The Walmart choice Steak Challenge presented by Kingsford® Charcoal and Coca-Cola.
Two local chefs, Chef Eric Lackey of FlameStone American Grill and Chef Chad Johnson of SideBern’s, went head to head in a cut throat competition grilling the new Choice Steak over Kingsford® Charcoal.
The winner of the competition will get to go onto New York on May 22nd for the main competition.

Chef Lackey, Chad from 94.9, Chef Johnson

The two got their Kingsford® Charcoal ready to go.

Did you know that in 2011, Americans purchased more than 1 BILLION pounds of charcoal???? That’s 2,222 times the weight of the Statue of Liberty.
I am embarrassed to say that I have never cooked on charcoal. I know, it’s sad, isn’t it? If anyone wants to donate The Big Green Egg to me, I would much appreciate it..you know, for recipe development and all.

And the steaks came out. Are they not BEAUTIFUL? I mean, look at that perfect marbling! Only one in five steaks are good enough to call Walmart Choice Premium Beef, which has been certified by the USDA for quality. Shoppers who are not 100% satisfied with their steaks can bring back their receipts for a complete refund!!!

And the grilling began!

Can you taste the delicious-ness? My mouth is watering thinking about both competitors steaks!

When each chef was done, the steaks were cut and color coordinated by tooth picks. Everyone got to sample both steaks. Whichever steak you liked the best, you threw that colored toothpick into a container.
And the votes, were counted…very scientifically

And the winner was BLUE and that was Chef Lackey of FlameStone

He did bring quite a very large entourage…just saying’

For more information on more upcoming Walmart Choice Steak Challenges, go to WWW.grilling.com

I love the warm welcome you get every time you step into a Moe’s Southwest Grill.
Have you been to Moe’s? Yes, well then you know the deliciousness that awaits you as you walk in the door.
No? Well hop on over to Moe’s and see if there is one in your area..then run run run and go get yourself a homewrecker!

I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Moe’s Southwest grill in Atlanta and hang out with the Moe’s crew and 8 other bloggers.

You might go to a restaurant and love the food, but lets be honest, do you really research the history or what lengths the company goes through to have a successful restaurant?? Nah, Probably not.

I love when companies care about the consumer, and that is Moe’s all the way around.
After hanging out with some Moe’s Big wigs, I realized that they not only serve delicious, high quality food, but they are good people. Like really cool, laid back people..my kind of people I like to hang with.
For instance, lets take the music they play in all the stores, take a listen next time you stop in to Moe’s. They only play music of dead artists. That’s pretty cool in my opinion.
Oh, and try to find a microwave in a Moe’s, nope, you won’t find one. They don’t believe in nuking fresh food.
Moe’s believes in “delicious simplicity”, it’s their way of being committed to serving on the highest quality ingredients 100% of the time at 100% of their locations!
The chicken they use is all natural, cage free, breast meat. The pork is steroid free, grain fed pulled pork(my fav). Their tender meat is 100% grass fed ground sirloin. And if you are of the vegetarian variety, they even have organic tofu.
No trans fats will be found and the next one is a biggie for me..NO MSG( a huge migraine trigger for me).

Moe’s made these custom chefs jackets for us. Loved them!

We got the opportunity to try some of the food they are testing as new menu items.
OH.MY.GOD. I can’t begin to tell you how AMAZINGLY amazing (yes, I went to school) the Cuban Quesadilla is.
The photo does not do the Cuban Quesadilla justice.

Fun was also had by all. We were split up into groups and had a salsa showdown!

And we also go the chance to get behind the line and make and roll our own burritos. Let me tell ya, that’s hard work.

We also got to have some non Moe’s related fun.
They whisked us off to The World of Coca-Cola.

I had been there a few years ago, but they completely re did the whole facility.

Below are the lovely ladies I got to meet.

Courtney Heath- Crunchy Beach Mama
Jennifer Bullock- Mommy B Knows Best
Jennifer Houck Spink- One Mom’s World
Karen Hartzell- In the Kitchen with KP
Mandi Holcombe- Cumming Local
Mishelle Lane- Secret Agent Mama
Sami Cone- Sami Cone
Stacie Connerty- the Divine Miss Mommy 

A HUGE shout out to Jessica and Melissa at Finn Partners for all of their planning and hard work.

I suppose now that you know all about Moe’s Southwest Grill you want to know about the giveaway?
Moe’s gave each of us a customized iPod. Well you see, everyone in my house already has one, so I thought I would give it to one of you. Yeah, I’m nice.

GIVEAWAY

One winner will win the following (shown above)

iPod SHUFFLE

GIVEAWAY RULES      CONTEST ENDED

Contest ends Thursday April 5th 2012 at 8:15 am EST.
Winner will be chosen by Random Org.com
Contest open to US residents only.

Main Entry
(Required)

1.) Have you ever been to Moe’s Southwest Grill?

(For EACH additional entry, you must leave a SEPARATE comment for EACH ADDITIONAL entry)

2.) Like THE HUNGRY HOUSEWIFE on Facebook
3.) Follow THE HUNGRY HOUSEWIFE on Twitter
4.) Tweet using this..Go visit http://tinyurl.com/7zq7jbz for a iPod giveaway from @hungryhousewife
5.) Post about this giveaway on your Facebook Page using this tag… Go visit http://tinyurl.com/7zq7jbz for an iPod giveaway
6.) Subscribe to THE HUNGRY HOUSEWIFE via email.
7.) Like Moe’s on Facebook
8.)Like Moe’s on Twitter

And there you have it, a total of 8 entries for you.
Good Luck

**** Travel expenses were provided by Moe’s Southwest Grill. The opinions in this post are 100% mine****

I had the pleasure of being invited to Smucker’s in Orville, Ohio this past November. I must say that it was pretty amazing. 18 bloggers got to go hang out, laugh, eat and learn. You cant ask for more.
It is so wonderful seeing a company like Smucker’s who has been on business for sooooo long, still be family owned and operated.
So you think Smucker’s, you think jelly, right? Oh sure, they are the kings of jellies and jams, but they are so much more. Just click here and see their family of products.. You will be amazed.

Richard Smucker

I must say meeting Richard Smucker was pretty cool. I wanted to bow down to him and chant “I’m not worthy, I’m not worthy”  but I thought that might be a bit inappropriate. So I held back my emotions and just settled for a hand shake. He met us at the Smucker’s store. You can buy most of their products there and some other fun nick-nacks. I was in heaven. Maybe they will open a store in Tampa? No? Oh well, a girl can dream.

We got to take a tour of the original  J.M Smucker home. It was built in 1907 right on the plant property so he could keep a watchful eye out for his operations. Smart man. The home was filled with rich history of the family. Everything from family photos to tax records of the company.

Me with Shelly from Cookies and Cups ….LOVE HER!

Kate from Our Best Bites …Love her too!

Bet you didn’t know that Smucker’s was in the coffee business did you?? Neither did I.On one of our sessions we learned all about coffee. Ohhh coffee. It keeps me from falling right on my face in the morning.

Did you know that the Us drinks 213 BILLION cups of coffee a year. It’s possible I drink 200 billion of those cups. Smucker’s is responsible for 48 billion of the cups.
Now we can call ourselves official Baristas! Delicious coffee was made..oh yes it was.

Stacy DeBroff with Mom Central

I think my favorite was the Peppermint Mocha. Its pretty simple. Just take a cup of brewed coffee and put a big ol’ scoop od peppermint ice-cream on top! Yum. So delicious and so simple.

Erin from Deal Seeking Mom

The R & D tour was very interesting in the science sense of it all. The employees that work in the food science labs were referring to themselves as dorks, so you can imagine I felt right at home. They had all sorts of fancy and not so fancy machines that they use for testing products such as jellies sugar content and viscosity.

As you can imagine Smucker’s does A LOT of taste testing panels. They have to get the outside worlds blind opinions on their products. Feedback is one of their most valuable tools for improvement.

We were busy people. Ice cream and pie crust was next. With the use of Eagle Brand Condensed Milk, you can make some pretty delicious ice cream.

I made it to use my Key Lime Pie Ice-Cream a while back.  We all were able to “design” our own flavor. We made the base ice-cream and then let loose in a room full of every topping and mix in ingredient you could think of. I kept it safe..I added bananas, chocolate and peanut butter.

It’s was a safe bet but still mighty tasty! We each had to make our own pie crust. I personally love making pie crust.

It’s actually extremely easy and once you get the hang of it, you won’t buy store bought again. Pffttt, it would take you more time to drive to and from the store to pick up the refrigerated variety than to make your own.

Nichelle from Cupcakes take the Cake

Anna from Cookie Madness

Tremont was next on our agenda for dinner at Rocco Whalen’s Fahrenheit Restaurant.

I can not say enough good things about this establishment. Rocco Whalen is extraordinary chef.  Everything he served us incorporated a Smucker’s product.

Everything was a gastrnomic  delight. My favorite was the Chocolate Pots de Creme. I am pretty sure my eyes rolled in the back of my head at the first bite. Rocco was a very gracious host and talked to each and everyone of us.

Kelsey Nixon(from the Next Food Network Star) stopped by to chat with us. When I saw her I actually gasped out loud. She is such a tiny TINY little thing and cute as a button.

I could have packed her up in my suitcase and brought her home with me(she would have probably fit)!

I loved getting a lesson in food styling. They taught us how to but the perfect piece od pumpkin pie!

We also got to have a mini photography session with Kalman & Pabst photo group. They gave us handy food photography tips.

Look at all of these wonderful women I met
Erin- $5 Dinners
Nikki- Arts and Lemons
Anna- Cookie Madness
Shelly- Cookie and Cups
Nichelle- Cupcakes take the Cake
Tara- Deal Seeking Mom
Shiana- Food for My Family
Shannon- For The Mommas
Nicki- Macaroni Kid
Stacy- Mom Central
Tanya- Mommy Goggles
Amanda- Mommy Mandy
Kate- Our Best Bites
Laura- Real Mom Kitchen
Crystal- Simply Being Mommy
Jenny- Southern Savers
Melissa- Stock Piling Moms
Toni- The Happy Housewife
Shannon- The Mommy Files

And a HUGE thanks to the team at Cohn&Wolfe and the folks at Smucker’s for putting together this trip. I had an amazing time and am now proud to be a part of the Smucker’s family

Oh, and what trip would be complete without a nice poke on the Pillsbury Dough Boys Belly!

I love love love Foodie trips, you get to meet so many great people and learn things you might other wise not know.
I met these lovely  blogger ladies…

Brenda: A Farmgirl’s Dabbles
Christina: Mele Cotte
Emily: Busy Mommy
Heather: Farmgirl Gourmet
Jyl: The Post-It Place
Kelly: Once a Month Mom
Kristin: Iowa Girl Eats
Kristy: The Wicked Noodle

I must say we were treated VERY VERY well. And fed VER VERY WELL!!!!!

Where we ate:

The Machine Shed…plates and plates of bacon,ham,eggs, sausage gravy,biscuits..etc. But the best part about that breakfast were the cinnamon rolls the size of your head. They were rediculiously good.
At the Lincolnway Energy Plant: We had a delicious catered lunch that included the best creamed corn I have ever had(and I don’t even like creamed corn)
The Jasper Winery: An adorable little winery. I love love loved the Italian Steak Roll!
BOS: A delicious hotel restaurant  that served us little smoothie shooters.
Ador Kitchens: This was a super cool kitchen store that had a working kitchen. We all cooked each others lunch. It was a fun time.

The first day we went on a tour of The Living HIstory Farms. What a neat place. It is an open air museum that tells the story of the changes in Midwestern agriculture and rural life. We learned all about how people in the early 1900′s harvested their crops.

Bloody Butcher Corn

Shoepeg Corn

Then we are off the the Lincolnway Energy Ethanol Plant

I was completely in awe of this facility. They produce ethanol. Ethanol is a clean, renewable feul made from corn.

It’s a coal fired, dry mill ethanol plant. I went in knowing nothing about Ethanol except for the fact that my Yukon XL had the ability to take E-85 fuel(85% ethanol), but there were no Flex Fuel station anywhere near me.

Well, turns out that Ethanol is a type of alcohol produced primarily from corn and is blended with gasoline to burn cleaner, resulting in less pollution released into the environment.. It containes octane and oxygen. This combination provides motorists with a competively prices fuel which burns more completely, resulting in fewer emissions.

Ethanol is a renewable fuel produced in THE UNITED STATES and that means us being less dependant on foreign oil.

I hope that one day, in the near future we totally convert to ethanol fuel. It seems a win win situation to me, environmenltly friendly, more afforadable and produced in the United States!!!

All about safety at Lincolnway Energy!

At the plant we met Mr. BIll Couser. What a nice man! He is the owner of Couser Cattle Company. He took us on a tour of his 5000 acre cattle and corn farm. Again, I was amazing at his operation. His business practices won him the prestigious 2010 Environmental Stewardship Award. Thats a huge honor in the farming Industry. You can watch his video here
In his presentation to us..this was one of his slides that I just had to take a photo of…

"Leave me alone and let me do my job" Love it!!

On his farm we got to drive a big ol John Deer Combine. It’s the machine that harvests the corn. Again….amazing.

Me, getting my Combine on!!!

Next we got to have a visit to Iowa State University, where we met Dr. Ruth MacDonald. She is a very knowledgable food scientist/professor at the University. We did a very cool experiment. We actually extracted the DNA from a Strawberry.

Below Kristy from The Wicked Noodle is gazing upon her Strawberry DNA.

See that white frothy stuff above the red? That’s the DNA we extracted!

Dr. MacDonald educated up on so many things…..One being that SUGAR is SUGAR. Our bodies can not tell the difference between High Fructose Corn Syrup and normal table sugar. She said we need to limit them both and that there was no need to avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup like the media is playing up. Not from my mouth..but a scientists mouth!!!!!

The next stop was our BIG surprise..we got to go on a tour of The Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen. It was soooo beautiful. Walking in, you felt like you were in someones home.

One of the test Kitchens at BHG!

Prop envy??? I do say so!

MORE props!

The second day was exhilarating to say the least. We went to the Iowa Speedway.
We all got to take a ride on the Speedway in the pace car. Pace car..sound kinda slow huh? Not so much. Chuck Spicer drove us each around the track at 125-129 MPR. I am not gonna lie, I almost threw up going around the banked turns. I can’t remember how many G’s he said we pulled, but it was quite a few. I was holding on for dear life. It was such a rush!!!

I am quite certain this was taken BEFORE my ride!

Did you know that Ethanol is the highest performance fuel on the market with a 113 octane rating? The Indy racing league uses 100% Ethanol in their cars today, so if it’s good for their cars, it’s got to be good for ours!!!

It was sooooo COLD!

Our last event was the Ador Kitchens. It was a very cool kitchen design center that has a big beautiful working kitchen. We were broken up into teams and cooked each others lunch. It was such a fun time. We cooked…
Three-Bean with Sweet Potato Chili
Cider Sauced Apple, Wlanut and Bacon-Stuffed Iowa Pork Chops
Leek, Cremini Mushroom and Roasted Corn Risotto (my team and I cooked this)
Spiced Apple Dumplings

Here is Christina from Mele Cotte plating her Chili

So as you can tell we had a WONDERFUL time. Again thank you to Iowa Corn and Farmers Feed US.  Also, Sara Ross was there to inform us on Iowa farming and a great farming on-line community  CommonGround Iowa.

Here are some random facts..bet you didn’t know….

Iowa ranks first in national corn,soybean,hog, egg and ethanol production.
98% of  US farms are family owned and operated.
The corn you see in the fields is not “Sweet Corn” that we eat, it is “Field Corn” used for animal feed, ethanol,starches,oil and sweeteners.
Corn is used in over 4,000 products! Including SOCKS! Yes, socks for you feet!
A typical ear of corn has about 800 kernels!
Cows have 4 stomachs…must be nice!
Iowas states ethanol industry has created 50,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Ethanol is a renewable fuel that is produces in the US and is one of the best tools for fighting air pollution since it burns clean.
By 2025, the US will import 77% of its petroleum, according to the Energy Information Administration. Using more ethanol-blended fuels will help reduce the need for imported fossil fuels!

Disclaimer:  All costs associated with this trip (travel, lodging, and meals) were paid for by the Iowa Corn Growers Association/Iowa Corn Promotion Board. I did not received any financial compensation for attending, and was not required to write a blog post in exchange for my trip. All opinions and points of view in this post are my own.