Foodie Pen Pals

I'm back with another round of Foodie Penpals from The Lean Green Bean. You might recall that I participated in the program last month for the first time, and was so pleased with my box that I decided to do it a second time. I'm so glad I did- I was thrilled with this month's box too!

This time around I was paired up with Jessi from What the Efff. She writes about family, food, and her fur babies- a kindred spirit to say the least. I think my favorite blog post so far is the one about homemade peanut butter dog treats. It's on my to-do list for sure. But most importantly, Jessi lives in Wisconsin, a part of the US that I don't even think I have flown over. I really know nothing about it other than that's where cheese curds come from (I think), which automatically makes it a cool place in my book.

Thankfully, Jessi included the most adorable card (that I believe she made) that gave me the run down on a part of Wisconsin known as Door County. They're famous for cherries, chocolate and coffee. Hello?! Add in the cheese, and I've got all four of my favorite food groups covered. The box contained a jar of Cherry De-Lite Salsa, a jar of MochaCocoa Cappucino Topping, a bag of Danielle Honey Banana Chips, and a jar of East Shore Dipping Mustard. I've never met this girl, yet she just gets me.

I opened the box just before cooking dinner, so I immediately sent Hank to the store to grab a pint of BlueBell vanilla ice cream. There was chocolate sauce that needed a vessel, stat! We enjoyed the treat for dessert, and I'm hoping to use the little bit that is left in some frosting for cupcakes this weekend. It was delicious, to say the least.

Next up was the bag of banana chips. I took them to the office the next day, thinking they would be a great little snack to munch on throughout the week. I opened them up mid morning, and they were gone 60 seconds later. These things are ridiculously good! I added the link because I'd really love to have more, but maybe I'll mix them up with trail mix so that I don't eat them all at once. They aren't the worst thing I could be binge eating, but that bag is probably not intended to be eaten all at once.

We busted open the salsa this past weekend with a bag of black bean chips. We eat a ton of salsa here in Texas, so I was a tad skeptical. I really loved the cherries though, and thought it added a great flavor. It was definitely on the sweeter side, but I would love to have another jar and make a great taco with it.

The last item in the box was the dipping mustard. I'm a huge fan of mustard and was excited to get this. I really wish I had taken the time to go get some fresh pretzels to eat it with, but I was too lazy to make the trip. Instead, I used it to dip baked chicken fingers that I threw together for an easy Friday night dinner. The dip was tasty and masked the chicken that I'm slowly starting to incorporate back into my diet.

All in all, it was another fun box, and I loved that she sent me such a great taste of Wisconsin. Thank you so much Jessi! I also sent a taste of Austin to Kristel, who lives in Richmond, VA and writes at Stirring Things Up. Ironically enough, she will be visiting Austin next week for the BlogHer Food Conference, so it was fun sharing ideas of things to do while she's in town. If you're interested in joining for next month, you must sign up by June 4th. Just click on the image below for more details.