Four funny women (Tichina Arnold, Jackee Harry, JoMarie Payton and Betsy Randle) who are best known for playing mothers on TV, take on the role of Chopped competitor! The actresses have a hard time coming up with solid ideas for what to do with the mushrooms and frozen TV dinners in the appetizer basket. In the entree round, the cooks have 30 minutes to deal with minute steak, and the judges worry they might get served overcooked meat. In the final hilarious round, the two sitcom moms remaining are asked to get creative with tiramisu and strawberry sauce.

All four chefs in this special Thanksgiving competition dedicate their time and talents to soup kitchens. In the first round, the chefs each come up with distinctive appetizer concepts in response to the typical Thanksgiving leftovers found in the baskets. Then in the entree round, the remaining chefs are surprised to see a theme emerging with the baskets. And an ice cream cake and a starchy candy are two of the perplexing items to be dealt with in the final round.

Danica Patrick, Tiki Barber, Chuck Zito and Natalie Coughlin are four athletes who feel right at home in the kitchen battling it out for charity. The judges are presented with four salmon dishes to taste for the first course. In the second round chocolate-covered marshmallows seem to be the most stress-inducing ingredient. And figuring out how to transform olive oil cake is the challenge for dessert.

In this competition, the baskets are full of usually-discarded food scraps. In the first round the chefs must contend with herb stems and what is left of a filleted fish. Then the competitors open the baskets to find eyes on potatoes looking back at them. And the two chefs left in the dessert round must make yummy sweets from the least desirable part of the bread and the least juicy part of the orange.

The chefs receive calves' livers and ranch dressing in the first round, and the judges watch as four appetizers come together in 20 minutes. Then in the entree round, a small bird and a citrusy spice make for an interesting combination.

Four chefs with connections to the booming truck-food business motor into the Chopped Kitchen. And the first basket with two assertively-flavored meats makes for a challenging appetizer round. In the second round, the competitors must make dishes that include a sugary powder and a leafy vegetable.

The chefs must work with a fish that's traditionally used for sushi in the appetizer round. Then, they find an unfamiliar condiment in the entrée basket and prosecco is used to make dessert.

In the series opener, four chefs must use octopus, duck and animal crackers to make an extraordinary three-course meal in three rounds of competition. A panel of culinary experts determines which chef's dishes deserve the $10,000 prize. Hosted by Ted Allen.

Featured ingredients include tofu, blueberries and oysters.

The chefs must work with avocado, cantaloupe, pecans, bran flakes and brioche bread.

The chefs must work with bananas, collard greens and grits.

The chefs must work with yucca, watermelon and tortillas in three rounds of competition.

Featured ingredients include canned peaches (appetizers); fruit punch and rice cakes (entrée); and beets, goat cheese and oatmeal (final course).

The chefs must use quail in their appetizers, arctic char in their entrées, and beer in their desserts.

The chefs must use coconut in their appetizers, calamari in their entrées and donuts with smoked Gouda in their desserts.

Macaroni-and-cheese, cola and bacon are among the featured ingredients.

The chefs must use string cheese in their appetizers, jicama in their entrées and gingersnaps in their desserts.

The chefs must use apples, shrimp and peanut butter in their appetizers; pickled peppers and pepperoni in their entrées; and cereal in their desserts.

Chocolate, figs and mussels are among the featured ingredients.

The chefs must work with strawberries, turkey and gummi bears.

In the Season 2 opener, four chefs find a spiny surprise in their appetizer baskets. Then, one has a serious snafu with snapper in the entrée round. Judges: Aaron Sanchez; Alex Guarnaschelli; and Chris Santos.

The chefs must use salty vegetables in their appetizers, Thai chilis in their entrées, and Mexican ingredients in their desserts. Judges: Alex Guarnaschelli; Chris Santos; and Marc Murphy

Featured ingredients include whole calamari (appetizers), bison meat (entrées) and ancho chilis (desserts).

The chefs are presented with a challenging cut of meat in the appetizer round. In the entrée round, they work with miniature produce and whole flounder.

The chefs try to represent their cultural heritage through duck appetizers. Then they work with Serrano ham in the entrée round.