Thanks, Country Bob!

Less than two weeks ago, I received an email from a visitor to this blog. He was part of a family business, and was wondering whether I'd give his product a try. I have no fear of trying new things, so I said I'd give it a whirl.

The product was Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce, made just a state over in Illinois. The company has been around since before I was born, and truly is a family enterprise, with 37 family members keeping the place running. Who's in charge, though? Country Bob's proudly advertises all over their products and website, "Christ is our CEO"!

The package arrived promptly, and I was excited. Not only did I get one bottle of all-purpose sauce to try- they sent TWO, plus a cookbook! All this, and the sender didn't even know I love to cook, and have a food blog! I was very excited about both the product and the cookbook. The cookbook was very high quality and durable, which I prize in cookbooks, because I tend to dirty anything lying on my counters while I'm cooking. This book can take it! On the pages of the cookbook, Bible verses and statements of what the family believes were printed under the recipes- and little inspiration in the kitchen! The huge variety of traditional and cultural recipes using the sauce intrigued me- what is this stuff going to taste like, if it can be used in both Mexican and American and Asian dishes?

I couldn't wait to find out. I flipped through the cookbook looking for a recipe that:

• I had everything on hand for
• had enough Country Bob's sauce for us to get an idea of what it tasted like
• I could get done before Josh got home.
  

Bingo! I made a baked chicken dish, which was basically baking chicken breasts covered in Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce mixed with some cream of mushroom soup. The chicken was moist and flavorful, and my husband, who doesn't always like new dishes volunteered that he was a fan of this sauce and this recipe. Hooray! I expected the sauce to have a darker, barbecue taste (which I don't prefer), but was pleasantly surprised to find it had an almost-teriyaki-sauce taste. Somewhere between barbecue sauce and teriyaki sauce, if you can imagine.

Which you probably can't.

But, if you can't imagine it! Try the sauce yourself! Country Bob's is giving away free bottles to people who sign up for their newsletters. Go and request one promptly! According to the search on their site, the product is available at local Krogers & Walmarts as well, so I don't have to get it shipped next time. Honestly, now that I've tried it, I will probably be buying it for many of my marinating and grilling needs. We were very pleased, and I look forward to quickly finishing off the two bottles I now have in my pantry!