September Foodie Penpal

The last day of September means it time to reveal my Foodie PenPal for the month.  I had Molly.  She sent quite the assortment of goodies, including the recipe below for the cake box mix.  It is from Paula Deen and let's just say I am excited to try it out.


I am also pretty excited to check out the Quaker Real Medleys Oatmeal.  I am going to have some early mornings coming up and I think this will come in handy.


Thanks Molly for my box of goodies!

Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies

by Paula Deen

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

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Ingredients (24 cookies)

• 1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 stick butter, at room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (18-ounce) box moist chocolate cake mix
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix.

Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes.

The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.

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And now it's time for some details about Foodie Penpals. In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:

-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 Penplas is open to US and Canadian residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only.

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

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

August Foodie Pen Pal

This month I got a box from the lovely Amanda from Wisconsin. 

We quickly found out that we both love chocolate.  Even with the warm temperatures she ventured to send a box full of chocolate goodies and I am so glad she did.

There were three bars of chocolate, milk, mint, and caramel.  Think the center of a Lindt truffle in bar form.  They were so good! The first one I had was half gone before I knew it.  

We also got a cute football helmet with the Green Bay Packers logo and three chocolate covered Oreos with Mickey Mouse.  The Oreos were consumed within hours of receiving the box. 

There was chocolate fudge dip with pretzels and a box of Cocktail flavored Jelly Belly jelly beans.  Pomegranate and Mint Mojito combination was my favorite.

Thanks Amanda! We enjoyed the box very much.

I sent a box off to Geneva.  She doesn't have a blog but sent these kind words over for me to post. 
 

I was the lucky person chosen to be Emily's Foodie Penpal for August. I received a great package filled with a variety of goodies for my pleasure. In my package was a box of Anna's Chocolate Mint Thin Wafers; which I already know will be the crust for my next Cheesecake. I just haven't decided what flavor yet. Next I pulled out a bag of Trader Joes Caramel Popcorn. I love popcorn and this bag is already only half full. A box of Sea Salt & Turbinado Sugar Dark Chocolate Almonds was the next item I discovered. They look so rich and yummy. Those will have to be served for a special occasion worthy of them.

The best that my box had to offer were the Fleur De Sel Caramels. I am a caramel freak and these are some of the best I've ever eaten. They too are from Trader Joes and I highly recommend them to all you caramel junkies. Last but not least Emily brought me back down to earth with a healthy living magazine. I have gone through it twice already. It has a lot of great recipes and tips. I am embarrassed to say I can't remember the exact name of the magazine. I went to find it this morning and it is missing. I'm assuming my best friend Lisa, who was admiring it last night, took it home with her to get some of those recipes for herself. I want to thank Emily for being the best Foodie Penpal. I don't know how anyone will ever be able to top August!

LOL, Geneva

And now it's time for some details about Foodie Penpals

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

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

July's Foodie Pen Pal Reveal

It is that time of the month again where I get to reveal to the world my foodie pen pal for July.  Heather from Ohio had me as her pen pal. 

I was super busy for two weeks straight and out of town when my box arrived.  Let me just say it is a great feeling to get a little box of goodies waiting for you after traveling for work.  It was a great surprise!  

Local Raw Honey - I have been getting more and more into honey.  Mix it in tea. Use it as a sweetener in baked goods.  Eat it by the spoonful. Yes, this will get some use.

Chipotle Chocolate Cookies - Heather said these were a last minute decision and I am so glad they made it in the box. I opened these first thing.  In fact the in the photo above the bag is empty :)  They were had the consistency of soft animal crackers with a rich chocolate taste with an occasional bit of pepper. I love them!  Plus they were elephant shaped - so cute.

Woman sauce :)  My husband just laughed at this one.  It is made of jalapenos and I am sure we will be topping our nachos with this sauce within the week.

Montgomery Inn BBQ Sauce - Mr. J loves himself some BBQ.  He has been asking me to grill BBQ chicken for weeks and lucky for me this sauce found its way in the mail.  I meant to take a picture but we ate it before I realized I had not photographed our meal.  It was delicious! Heather said it was from a famous BBQ joint and that  if ever in Ohio we have to try it out.  Little does she know that we might take a trip to Ohio just for a BBQ visit.

Being from Ohio she knew all about the Cincinnati Skyline Chili.  Little did she know that we have watched TV shows from afar sample this Ohio delicacy.  She sent a recipe and I cannot wait to cook up a pot.  It is complete with five ways of serving.  

1. Just the chili
2. Chili served over spaghetti
3. Chili served over spaghetti with grated cheese
4. Chili served over spaghetti with grated cheese and onions
5. Chili served over spaghetti with grated cheese, onions and beans

Mr. J and I will be eating for a week straight and probably feeling the effects for a month.

Thanks so much Heather; it was a great box!



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 Penplas is open to US and 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 August, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

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

June Foodie Penpal Reveal

It is the end of the month and that means I can share with you the wonderful goodies I received for the June Foodie Penpal program from the adorable Adriane. 

After exchanging food preferences Adriane went all out and got me a lovely assortment of snackable food.  She did extra research from my blog too and found my love of lobsters.  Do you see the cute little bibs?  She had my heart with her written note on card with the Eiffel Tower. 

There was Biscoff; I am already finished with the jar between making cookies, spreading it on graham crackers and eating it with a spoon.

Mr. J and I nicely split the two mini Nutella spreads but were so cordial when it came to the Tabasco chocolates.   Thanks so much for all your thoughtful treats Adriane!

If you are interested in joining Foodie Penpals here are a few of the details about what the program is all about:

-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 Penplas is open to US and 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 July, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

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

April Foodie Pen Pal

It is no secret that I love getting the mail. I also love food.  It seemed like a match made in heaven then when I first heard about the Food Pen Pal program created by Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean.  Lindsay pairs you up with another foodie and you create a food gift box of your favorites and send it off.  In return you get a little special box of your own full of goodies.

I was paired off with Amber. The whole Food Pen Pal thing was new to both of us and we were eager to please.

She sent off an assortment of teas, fruit strip snacks, granola, Jordan almonds, coconut cookies and peanut butter.

She was a woman after my heart or maybe my stomach would be a better phrase because she was able to send me so many truly enjoyable treats.

Funny that my gift contained some of the very same Peanut Butter and Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams.  It is the best stuff really so I was very happy to get one as well as The Bee's Knees. I have wanted to try this type for a while but when it comes down to it I always go with the chocolate.  Now I have both!

So if you want to join here are some details about Foodie Penpals. In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:

-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 Penplas 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 May, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

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