Sandra Lee

“Sure, you can mix the flour, baking soda, salt, shortening, and the whole nine yards, but why wouldn't you just pull out a box of Bisquick?”

“The issue I have always felt most strongly about is hunger in America, in particular the children.”

“When you're young, you think you can do anything, and that was really a gift. That's why I can never understand someone telling me 'no' today. 'No' just isn't an option.”

“You don't need Montreal steak seasoning on everything.”

“Raising myself and caring for my brothers and sisters allowed me the benefit of a lot of information that I wouldn't have otherwise gotten. I had to be frugal, thoughtful, resourceful. I didn't have anyone to tell me, 'You can't.'”

“Seventy percent store-bought, ready-made plus 30 percent fresh allows you to take 100 percent of the credit.”

“One of the things I do in my cookbooks is I will do a conversion from outdoor to indoor grilling so you can do it year-round.”

“Lack of sleep makes me less productive. I need a good seven or eight hours a night.”

“Sometimes I feel like I'm not only the engine but the caboose. I have to be in the front car and pull forward, and at the same time run around behind and push everybody along with me.”

“I like being independent. I don't think that marriage means you're not independent, but right now I'm very comfortable, and I'm probably the happiest I've ever been. I feel solid. I feel safe.”

“I'm the only girl on The Food Network who grills - I have two bestselling grilling books. I try to really focus on what men and women can do outside together out on the grill. I think it's really fun to have men and women out there together, having fun, working and enjoying themselves.”

“My brand is a demography-breaker. It speaks to all homemakers and women from all walks of life and all across society.”

“Baking is how you start kids at cooking in the kitchen. It's fun whether it's baking bread or cookies. With baking, you have to be exact when it comes to ingredients.”

“I like to create what I call 'tablescapes.' It's so much more fun when you organize your table around a theme, don't you think?”

“My audience knows me, and I wear beautiful clothes as a badge of honor. They remember where I came from.”

“Instead of doing cinnamon, nutmeg, and all those baking spices I'll have one spice that's for sweets, and that's pumpkin pie spice.”

“I always buy the smaller turkeys. On the pre-baste put pats of butter on the meat under the skin, put the skin back on, put a bunch of seasoning on the top, call it a day, put it in the oven. With a 10 - 12 pound turkey you are done in a couple of hours.”

“It's really easy to figure out why I love what I love, the holidays and food. I know the difference between having them and not having them.”

“When I'm really stressed out, I go to church. I light candles and sit and pray. And I'll ask myself, What's the lesson? Why am I going through this? There's got to be a reason I'm here. What am I supposed to learn?”

“I don't think there are any footsteps to be walked in. No one else has taken things that you can buy at the grocery store and put them together. I hope that I have a career as long as Julia Child.”