Tryazon: Orange Crate Food Company Dips and Bakers Review #OrangeCrateFoodCo

With time constraints and wanting to enjoy the weather, holidays, Summer time is as hectic for me as the month of December. I feel like I’m being pulled in all directions and meal times sneak up on me, along with dinners that include guests. I don’t want to miss out on the events and I don’t want to resort to catering or serving less than spectacular meals. So, when Orange Crate found me via Tryazon, I was more than happy to get some help!

I welcome new ideas, short cuts but the most important factor is that things need to work for me. I don’t want to miss out on flavor because I use a “boxed item”. Yes, things out of boxes are easy because they are pre-measured and you just add a few ingredients and are told it will be as good as made from scratch or even better, however boxes have failed me. I end up with what I call salt lick boxes because that is the first and most prominent ingredient. What ends up claiming to save me….well dooms me.

When I received the parcel from Orange Crate Food Company, I noticed that I could smell the mixes before opening the box. Yes, Orange Crate teased my UPS man! It also smelled delicious and tempting, so they so far satisfied the “sniff test”.

Next came the unveiling and this is what Orange Crate sent:

• One Red Dip Chiller
• One Black Dip Chiller
• Three Cheese Ball Mixes in Green Onion, Country Vegetable and Garlic
• Three Hot Dip Seasoning Mixes in Artichoke & Parmesan, Pizza, and Cheesy Onion & Garlic
• One Brie Baker in Red
• One Brie Baker in White

I noticed on the dips that there was flexibility when it came to the creations. Orange Crate’s dip boxes encouraged you to think outside the box! They allow the consumer to make hot to cold dips and even use the seasonings in dishes. It’s a way to infuse dishes with flavor to trying new ingredients, so it goes beyond the sour cream tub and cream cheese brick. So far Orange Crate Food Company has separated themselves from the other dip companies, plus the ingredients are as listed. You must understand that when you see a cheese dip and you flip the box and the only cheese listed is the cheese they ask you to add……well, that upsets me! Then it’s not a cheese dip in my book but thankfully that is a memo that Orange Crate Food Company did not miss. Okay, you now got my respect Orange Crate Food Co.! 🙂

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Taste matters and for 4th of July everyone always does barbecue and it’s delicious but I wanted something new. Yes, we had the rib rack but this year I wanted a twist from the ordinary and Orange Crate had just what I was looking for, the Chipotle mix. This year I was doing a dry rub on the ribs so no sauce and just flavor to add to the change factor. I crossed my finger and when I took the ribs out of the overnight brine, I started rubbing in the Chipotle mix. I admit, I had that moment where my brain said, “what did you do”! But too late and it smelled delicious. Chipotle being just smoked jalapenos really is a match made in heaven when it comes to pork, but I’m not use to just depending on a rub from a packet. This is the girl that buys the whole peppers and makes her own seasonings, so this little packet have better make it worth it and especially since we were smoking the ribs for 3 to 4 hours. I allowed the rub to stay on for a couple hours while we prepped everything for the smoker and in they went! Okay, I’m now crossing my toes!

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I pretend everything will be fine because the minute the ribs hit the grill, within 20 minutes I know they will be divine by just how the smoke that lets out is smelling. Okay, that is +2 for the sniff test by Orange Crate Food Company. I start making the rest of the meal from baked beans, freshly baked corn bread and the baked potatoes. Four hours later and this baby back ribs look delicious with a gorgeous bark (crust) and a smoke ring that is to die for! We allow the ribs to rest and 15 minutes later I sneak a taste-test because that corner rib that has been peeking out from the foil is calling my name…….yes, food does that! It also helps to convince yourself that you are pre-tasting the ribs for a good cause, like before giving food to your guests in case it is not good.   I bite in and you taste the pepper but the overall flavor made me think why did I not do this before. These ribs are smoky, tasty, and the Chipotle just increases those flavor notes but also adds that spice that remains mild but that reminds you why jalapenos are so used in cooking. Easy ribs that took longer to cook than to prep!

The Orange Crate Food company also has beautiful bakers and cold dip servers. The cold dip ones you just add ice and the dip holder conveniently fits over the column, which keeps the food cold and at a safe temperature. The brie bakers can be used to bake anything and not just when it comes to different cheese varieties.  I found that they are larger in size than all the other cheese bakers I own.  This is welcoming because no worries when the cheese begins to bubble in the oven and you can dip without caution that you will cause a cheese avalanche on the other side. Not nice when that happens because your bread/chip ends up with bare naked with nothing on it, and you just made a mess!

Orange Crate Food Company not only satisfies your taste buds via their dips but also can use their products on other foods. They have a Lemon Dill that just screams for fish or even a chicken breast stuffed with spinach. The dips are easy to make and also adjust to your needs. I bought a lower fat sour cream and added less mayonnaise because I’m not overly wild about the latter condiment and the dip remains a hit. If the dip says cheese, it comes with cheese and you then add your own. The dip packets are also twice the size than other dip packets I have purchased and it’s not just salt! I have to fix other dip brand’s mixes because they all start tasting the same of just a mix of salt and pepper. Orange Crate Food Company is not like the others and you can with confidence just depend on what is included and not feel like something is missing. So, the next time you want to try a new dip company that goes beyond the dip and chip, I encourage you try the Orange Crate Food Company because you don’t know what you are missing!

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• #Tryazon #OrangeCrateFoodCompany #OrangeCrateFoodCo

 

I received the above product(s) free of charge from Tryazon and the Orange Crate Food Company.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

 

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Smoked Turkey Legs with Gourmet Nut’s Northwest Alderwood Smoked Sea Salt…Yes Please!!

I am very fortunate. Not only do I have my hubby who goes out of his way to make sure I never lack for “special” eats, I get to try awesome goodies from awesome companies. Companies like Gourmet Nut, who have lines of treats and seasonings that enhance ANY dish. Like hubby’s County Fair Smoked Turkey Legs.

 

See, we used to frequent the L.A. County Fair. Every year, without fail, we’d be in line opening day to be some of the first people through the gate. The food, the neat bric-a-brac, the food, the animals, the food. Did I mention the food? We even had season passes one year. Then, as is now the norm in Southern California, prices started jumping higher and higher. Not incremental increases mind you, but by leaps and bounds. Getting in and parking? Nearly $40. Footlong hotdog, fries and a drink? $25. Each. We were down nearly $100 by lunch. No thank you.

Hubby loved the BBQ. I liked it, he loved it. And it made us both sad to say “Buh-bye” to real, Southern style BBQ. So we bit the bullet, bought a smoker, and through much trial and error, duplicated (or improved on) everything we loved from the Fair. Hubby has become a regular pit master, and there’s not much he doesn’t do well on a grill. Prime rib for the holidays? Check. Steaks, chicken, burgers? Child’s play. Roasts, ribs, whole birds? Done and done. Whole smoked turkey for Thanksgiving? Oh, yes.

So when I decided I’d done without that old fair staple of stoked turkey legs long enough, I told hubby so. And sure enough, I got some fresh and beautiful turkey legs from Sprout’s Farmer’s Market. At less than $5 for two, it’s a no-brainer. And with summer right around the corner, and 100° heat coming, it feels like it’s time for summer grillin’. Normally my recipes are pretty involved and detailed, but as this is a hubby recipe, it’s simple, straightforward and easy.

Start with 4 total ingredients: Turkey legs, peanut oil, fresh cracked black pepper and the secret to a smokey, yummy turkey leg…….

 

Gourmet Nut’s Northwest Alderwood Smoked Sea Salt.  I was blown away by the taste and smell of this salt. We have smoked salts, a few actually. None so far blew us away like this one did. Just amazing. Hubby thought we could get away with doing them in the oven. But we didn’t. Rub the oil on the legs, add the pepper and salt, and you’re good to go.

 

 

Here’s another secret: Make use of your leftover heat. We have a little Weber Smokey Joe grill that sees a lot of use, since it’s just us two. And hubby uses mostly natural lump coal and real wood chunks and chips. But when you make a quick couple of steaks or burgers, you now have a grill full of heat and flavor…what’s a guy to do? Usually some hot links, or a roast. But today, it was turkey legs. Take your coals pile them up to one side, and put the legs on the other side, for what’s called “indirect cooking”. He threw a handful of hickory chips, covered it up, and we ate dinner. He snuck out a couple of times to turn and rotate for even cooking, but as he was told many years ago when it comes to “low & slow” cooking: “If you lookin’, you ain’t cookin'”.

Three hours or so later, and voila…Eat your heart out, LA County Fair. You are officially old and busted. Enter the new hotness: Smoked Turkey Legs featuring Gourmet Nut’s Northwest Alderwood Smoked Sea Salt. I’ve now used this sea salt on just about everything, and there’s no dish it hasn’t enhanced. I love the aroma once it hits warm food, it’s intoxicating! One of my favorite finishing salts, by far. If you don’t see it at your local grocery store, be sure to have them special order it or you! You won’t believe how you got by without it!

 

Get in touch with, or find out where to buy Gourmet Nut’s fantastic products by visiting them:

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from Gourmet Nut.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.