Holiday Gift Giving Guide:Tillamook Speciality Cheese Review & Giveaway

The Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) dates back to the early 1900s when several small cheese plants came together to form a co-op. The cooperative has expanded and is now run by a total of 110 family dairy farms! Tillamook remains committed to core values of quality, cooperation, integrity, stewardship and customer responsiveness, which has officially been titled the "Tillamook Tradition".

Tillamook Farms take special care to treat the environment and their animals with respect and care. In addition, no growth hormones are given to the cows and all milk is tested to be antibiotic-free. As their mission is to "delight consumers with consistent, premium-quality, best-tasting dairy products", Tillamook follows the same guiding principles originally set by the founding members.

Tillamook was voted "World's Best Medium Cheddar Cheese" at a contest this year! They produce several types of delicious cheeses, including Sharp Cheddar, Colby, Colby Jack, Mozzarella, Swiss, Smoked Cheddar, and more! In addition to cheeses, Tillamook produces milk, yogurts, butter, sour cream, and ice cream! My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

My Thoughts

I've never reviewed a cheese before and, since I love cheese, I jumped on the opportunity! I received a few vouchers for Tillamook cheese along with a cheese slicer so, we went to the grocery store. Now, it helps to know where to look for specialty cheese when at the grocery store. It isn't with regular cheese, mind you! It's in the bakery and/or deli area. I eventually hit the jackpot on cheese, finding Tillamook Medium Cheddar, Sharp Cheddar, and Smoked Cheddar. I decided on the Medium award-winning Cheddar and the Smoked Cheddar. I also picked up a summer sausage and some nice crackers.

We were having a little get together for a dinner party so, I thought that would be a great time to share some of the cheese and get several opinions. I used my cheese slicer, which was so much easier than a knife! I also cut up some sausage and put it all on a nice platter with crackers for guests. So, what was the consensus?

Well, the cheese was gone in a matter of minutes. I had to slice up the rest of it! So, everyone loved it. The smoked cheddar paired especially well with the summer sausage. It was absolutely delicious. I've tried a few other recipes with the cheese, too. I sliced up the medium cheddar instead of using processed sliced cheese for our sandwiches, which gave added flavor and was a big hit with Josiah! He's usually so picky, but I should have known since he's been asking for more of the smoked cheddar! One morning I made biscuits for breakfast and layered the smoked cheese and smoked sausage inside. Now, that was a huge hit! My husband has requested it a few times since then.

When I was younger, I'd always get excited when someone sent us a Pepperidge Farms gift basket with all the different cheeses, sausages, and crackers. Well, this year it hit me that you could easily make your own gift basket for friends and relatives. Tillamook cheeses would be perfect!

Buy It

No need to go all the way to Oregon for delicious cheese! Choose from a variety of cheeses and other Tillamook items at the online store!

Win It

• One Lucky Reader Will Win A Tillamook Cheese Gift Pack Complete With:

(2) 1lb Tillamook Cheese Coupons

(1) 2lb Tillamook Cheese Coupon

(1) Cheese Slicer

(1) a Heart-Shaped Sandwich/Cookie Cutter

A $40 Value!!!

How To Enter:

• Visit the Tillamook website and Comment Below About One Product You'd Love to Try OR One Thing You Learned!

**Remember to include your email address if it is NOT visible in your profile so I will know how to contact you!The initial entry is mandatory! Be sure to answer that question before earning extra entries listed below! Each bullet is worth one extra entry unless specified. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry you earn and include your email address is at least one entry.

Additional Entries

• "Like" Tillamook Cheese on Facebook and leave a message that Children Teaching Mama sent you!

•Make a Purchase from Tillamook during this giveaway (5 entries!)

• Follow Tillamook Cheese On Twitter!

•Follow Children Teaching Mama via Google Friend Connect

•Register for the Children Teaching Mama Newsletter (on left sidebar)

•'Like' Children Teaching Mama on Facebook

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•Grab the New & Improved Children Teaching Mama Button & Place on Your Blog (3 entries)- leave url

• Grab the Gift Giving Guide Event Button & Place On Your Blog (5 entries if before Dec. 3rd and 2 entries if after the 3rd!) - leave url

•Enter My Other Giveaways (1 Entry Per Giveaway Entered)

• Comment On Any Non-Giveaway Post (1 entry each comment) - tell me where to find it

•Tweet (up to 2x a day 1 hr apart) By clicking the "Tweet" Button At the Top Of this Post OR Use this Tweet:

#Win A @TillamookCheese Gift Pack @ChildrenTeach http://tinyurl.com/2f6epev #giveaways Ends 12/20

Plenty of opportunities to increase your chance of winning! This Giveaway is open to US Residents and Ends December 20th at 11:59pm EST. Winner will be drawn by random.org. An announcement will be made on the blog and the winner will also be contacted by email. The winner has 48 hours to respond to my email or another winner will be chosen.