Cupcakes and Green Chiles

If you are a food blogger and you haven't yet joined the Leftover Queen's Foodie Blogroll you are missing out on a whole lot of foodie fun. In addition to connecting with great cooks from all over the world, our Queen puts together numerous contests for various edible and kitchen-related gifts. I was the lucky winner of a weekly drawing for a fabulous and very flattering Black Cherry apron from Cupcake Provocateurs recently, as well as a wonderfully-packaged "Cupcakes in a Jar" mix. The Cupcakes in a Jar are not gluten-free, though my wheaty daughters and their friends enjoyed them very much, but Chief Cupcake Cynthia told me that she is working on developing gluten-free and dairy-free versions of her wonderful cupcake mixes, so we all have that to look forward to. Thank you Cynthia and thank you Leftover Queen for my delightful food prize.



And now for a chance to pay it forward with the contest karma. I am a participant in My Blog Spark (see the badge on the right hand side of The Crispy Cook below), in which the Betty Crocker company offers me the chance to try out new products and offer prize packages to my loyal readership. Previously I've been able to share the new BC gluten-free cake and cookie mixes and Fruit Snacks with you and this time the prize pack is a mite spicier!



It's all about the Green Chiles. First, there is a link to get a coupon for El Paso canned green chiles here. There is usually a can of these mildly spicy babies in my pantry and they are great for stirring into cheesy casseroles, dips, and homemade salsa when the garden is pumping out tomatoes in the summer. Second, I can offer one of my readers the "El Paso Tackle the Taste" gift pack that I just received. It contains two cans of green chiles, a ceramic football-shaped chip and dip dish, and some football-themed napkins, plates and a table runner. I'm bringing my prize pack over to a friend's house for the Superbowl Game (Go Saints!) with a green chile-infused offering and am offering one of you the chance to win this prize package too. Just leave a comment below and I'll randomly pick a winner from the entries after February 15, 2009. This contest is limited U.S. readers only, however.