My Experience at the KRAFT BlogEats Conference {Giveaway}

August 31, 2013November 10, 2011 by Bridgette

Ok, let’s be real. If you read this site, you know that I am not known for my cooking skills….or baking skills….or even boiling a good pot of water. But this past June, KRAFT took a chance on me (it was a HUGE leap of Faith on their part) and asked me to create a regional sandwich to be featured in the KRAFT Outstandwich campaign. I decided to go with a traditional New Orleans French Fry Po-boy…how can you mess that up, right?

Now, a few short months later, I found myself headed to the BlogEats conference at the KRAFT Kitchens in Chicago….O.M.G. In fact, my husband laughed when he learned that I was invited. I think his exact words were, “I hope then don’t expect you to cook something edible.” Despite the lack of confidence on the homefront, I boarded a plane and left for BlogEats, a two day conference filled with cooking instruction, food photography tips, and product sampling.

The first night, I had a chance to meet up with the other 13 bloggers in attendance as well as the great people that made this event a reality. We were treated to an excellent dinner at Maggiano’s which was wonderful (we even had chocolate covered bacon for dessert!) and then left to get some rest at the Doubletree.

After a delicious breakfast featuring Monkey Bread, the next day began with a recipe challenge in the KRAFT Kitchens. My heart stopped instantly. I have to create and make a dish right here in front of everyone? I might die. Thankfully, I learned that we would be broken into teams….AMEN! My team was wonderful and I instantly volunteered to be the note-taker…I am good with a pencil.

While this challenge was a ton of fun (who knew?), my favorite part was learning about all of the new products coming down the line. As a Mom who works outside of the home, I am all for easy meal solutions. I was excited to learn about the KRAFT Sizzling Salads, a kit that comes with a sauce to cook your meat and a paired dressing for the salad. We had the opportunity to try the Southwest Chicken variety and it was totally restaurant quality. Delicious and Easy.

Another one of my favorite products is the Velveeta Cheesy Skillets. We actually had the opportunity to make the Ultimate Cheeseburger Mac in the KRAFT Kitchens…and get this…..I did it (and yes, it was edible). Four different varieties are available, but my kids’ favorite is the Nacho Supreme. One meal, one skillet….what’s not to love?

I had an absolutely amazing time at the KRAFT BlogEats Conference. I learned so much and walked away with a sense of kitchen confidence that I didn’t have before….and did I mention that I got to ride in the Weinermobile? SCORE!

GIVEAWAY

Want to try some of my favorite KRAFT products? One winner will receive this HUGE prize pack:

Kraft Foods Food & Family Holiday 2011 Magazine, Chips Ahoy! Chewy Gooey fudge-filled cookies, Ritz Bits Kickin’ Cheddar sandwich crackers, Snackwell’s Fudge-drizzled Caramel Popcorn, Wheat Thins Smoky BBQ snacks, Wheat Thins Sweet Cinnamon snacks, VELVEETA Cheesy Skillets Dinner Kit, Kraft Sizzling Salads Chicken Caesar Dinner Kit, Planter’s Peanut Butter creamy and crunchy flavors, JELL-O Halloween Brain Mold, JELL-O Jigglers Halloween Mold, JELL-O Jigglers Holiday Mold, Assorted flavors of JELL-O gelatin dessert and JELL-O instant pudding including NEW Candy Cane and Gingerbread pudding flavors, JELL-O Halloween Recipe Booklet, JELL-O Holiday “Treat Explosion” Recipe Booklet, Holiday JELL-O Jigglers recipe, JELL-O Jiggle-It app download, Crystal Light mocktail drink mixes, Kool-Aid Scary Blackberry Ghoul-Aid drink mixes, Coupon for one (1) package of any OSCAR MAYER Selects Hot Dogs, Coupon for one (1) package of any OSCAR MAYER Carving Board Meats

Whoa….that’s a LOT!

How to Enter:

1. Tell me which KRAFT product in this prize pack you are most looking forward to receiving!

Additional entries:

1. Blog about this giveaway and link to The Not-So-Blog (10 extra entries).

2. Follow me (@BridgetteLA) on Twitter and Tweet this giveaway. Every time you tweet you get an additional entry! Limited to 10 a day, please. (You must have over 50 Twitter followers to qualify for unlimited entries!)

3. Subscribe to my blog.

4. Become a Fan of The Not-So-Blog on Facebook.

5. Place my blog button on your sidebar.

Contest ends at 11:59pm CST on November 25th. Prizes not claimed in 72 hours will be forfeited. Open to U.S. Residents only.