Recipe Contest: Johnsonville Chili Challenge

I honestly had no idea how many recipe contests were out there until I decided to start posting about them on Tasty Thursdays. I'm gonna enter some; I'm gonna have Pete enter some; and you can enter some. Hopefully we'll have a Tasty Thursday victory in 2012!

The latest contest is sponsored by Johnsonville ... and it's a chili cookoff. I love me some chili [[especially from Dinosaur BBQ grill, mmm]] so they should call me in to judge.

To enter, you have to create a chili recipe that features Johnsonville sausage. Snap a picture of it and upload the pic at the Johnsonville Kitchens Facebook page by February 5, 2012, and you'll be entered to win the grand prize of $10k from Sur La Table. I could definitely use that. Even cooler, though, the winner's recipe will be featured on a pack of Johnsonville Italian Sausage.

The top five submissions will be determined as finalists and made by the Johnsonville staff. From there, the grand prize winner will be picked. All entrants will receive an apron and will be entered into the weekly contest to win one of five Le Creuset 3.5 Qt. Oval French Oven cookware.

After you enter your recipe on Facebook, be sure to head over to Tasty Thursdays' Facebook page and "like" us.

Award-Winning Guac

I'm giving myself an award. It's the first Tasty Thursdays Top Recipe award. And I'm giving myself this recipe for guacamole.

See, I would have entered it into the Avocados from Mexico contest that I told you about, except New York residents aren't eligible to enter and, well, I live in New York.

If you live anywhere else, put together your best guac recipe and enter it by January 20.

Now, onto my recipe.

Get together the following ingredients: one lemon [[yes, lemon]], bunch of fresh cilantro, one large tomato, two small onions, two avocados, garlic powder [[yes, garlic powder -- do not substitute this with fresh garlic, it will overpower it]], ground pepper, parmigiano reggiano.

Cube the avocado. It's easier to do it in the skin because then it's not messy. Make sure the cuts are relatively even. This is a chunky guac recipe, so you wanna try to make the pieces uniform. Add the avocado to a serving container.

Chop the onions. Now, a little aside: If you're a glasses wearer, switch to contacts. The contacts block your eyes from the onion mist that makes your eyes water. I can cut onions for days and not shed a tear. Add the onion to wherever you are housing the guac.

Chop the tomato. You want to chop more tomato than onion ... unless you want your guests to have dragon breath. Add the tomato.

Chop the cilantro and add it to the mixture. Stir.

When everything is in a bowl, top it with a layer of garlic powder, a few pinches of pepper, and mix. Shake a bit of parmigiano reggiano on top.

Now, I've got two things to tell you about that. The first is that I'm not crazy about adding salt to whatever I cook. I know you're supposed to season along the way, but I've just always shied away from salt. Not my thing. I use it on four things: baked potatoes, popcorn, corn on the cob, and watermelon. Other than that, my diet doesn't call for adding salt.

Second, I never have queso fresco on hand [[I'm Japanese, Polish and Irish ... queso fresco doesn't come up much]]. So I use parmigiano reggiano and that's a good substitute.

Squeeze half a lemon on top, and you're golden. Well, you're green. Not brown [[which is why you need the lemon; it prevents oxidation]]. And, I much prefer lemon over lime. It brightens it up and gives it a lighter, more citrus feel.

What You'll Need:

• one lemon
• one bunch of fresh cilantro
• one large tomato
• two small onions
• two avocados
• garlic powder
• ground pepper
• parmigiano reggiano

What You'll Do:

• Combine chopped tomato, onions, and avocados. 
• Sprinkle with cilantro, mix. 
• Sprinke with a layer of garlic powder and ground pepper.
• Top with parimigiano reggino and half a lemon.
• Serve.

Recipe Contest: Harris Teeter Healthy Recipe Contest

If you've got a healthy recipe in your box of tricks, enter it in the Harris Teeter Healthy Recipe Contest for a chance at winning the grand prize - -a $1k Harris Teeter gift card.

The grand prize winner wins a $1k gift card, and the next five runners-up win a $250 gift card.

That's a lot of groceries to be won.

If you live in the Harris Teeter zone [[Delaware, Washington DC, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia]], you're eligible to enter.

Head over to Harris Teeter's Facebook page, upload your healthy recipe, and that's that. The contest goes until February 7, so you have time to try out new recipes, perfect one, and enter it.

If you do enter, head over to Tasty Thursdays' Facebook page and let us know what you entered. I'll be sure to try it and feature it in an upcoming Tasty Thursdays post.

Recipe Contest: Guac Off Sponsored By Avocados From Mexico

I make the best guac. Seriously. It's simple and classic. And yet, there's something special about it.

Special enough to win a guac off? I'm gonna find that out.

See, if you head over to the Avocados from Mexico Facebook page and submit a guacamole recipe plus photo by January 20 to enter. Everyone who submits a recipe will be entered to win a $100 gift card to the grocery store of your choice.

The field of entrants will be narrowed down to 10, and those recipes will be posted on Facebook. There will be three grand prize winners in the following categories: most popular, best recipe, and most creative. The winner in each category will win a tablet-style computer and an autographed cookbook from Chef Roberto Santibañez. The seven finalists that don't net the grand prize will win a $200 grocery store gift card and an autographed cookbook from the same chef.

Since I'm going to have to type up my guac recipe anyway, I'll be sure to post it for an upcoming Tasty Thursday post. But for now, perfect your guac and enter.