evenings and on weekends she worked at Kay's Restaurant as a hostess. When the head cook left she was perfectly positioned.

"I told the owners, 'I think I can do this,'" Stinson recalled. "They gave me a shot. They gave me Valentine's Day and they had one of the most successful Valentine's Days ever."

So, obviously a hit, Stinson went from being full-time banker to head cook and baker at Kay's in 1984. "I like to say I dropped a letter," Stinson said.

But Stinson doesn't just enjoy cooking, she also enjoys people. And she got a big helping of both in 1988 and 1989 when she went to work for Rim Rock Bible Ranch in Wyoming and then Covenant Heights Conference Center in Estes Park, Colo.

Though camp was over, Stinson was hungry for more. So she went back to school and, a short time later, surfaced with a degree in cereal science technology from the American Institute of Baking.

In Stinson's opinion, baking is more difficult than cooking.

"You have to really follow the directions when you bake because you have chemistry involved," she said. "That's not so much the case in cooking."

Her baking expertise landed her a job in California as a bakery science technician where she taught supermarket customers how to bake. Through mutual friends she met (and married) Barrett Stinson. So life in California was sweet.

In 1996, when her husband took a job as head photographer at The Independent, the couple relocated to Grand Island where she worked and became involved in community theater.

In their spare time the Stinsons love to entertain and Mitzi's culinary skills draw in the crowds. Barrett attributes her presence on the show to the leftovers he brings with him to work.

"They'd (co-workers) see what I was eating and say, 'Wow! That looks good,'" he said.

Last fall, when Simply Cookin,' a feature focusing on meals ready in 30 minutes or less that runs six days a week in The Independent, expanded to include an online adventure. Jack Sheard, presentation editor at the paper, said they were looking for something that would be quick, entertaining and easy.

"Cooking is that thing everyone has to do," he said.

According to Nicole Nicklin, The Independent's multimedia advancement producer, Stinson was the obvious choice for hostess.

"Mitzi has a great presence on camera," she said. "She's very outgoing and likeable and that comes across in the way she presents the recipes."

And it was a perfect fit for Stinson who said, "When they mentioned this to me I jumped at it."

Simply Cookin' can be caught on www.theindependent.com. A new video and recipe is posted each Monday along with "Quick Tips" from local grocery stores, and "Ask a Pro," which features video "how-to's" from local professionals.