February Foodie Penpals

I'm a little late posting but it's time for another month of Foodie Penpal.

I get way too excited over picking out goodies to send to my penpal each month. It makes going grocery shopping so much more fun. And gives me a reason to venture off to specialty foodie shops.

This month Jen sent me a fun package filled with deliciousness. 

























Some Cranberry Lake spice blend which is a mix of Hungarian paprika, ginger, sage, lemon and orange peel... perfect for chicken or pork. Definitely gonna be using this up!

Niagara Icewine black tea... it smells like wine!!

A KIND fruit & nut bar. Been wanting to try these. And it's healthy.

Michaelene's Gourmet Granola with a touch of honey and brown sugar. This is gonna be all over some yogurt for my breakfasts at my work desk.

Aww, some Valentine's Peanut M&Ms.

And last but certainly not least, Salted Butter Caramels from Tamsin's Sweet Shop. They melted in my mouth! Pure caramel heaven. Um, and their blog says they now have Spiced Apple Cider Caramels. Don't even get me started!

I love putting together a special package for my penpal each month, but I can't lie, it's always fun getting that package in the mail and getting to unwrap it, anticipating what's inside like a child at Christmas, and opening it to find all kinds of foodie delights. 

Yep, almost like Christmas. A foodie Christmas  :)

Peace, and bacon grease!

January Foodie Penpals

We took a month off from Foodie Penpals but we're back for a new year of fun and sharing!!

I get so excited about the package that I get to put together each month, and the package that I'm anticipating receiving.

This month I received, like, THE BEST package ever!!!! From Melissa. She really hit the nail on the head with her package she sent. It was soooo me. And it had a nice personal touch.

She sent some local items from Florida (so wish I was there), and she knew I liked caramel so she really delivered with this fancy caramel brittle. Yes that is caramel brittle with cashews and POTATO CHIPS sprinkled with sea salt. I am about some salted caramel. I ate 3/4 of the bag as soon as I got it.

Another local product, this caramel corn. Can't go wrong with caramel corn. Most of that is gone as well.

 








 


She also sent some local honey. Adorbs. This will be put to good use.

 
























Besides the local items, she sent some of her homemade strawberry jam. She's got me wanting to try my hand at canning! That's also a lemon from her tree. Aww, so personal!

In my emails with her, I had mentioned that I could use some K-Cups since I recently got a Keurig machine. Then one day at the store I realized that they come in packs of like 12 so I felt bad that I had told her that! But she managed to "borrow" a couple from her neighbor. Thanks, Melissa's neighbor :)

 


















And last but not least, another personal touch.... her product, a bag of Juice Plus chewables. So cool! They were like little fruit snacks. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my package this month. You done good, Melissa, you done good :)

Peace, and bacon grease!

November Foodie Penpals

I'm back for this month's Foodie Penpals. 

 








I'm kinda obsessed. 

Ok very.

My package came from Lindsay at Live.Love.Nutrition. She did a great job in picking out things I'd love. First of all, some of the items were from Trader Joe's. And I love me some Trader Joe's!!!

I got some pumpkin flax granola. Healthy and delicious! I've had some of this goodness for breakfast in my yogurt and it's good.

I also received some TJ Pumpkin Butter. Didn't even know they made this stuff!! Pretty genius though. Spread this stuff on some toast, rolls, or whatever you can think of! 

Also from TJ, this can of organic pumpkin puree. I can not WAIT to make some pumpkin recipes with it. I have something in mind...

For my sweet tooth cravings, she sent me this Larabar Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip bar. I have seen these bars everywhere but never tried one. I'm munching on one as I type. It's my breakfast :) Chocolate and peanut butter for breakfast? Cha ching. 

And last but certainly not least, she sent me some TJ Fleur De Sel Caramels. Yes, that is caramel with sea salt. She is a saint for sending these because Lord knows I love me some salted caramel! Don't think these are going to last long in my house. 

 *I sent my package to Mellissa at A Fit and Spicy Life. Go check out what I sent her!!


Peace, and bacon grease!

October Foodie Penpals

You knew I'd be back for more Foodie Penpals, didn't you? I joined last month for the first time and knew I'd be back month after month. It's so fun shopping around for the perfect foodie items for your specific penpal! I realllllly think you wanna be a part of this.

I received my package from Colleen, who is actually vegan! She said she had fun shopping around for my items because it was a bit of a challenge since I'm a meat-loving girl lol. But she knew I liked strawberry and pineapple so went with that theme, and I'm glad she did! Plus pumpkin, which I recently discovered that I love.

 



















First of all, I have been craving fig newtons!! How did she know!?! But whenever I look at the price tag I'm not too happy. So I was wayyyy excited to get some strawberry fig newtons from her. 

I also received an all natural snack called Strawberry Crisps, which I had never seen or heard of before. No additives or preservatives. They are freeze-dried strawberries with the water removed. They were very tart!!

I haven't tried these Fruit Flats yet. They are strawberry fruit bars. All natural and healthy! I really need to start eating like Colleen!

 
























I also recently discovered that I dig tea. Well, some tea. Not just straight up unsweetened tea. It's gotta have some flavor to it. So to go with the pumpkin theme, she sent me some Sweet Harvest Pumpkin black tea. Pumpkin flavored tea?! I know I love my pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks so I knew I'd love this too. And the smell when I opened it... man, pure heavenly pumpkin scents embraced me! I did need to add some sugar to it though. You know me. 

More pumpkin... I also got these salted roasted pumpkin seeds. Never had em before, but I had never been a fan of sunflower seeds growing up when all the kids were chewin and spittin em out. (ew btw, why would I want to do that with my food?!). So I was a bit hesitant about these pumpkin seeds. I dunno why though, because now I'm slightly addicted. They are just little salty bits that are perfect for snacking on. I'm snacking on them right now as we speak, actually. Wait, we aren't speaking. But you catch my drift. I've already begun looking around for recipes to use them in also. Anyone?

Since she knew I liked pineapple, she sent me some pineapple preserves from Wegmans. I've never had pineapple preserves but it sound pretty amazing. Can't wait to try it.

She enclosed a cute little card with a sweet message inside. 

 

And a final shot of my foodie package. Good stuff.

 




















Colleen is also from the Buffalo, NY area. I hope you are doing ok amongst the hurricane! We'll be keeping you in our thoughts. Stay safe!!!


*I sent my package to the lovely Rona. Check out her blog to see what I sent her this month!

Peace, and bacon grease!

September Foodie Penpals + Cross That Off The Bucket List!

I have been so ill these past few days! Sorry to neglect the blog. I've missed you.

This month I participated in this amazing and genius program called Foodie Penpals, founded by Lindsay last September. It has been on my bucket list to have a penpal, and a foodie penpal at that?! I had to jump in on the fun.




And I'm so glad I did! It was so much fun shopping for different local and unique items to send to my penpal. Now, the person I sent my package to is not the same person who sent me a package. I sent my package to the lovely Andrea O'Meara, and received my package from the oh-so-kind Marlys. I hope Andrea enjoyed her goodies, and I adored mine from Marlys!

 

















She read my about me section and found that I liked cookbooks. So she sent me a Yooper cookbook of recipes that Upper Michigan folks would make. I've already got my eye on a Wild Mushroom Soup recipe from it.

She also read that I like caramel and meat (not together), so she got creative and found these deer droppings for me! Sike, these are really chocolate caramel balls :) And delicious at that!

I didn't get an up-close photo of the other caramels that she sent, but they are in the whole-package shot. Soft, chewy, and so caramely. Just the way I like em.


She likes to explore African cooking on her blog, so I loved her hot pad from Ghana. Those beautiful African colors!

She had also contacted me to see if I would like to try some African spices. Would I? Of course! Her letter to me also included some examples of ways she used the spices in her cooking. So thoughtful! Can't wait to put these spices to use!

And lastly, her letter header had a beautiful photo of a lighthouse on Lake Superior close to her home. Lighthouses remind me of a little place called Kelley's Island up in Northern Ohio near Michigan, a major place in PJ's childhood and a place we've traveled to a few times.

I can't wait to get better to start cooking up some soups using those African spices! And those caramels and caramel balls are just about gone!

I'm so ready for next month! And here's to crossing another item off of my bucket list. Cuz you all know I love to do that.

Peace, and bacon grease!