This story is straight out of modern day back-country. Literally, for Amy. It is Wild Wild West meets Twitter. . . cue the Western showdown music.

Last week, via Twitter, Liz from Hoosier Homemade was looking for a baked bean recipe, and this is the conversation that ensued:

Hoosier Homemade:

AmysFinerThings:

OnceAMonthMom:

AmysFinerThings:

OnceAMonthMom:

AmysFinerThings:

OnceAMonthMom:

OnceAMonthMom:

Hence, the Van Camp’s Baked Bean Showdown! And YOU my friends are the judges! That’s right! Amy and I want you to decide who really has the best baked beans. Here is how it is getting done:

We are looking for ANYONE who wants to follow the below listed criteria for the contest. You have until Friday, June 4th to complete the set of tasks and follow the directions. We will have a linky on that day. From that list of judges, 9 people will be drawn to receive a $50 Visa Gift Card. Here is how you can participate.

• Amy’s Finer Things Baked Beans with a Kick (you can do a 1/2 or whole batch)
• Once A Month Mom’s Baked Beans

1. Cook BOTH baked bean recipes using Van Camp’s Baked Beans as your main ingredient for “pork and beans”. (This is important to create consistency among the dishes). Please follow the recipes exactly as written, unless you need to make 1/2 of a recipe or double it for a crowd.

• You do NOT have to make them on the same day. It is up to you “how” you sample them and with whom. But we have created the contest to run over Memorial Day weekend so perhaps you can get your friends and family in on the fun.

2. Declare a winner:

• Write a review of the baked beans recipe on your blog OR if you don’t have a blog, post your review on the Van Camp’s Baked Bean Showdown Facebook Event Page.
• In your review declare which recipe was your chosen winner and why. We are curious what the deciding factors were!
• Get creative!  Vlogs, photos, and lots of commentary are encouraged.

3. LINK UP your post!

• On Tuesday, June 1st stop by Once A Month Mom (You will have through Friday, June 4th at midnight (CST) to link up your post) OR if you don’t have a blog remember to post your review on the Van Camp’s Baked Bean Showdown Facebook Event Page.

**If you have questions or concern on your approach, you can consult Liz of Hoosier Homemade who has agreed to act as Queen Judge/Referee for this contest! Thanks Liz!

Don’t worry, Amy and I are working on developing our thick skin these next few weeks, we promise we can take the critiques! After all, what is a good showdown without a war wounds to show your pride? And for those of you Tweeting and Facebooking we are using the Hashtag #BBShowdown!

We will announce winners on Monday, June 7th at high NOON along with a linky for you to link up YOUR favorite baked beans or other summer cookout recipes.

*This post is linked to Things I Love Thursday (Friendly Rivalry) at The Diaper Diaries.

used with permission Flickr Creative Commons, photo by Dano

Last month I asked you about to share your thoughts and recipes on appetizer, side dishes and desserts that you serve at Thanksgiving. Now I am interested to see if there are different menu items that you serve for Christmas? As you can see from the October (Thanksgiving) OAMM menu, there is an opportunity for you to be featured as part of the November (Christmas) menu as well.

In our family, a lot of our side dishes are the same. However, the main course turns from turkey to ham. And we stray away from all of the pumpkin and move on to cranberries, cherries, pecans and cookies.

What about for your family. What does your Christmas meal look like? And do you have recipes that you would like to share with the rest of us?

Leave your comments below about what you serve on Christmas Day. As for recipes, if you have posted the recipe on your website, be sure to leave a link below directly to the post. If you don’t have a website be sure to email me the recipe or leave it as a comment below. Recipes submitted do NOT have to be freezer friendly, but obviously freezer friendly recipes will be more likely to be considered for inclusion on the upcoming menu.

Used with attribution, Flickr, Creative Commons, CarbonNYC

I mentioned when I started this series that we were going to be talking through some of the holiday eating traditions. I do have ulterior motives as I am planning for the holiday menus ahead of time to try and get a handle on the craziness that will be my life come the holidays and the birth of baby #2.

Today, I thought it would be helpful to talk about Thanksgiving side dishes. In our family (maternal mother’s side) we have a big tradition of getting together. There are lots of side dishes as there are usually more than 30 of us gathered and a significant number of bottomless male stomachs to consume food. Thanksgiving usually includes these staples: seven layered salad, stuffing, mashed potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, scalloped corn, and pickled beets (just to name a few).

I am making the assumption that most of us will at least have a turkey that we partake in at this meal. Are there some traditional side dishes that you like to make sure are on your menu? Are there certain recipes that you prefer not to make that actual day, but instead have prepared ahead of time? Please share.

If you have a specific recipe please feel free to include it below as well or to leave a link to the recipe on your site. Or you can email it to me. I can’t wait to hear about your Thanksgiving traditions.