Southern Breakfast, Midwest Snack (or, Bloggy Giveaway #3)

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks!

Well, hi again! I’m guessing that you’re here for the carnival. If this is your first visit, I’ve got a couple of other giveaways up from earlier this week – scroll down to check them out. During the last Carnival, the bloggy giveaway fairies must have sprinkled me with winner dust, because I won a bunch of prizes. This time around, I figured that I’d create a few of my own packages –each one telling a little bit about me– and pay the giveaway fun forward.

Right now, my family lives in the Midwest. We’ve been here almost a year, and I have to say I’ve been surprised by just how much I love it, how quickly it’s started to feel like home. Before this, other than a brief stint in South Florida for my husband’s medical school, I’ve always lived in the south. My grandmother is the consummate Southern lady – her speech is genteel, her personality is sweet and gracious, and her cooking takes your breath away. Her specialty is an astonishing breakfast buffet, a spread that my brother dreamed about during our long months between visits. A few weeks ago, when my brother visited me here at my new house, I had the immense pleasure of whipping up a big breakfast of my own for our two families. Something deep inside me felt like I’d completed another full circle - from being a kid who clamored for my grandmama’s family breakfast, to being a real grown-up and making those same memories for my son and nephew – and I realized that for me, a lot of family memories are connected to family meals.

So that brings me to the subject of this giveaway package. A little taste of home, from me to you! Your makings for a delicious Southern breakfast include: biscuit mix (no, it’s not the same as grandmama’s recipe, but it’ll do in a pinch), gravy mix (because what’s a biscuit without the gravy?), and coffee (because I truly believe that no good morning begins without coffee). Good additions to this breakfast would be bacon or sausage, fried or scrambled eggs, sliced tomatoes, or fried chicken, but since I can’t figure out how to put those in the mail, you’re on your own there. And then, in a nod to my new home, a little Midwestern snack. Did you know that you can make your own microwave popcorn without buying those little pre-packaged bags? I’ll send you popcorn kernels and six lunch bags, along with a few seasoning suggestions from local friends.

This giveaway is open to anyone with a US mailing address. Just leave a comment on this post by Friday, April 25th telling me where you’re from (just the general region is fine!) and your favorite regional delicacy. Make sure to enter your email address in the little box (it will NOT appear on my blog; I will not put you on any mailing lists, I swear!) so I can get in touch with you if you win! I’ll use a random number generator to draw a winning comment on Monday, April 28th, and post the winners here after emailing them.

Writing this post has made me hungry, so I’m off to whip up a little snack. (Just what my waistline needs, right?)