Stacy Edland and her sons enjoy cooking, so it was a natural fit to enter a cooking contest.

“My boys and I already like to cook together so it was just kind of a natural fit for us,” Edland said.

The Edland family, residents of Rose Creek, Minnesota, have entered the Uncle Ben’s, Ben’s Beginners Cooking Contest, a program to encourage children to make healthier choices by getting them interested in cooking at an early age. The contest was designed to empower parents to connect with their children one meal at a time and aims to make cooking an enjoyable activity that brings families together.

Edland heard about the contest through Facebook, and was excited to enter.

“It was really fun making the video, so even if we don’t end up as finalists it was [worth it],” Edland said.

Parents with children who are in kindergarten through eighth grade were asked to submit a home video that showed the family together in the kitchen introducing a rice-based dish they prepared and discussing their experience cooking together.

Edland and her two sons, Nicholas, 9, and Connor, 11, appeared in the video, cooking Nick’s beef and broccoli stir fry, using, of course, Uncle Ben’s rice. Edland’s husband, Elton, was the videographer.

“We were having a lot of fun with it,” Edland said. “The hardest part was keeping it at three minutes.”

The contest received hundreds of entries from families across the United States. In an effort to help the Edland family strengthen their score and give them an opportunity to be chosen as a finalist, they are asking the community to vote for the video they submitted titled Nick’s Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry. If selected as a one of the five grand prize winners the Edland family will receive $15,000 cash and a $30,000 cafeteria makeover for Sacred Heart School in Adams.

“That could go a long way for our small school,” Edland said.

She noted that her son’s were already making plans for the prize money.

“They already have plans for their winnings, college savings and maybe their first cars,” Edland said. “I think my son Nick has his eyes on some lego sets, too.”

From Oct. 15 through Oct. 29, 2014, individuals can view all the contest videos and vote for their favorite by visiting www.UncleBens.com or www.Facebook.com/UncleBens, clicking on the view videos on the contest page, and searching for the recipe name. The Edland’s video can be found by searching Nick’s Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry. Individuals are encouraged to vote once per 24 hours. For more information on the Ben’s Beginners Cooking Contest, visit www.UncleBens.com.