June Foodie Penpals Reveal!

It’s June Foodie Penpals reveal day!! This is my second time participating in this awesome and delish program, and definitely not my last. I think I’m getting used to this… you know, getting a box full of goodies in the mail every month is kinda fun. A genius concept, if you ask me. :)

Um, this month I sorta lucked out as I happened to be paired with a foodie kindred spirit who shares my love of chocolate, coffee, and spicy foods. This jam packed box of goodies is from Karen Van Zant who blogs over at Class to Kitchen; she really hit it out of the park on this one! This was such an awesome box… I’m glad I took photos right away because most of this stuff is already gone lol.

I almost didn’t know where to start … almost. But my philosophy is, always start with chocolate! And this chocolate did not disappoint!

A bar of Belgian chocolate and Harry London Buckeyes!! Neither of which lasted very long, let me tell ya… so delish! I was particularly excited to see the Buckeyes; my family used to order boxes of Harry London chocolates for the holidays and I remember loving these! The only downside was that there were only four in a package and I chose to not be selfish and share them with family. Oh how I questioned that decision when they were gone. It was tempting to be stingy. ;)

Chocolate Chunk Hazelnut Biscotti Granola… yum! Isn’t that the best sounding granola ever? This was so good in yogurt!

A jar of the chocolaty goodness that is Nutella! Which I actually got a bit creative with and decided to try baking with it. I honestly don’t know why I never baked with it before. Now, Nutella is awesome on its own but baked into banana bread…AMAZING! I made this recipe for Nutella Swirled Peanut Butter Banana Bread. You have to give this recipe a shot, it’s my new favorite way to make banana bread.

Ruby Red Blend Popcorn! I loved this popcorn; especially since the only popcorn I ever make is the one you just stick in the microwave. Made on the stove it just tastes better to me. Plus, it looks so pretty in the jar, doesn’t it?

Tony Chachere’s, always a great seasoning to have on hand as it tastes good on just about everything.

Okay, can I just tell you how much I love this stuff?! This was the first time I’d ever tried this Chili Garlic Sauce but I kinda want to put it in everything! I mixed it into some fajita meat that I made and it gave it the perfect spicy kick. I love spicy foods so this was right up my ally. Can’t wait to try it in more recipes!

And last, but certainly not least, some fair trade coffee! I’ve been on a cold brewed coffee kick lately as iced coffee is the only thing I want to drink in the summer; so I’m planning on using this coffee to make another batch this week!

I just want to say thank you to Karen for all of these yummy goodies! I enjoyed them so much! She rocks! :) Also, I have to again give props to Lindsay over at the Lean Green Bean for organizing all this delicious chaos!  It’s a foodie’s dream! Can’t wait for the goodies to come in July! :)

If this program appeals to you, sign up for July! Seriously, Foodie Penpals is such a blast! Can’t tell you how much I am enjoying it. So if you want to meet awesome fellow foodies, send a box of goodies to someone and receive one yourself; sign up and join in the foodie fun! More info below! :)

---------------------------------------
- On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.

- You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!

- The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

- You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)

- Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.

- Foodie Penpals is open to US & Canadian residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We've determined things might get too slow and backed up if we're trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

If you’re interested in participating for June, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by June 4th as pairings will be emailed on June 5th!
-----------------------------------