Exceedingly Mundane

I recently signed up for a new program online, called Bzzz Agent. I think I saw this either mentioned at someone else’s blog, or maybe an online article about how companies are targeting bloggers to promote their products. I signed up for the Bzzz program, and answered several sets of questionnaires, so they could find out more about me and the products I might be interested in. From what I can tell (this is my very first foray, or “campaign” as they call it), you sign up for campaigns at their website and then you get info either mailed or emailed to you on a certain product. You try the product, and then you give your honest opinion and feedback on the product. You tell your friends and neighbors about it. You talk to your co-workers at work about it. In my case, you blog about it! :mrgreen:You create “bzzz” and talk about their product.

The first product campaign that I signed up for is the al Fresco brand of all-natural chicken sausages. I signed up and was accepted into the campaign; then a couple of weeks later, I received an information packet in the mail. Included in my packet were coupons for their products. I had already spent a little time at the al Fresco website, and had found out where their products were available in my area, as well as some about the company and the types of products they have. al Fresco makes gourmet, all natural chicken sausages in a variety of flavors. They’re made with lean, skinless chicken and contain no artificial flavors or preservatives. Some come already fully cooked, and some are “fresh”, which means they need to be cooked or grilled. The grocery store where I shop only offered 3 flavors of al Fresco sausages, all fully cooked. My store had Buffalo Style, Sweet Italian, and Apple with Vermont Maple Syrup. I plan to get the Apple/Maple next and try it in a breakfast omelette. We love to have breakfast at dinner, and I think this will be really good.

OK, back to the Buffalo style chicken sausages – we really liked these! There are 4 in a package and in my store, they retailed for 4.99. So, they are pricey, but I’ve found that to be true with most healthy food choices. We could (and do) buy bratwurst for much cheaper. But one link of bratwurst (we like the Johnsonville ones) has 220 calories and 22 grams of fat. The al Frescro buffalo chicken sausages have 130 calories and 6 grams of fat per link. Much better! They had a nice spicy taste to them, almost too much for me, but that’s because I don’t like spicy foods. Tim loved them and they could have been even spicier for him 🙂 I bought these first, because he loves spicy, buffalo flavored stuff, and I thought he would like them more. And I was right!

Tim put the al Fresco links on the grill on indirect heat for just a few minutes, to heat them up. I sauteed some peppers and onions in a skillet, and we sliced the 2 sausage links into small slices. We served them on whole wheat hoagie buns, with some Monterey Jack cheese sprinkled on top, with homemade coleslaw on the side, and we both thought it was a great meal. I took some pictures, so check out the extended link for those 🙂

I asked Tim if he would eat these again, and he said definitely. As I said earlier, we’re going to try the apple/maple flavor next. I am really glad to have found this product, because we eat a lot of this type of food in the fall, on “game days”. We love to grill bratwurst and have while we’re watching football. These will be a more expensive, but much healthier alternative for us to have.

As part of my BzzzAgent kit, I received several coupons in the mail. I’m going to use a couple, and give a couple to family and friends. But, I have a few that I will have left over, and I will be more than happy to share with any of you out there who might be interested in trying these chicken sausages. I only ask one thing – that you check the al Fresco website and see if they are available in your area before I send you the coupon. They were only available in one store near me, but thankfully, it was not far and I shop there often. But it was not at any other grocery in my area, so I just want to make sure you will be able to use the coupon. The coupons are for $1.00 off each, so if they are 4.99 in your area, that will make your cost 3.99 for a package of four fully cooked sausages. If that’s not in your budget, then that’s ok, but I’d really like to send the coupons to someone who will use them, and hopefully let me know which flavor they bought, if you liked them, and if you’d buy them again. Not required, but it would be nice to get that extra feedback. 🙂 I’m trying to create as much “Bzzz” as possible with this new program 😀 If you would like a coupon, just leave me a comment and I’ll contact you via email for your mailing address and send your coupon on out to you.

Click on the extended link for pictures of our first taste test of al Fresco chicken sausages:

Here’s Tim’s Buffalo Chicken Sausage sandwich – his was jam packed, so he really had to eat his open face!!!

And here’s mine, minus the peppers. I do NOT like bell peppers! I tried to use a little less Monterey Jack cheese too!