10th Annual Jif® Peanut Butter Contest

I think it's safe to say that I hate to cook.  In fact, I'm not really even sure I know how to cook.  You're talking about a girl who could easily ruin boiling water.  Yes, readers, it's that serious.  So in the times I've had to fend for myself, I have had to find simple yet fulfilling things that I can munch on to feed my little belly.  One of my favorite dishes is the classic Peanut Butter sandwich.  Yes, just peanut butter.  Ask anyone around and they'll tell you that I am a fiend for peanut butter.  I mean what's not to love.  It's salty, it's sweet and it hits that hunger spot almost immediately.  In fact, when I get hungry right before bed, I just take a spoonful of peanut butter and it completely settles my hunger pangs.  So when I was approached to talk about this contest, I jumped at the chance.


For the past decade, The J.M. Smucker Company has held the Jif^® Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest, and this year they continue with that tradition.  Now through October 12th 2011, children ages 6 to 12,  can enter to win a $25,000 college fund all by becoming culinary geniuses and using their creativity with one of the simplest ingredients we find in our kitchen: PEANUT BUTTER!  Also to mark the 10th anniversary of the contest, this year's Grand Prize Winner will also receive an additional $10,000 for educational products.  And when they say creative, they certainly mean it.  Last year's winner, Margalit M of Raleigh, NC, 8 years old, created "Wushu Chicken Tacos".  It combined a drizzle of spicy peanut sauce made with Jif Creamy Peanut Butter with chicken, asparagus and squash wrapped in a tortilla.  Now that sounds AMAZING!


Submissions of each imaginative recipe can be entered at www.jif.com and www.jifenespanol.com or by completing the downloadable entry form available on both websites.  All sandwiches will be judged on creativity, taste, nutritional balance, visual appeal and ease of preparation.  So leave the idea of perfection behind, because this is all about kids using their noggin's to be truly unique and inventive!  Qualified entrants, who submit their entry in the first six weeks of the call of entries, will receive a Jif Back to School gift pack while supplies last - provided the entry is submitted online or postmarked by September 1, 2011 and received by September 8, 2011.  Ten semifinalists will be posted on both websites to take part in a nationwide online vote in January 2012.  Anyone aged 13 and older can vote to help select the five finalists, who will go on to compete in New York in March 2012!


Entries for the Jif^® Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest must be postmarked by October 12, 2011 and received no later than October 19, 2011.  Online entries must be submitted by 11:59 a.m. on October 12, 2011.  For complete details, official rules and the entry form for the tenth annual contest, visit www.jif.com and www.jifenespanol.com.  The Jif^® Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C. between six and 12 years of age by October 12, 2011.  Void where prohibited.


And there's more!  This year they'll also be conducting a separate contest which invites peanut butter fans across America to enter the, "That's Why I Choose Jif" essay contest.  Fans will enter for a chance to join the judging panel at the final event in NYC, where five kid chefs will contend for the grand prize.  Fans of peanut butter can visit www.jif.com to submit an essay of 250 words or less in the "That's Why I Choose Jif" essay contest, describing how they make the best choices for their families and sharing why they choose Jif Peanut Butter.


Entries for the "That's Why I Choose Jif" essay contest must be submitted online by 11:59 a.m. on October 12, 2011.  For complete details, official rules and to enter, visit www.jif.com.  The "That's Why I Choose Jif" essay contest is open to legal residents of the 50 United States and D.C, 18 years and older.  Void where prohibited.


I think that this is a great contest and a great way to spend time with your children and show them that there is more to life than eating out and watching TV.  I always say kids nowadays need more guidance and quality time with the adults in their life, and I think a contest like this provides a great opportunity for just that.  So log on to the links and get involved.  You have nothing to lose, but maybe just a lot to gain.


You can find Jif^® on Facebook or visit www.jif.com or www.jifenespanol.com for more information, tips, recipes, contests and promotions.


Happy Peanut Butter Dreams & Blogging!


Disclaimer:  While Confessions Of A Latina Loquita did receive Jif products, it did not receive any monetary compensation for this post.  Participation is completely voluntary and all opinions noted in the above are my own opinion.