When the Times News began advertising the 2015 Cookbook and Recipe Contest, Vicky Unitis' friends got excited.

"People came up to me and asked what I was going to submit this year," says Unitis who was named grand prize winner of the annual contest after a judging held at the Times News Oct. 12.They were especially excited when she was named a category winner as it meant she'd be conducting taste tests of her winning recipe to make sure it was ready for the final judging.Not only did the Coaldale woman wow her friends with her Sweet & Sour Meatloaf, she wowed this year's panel of judges."I was surprised," she said of being named the top prize winner. "Very excited. I feel accomplished."Unitis says she isn't a fan of gravy, so she set out to create something a little different from your standard meatloaf."I know a lot of recipes have sauce on top, but if you put the sauce on the bottom, it cooks up through the meatloaf while it's in the oven."She says she learned that through trial and error."It was a standard recipe that I tweaked."A friend of hers came up with the name."I wanted something that would stand out. She felt like that was an accurate description of the sauce."I think people will be surprised by the taste," she says, "in a good way. It seems to be the general reaction when I did a taste test this past week. They weren't expecting it to taste that way. They were used to meatloaf and gravy, not the sauce.Unitis says she made a loaf the week before the judging and had several people asking if they could try it."They were surprised," she says. "My neighbor, who doesn't even like meatloaf, she enjoyed it and wanted more of the sauce."While this is Unitis' first grand prize win, she's no stranger to the annual cookbook and recipe contest. In 2006 she won the main dish category for her Cream of Potato Pot Roast and in 2014 she won the beverage category for her Non-Alcoholic Egg Nog.Unitis enjoys cooking, but says she enjoys baking the most."I would love to have my own bakery, or at this point, a restaurant with all these winning recipes I have."Unitis works in the dietary department at St. Luke's Miners Hospital in Coaldale, where she says she does just about everything but cook, although she did recently get to make dessert, which included her Pumpkin Mousse Recipe, which you could find in this year's cookbook as well."I appreciate being given this opportunity, and it certainly builds my confidence as a cook and a baker."Other category winners this year include Melissa Bierman in the Breakfast Category for her "Country Cinnamon Sweet Bread;" Diane Flores in the Appetizer Category for her "Cheesy Corn Bites;" Peggy Zimmerman in the Dips & Spreads Category for her "Lump Crabmeat Dip;" Lillian Birkmier in the Soups & Stews Category for her "Chicken and Spinach Tortellini Soup;" and Genevieve Laubach in the Desserts Category for her "Pumpkin White-Delight Cake."Judges this year were Toni Marie Macaluso of Macaluso's Restaurant in Nesquehoning; Jennifer Domines, winner of the 2014 Times News Cookbook and Recipe Contest; and Chris Reber, Times News reporter, who stepped in at the last minute when one of the judges was unable to make it.Prizes this year were donated by Saltzer's Appliances, Lehighton; Giant, Lehighton; Heintzelman's Meat Market, Lehighton; Sonia's Sweet Inspirations, Stroudsburg; ShopRite, Brodheadsville; Mallard Market, Lehighton; Country Harvest, Palmerton; Jim Thorpe Market, Jim Thorpe; and the Times News.The annual Times News Cookbook, "Recipes From Our Readers," will be included in Thursday's edition of the Times News. Additional copies will be available at the Times News office in Mahoning Township, and all of our satellite offices.