Last month our whole family met in Arizona for a vacation. While we were there my brother gave me a few bottles of spices to take home. It just seemed like an odd gift coming from him, but he said that they came from one of their friend’s companies. He also said that they had tried them and liked them and my in-laws agreed. In fact, my in-laws were getting refills on some of their previously purchased items. 

We took them home and tried them. One is called The Ultimate Spice and it’s their signature blend. So far we’ve put it on both steak and chicken for grilling. I’ve also sprinkled it on frozen French fries and tater tots for the boys. The other one we got is called Smoky Jalapeno Garlic Blend. We’ve had this one on steak and it was fantastic. The last one that we tried was a Cajun/Creole blend and it’s not listed on the website yet. I mixed that one with a few teaspoons of olive oil, and used it as a rub and made excellent blackened chicken. Yum! 

Whenever I really, really, REALLY like a product….I often think “Hey, I bet my readers would like this” and then I contact the company to see if they want to do a giveaway. That’s really the foundation for all of my giveaways. So I contacted Gina & Karen at The Ultimate Spice, and they said “Sure! We’ll do one!” And there’s still plenty of time left in the summer grilling season. 

They also have spices to add to coffee.

Here’s what I like about this company-The Ultimate Spice. First, you all know that I have a soft spot for the underdog, and I am a champion of small businesses. I also am a fan of female-started/owned small businesses. And, their products contain very little salt. Not only is too much salt bad for you, but well, sometimes it’s just too much and makes food taste bad. With their products, if you like things a bit saltier, you can add it to your taste and the other members of your household can have it to their taste. 

I keep talking about using their spices for grilling, but well, it is summer and we’re doing lots of grilling this time of year. Their blends have many other uses, and they even have some blends to add to coffee. 

We really enjoyed the Smoky Jalapeno, but it does have some heat to it. We like hot & spicy things. But with both the Smoky Jalapeno and the Cajun/Creole, what I like about them is that even though they are hot, they still contain a lot of flavor. I don’t like it when something is just hot and that’s it, does that make sense? I mean, jalapenos have a very distinct, crisp, fresh flavor in addition to their heat. I enjoy that flavor and dislike it when I get a jalapeno something that is just hot. 

These spices are very flavorful. I’ll be honest, I have a whole shoebox full packaged mixes and marinades from the grocery store, that I either got for free or very cheap. But they are really falling flat for me lately—they all taste the same. I don’t want to knock any particular brand name, but they have several different versions of Italian/garlic/red wine/herbs & spices….and it all really tastes the same. With TUS, they are very distinct, flavorful and different. They all are wheat, gluten and MSG free! 

Ok, so now do you want to try to win some? Here’s all you have to do to enter: 

1. Go visit their products page and view their items. Then, just leave a comment here, and tell us-If you are the chosen winner, which two products would you like to receive?
2. For an additional entry, go to their Facebook page and like it. Then, just leave another comment that says “liked you on Facebook.”
3. Maximum two entries per person. Contest ends on 07/31/11 at 9 PM EST. Winner to be chosen at random using random.org. Winner will be verified and announced by August 3, 2011 and has 72 hours to respond to email. Prize will only be shipped to continental USA. Prize will consist of the two spices you listed in your prize entry. Facebook is not a party to this giveaway and is not in any way liable. Any conversation or activity on Facebook should not be interpreted as such.
4. Your comments may not be visible immediately. If you’ve never commented on this blog before, it has to be approved prior to posting. Once approved, they do appear in the order in which they were received.