My Sam's Club has Hillshire Farms beef summer sausage for about $7.50. This is a big 3 pound stick. I hope it will fit diagonally in the large FRB. The sign said "seasonal item," but I'm not sure which season.

Mellie

 Hi Mellie,

They have the summer sausage every year from about now until Christmas time.  After Christmas you can usually pick it up for 1/2 price and it is good for about 4 months after that.  I does fit in a large flat rate box diagonally.

Yeah, we get those too. We also have them year round, though in other stores. Not that big, but they are available year round and a huge hit. I like those big jumbo ones to send for a group, it makes a great snack!  Or meal, for that matter, cheese and crackers, some mustard, you are set! Feed alot of people too.

Heidi

Great idea about the mustard, cheese and crackers. What kind of cheese survives the trip?

Mellie

I have sent summer sausages to several of my groups, and I just send Ritz (everything tastes better), some grape jelly, jalapeno jelly and some deli mustard.  The only cheese that can make the trip would be in a jar and I have sent some of that, so who knows?  Kraft makes one, I'm sure Hickory Farms has some.  In fact, I just checked Hickory Farms and they have military gift boxes.  The guys should be able to buy cheese locally, but from what I've heard back from my contacts, the summer sausage is a huge hit.

I send the Hickory farms cheese in the bricks.  Have not had anyone say that it is not good when they get it.  Also, the jellys and that are all good too! Have sent ritz crackers and also these stoned ground wheat crackers (i started calling them "druggie" crackers cause they are stoned ground and not stone ground...) with some different jellies. Love the jalepeno jelly!!

Heidi

Thanks for the post on the Hickory farms beef summer sausage and crackers stuff:).  I just sent a box of it with a slew of ritz crackers and some nutella to one of our contacts  - all food snacks - a bunch of guys with not much access to DFAC - good to hear it goes over so well. 

Ann

Tried a jar of nutella at our house also - first time - also last time - it disappeared in nothing flat - reeeally bad for the dieters:).  Man is that stuff good.  If my contacts like it as much as my household guys, they won't need any utensils!

Does anyone know if Hickory Farms has set up their holiday stores yet? I'll have to make a trip to the mall, something I rarely do. The Hillshire Farms summer sausage at Sams is a great deal compared to Hickory Farms. But I might get some cheese.

Has anyone sent Velveeta cheese?  It doesn't have to be refrigerated, so should make the trip, but without lots of Rotelle tomatoes in it, it's not so very good.  Just wonderin?

Some guys have access to a microwave, even in some of the more remote outposts.  It can also be melted over a campstove too for other applications as sauce for...well who knows what.  Send some salsa and a tupperware bowl, let them mix it...just a thought. 

 In re: cheese

I use Cambell's Condensed Soup "Fiesta Nacho Cheese" flavor in a pinch for dip or a stir in.  Just don't add any water to it and it has the consistency of a dip, and a little kick too!  Should ship well, I think.  Just like a can of soup.

I've seen Hickory Farms cheese during the holidays at Target but other than their web site or their stores, can you buy it anywhere else?

I've sent Velveeta many times, even in warm weather, and they tell me it arrives intact. I think you're supposed to refrigerate it after opening some of the contacts didn't have fridges. I guess there's enough preservatives in it!

You can buy "canned" cheese, i.e., white cheddar, from Internet Grocer on line. It's kind of expensive but it's available. Also canned butter made in New Zealand. There's a thread about that somewhere on the forum.

Jalapeno jelly...yum...haven't had it in years but that would be something different to send out. 

I have bought a "cheese snack spread" in plastic containers at the Dollar Tree. It does not need to be refridgerated until it is opened. But it is only a 8oz container so it can be eaten pretty quickly. It also comes in many flavors. Pepper Jack, Nacho, Sharp Cheddar. I have tried these myself and they aren't bad. The cheddar is a little bland for being called sharp, but the other two are have better flavor.

We don't have a year-round Hickory Farms store here, but they set up a booth in the open space of the mall around the holidays. I didn't get to the mall the other day, but soon. I think that to get just cheese and not a gift pack including cheese, I'll have to go to them directly.

Do they make Cheeze Whiz in plastic jars? Do they make it at all anymore?

Remember after last Christmas when HF had such great deals on gift sets? We'll have to be on the lookout.

Mellie

Hi Mellie,

They do make Cheez Whiz in plastic containers but the only place I’ve ever seen it is on Amazon.  All the stores here only carry it in glass jars (or the #10 institutional size can).

There are several different brands of a nacho cheese sauce in the individual sized plastic containers (often with matching snack packs of salsa).  The snack packs have always struck me as being fragile, so I triple bag them and pack them inside an interior box to protect them during shipping.

Minimus carries 1oz packages of cheese spreads – both Cheese Squeezers (mild cheddar or jalapeno) and Heart of Wisconsin (several flavors).  If you send the Heart of Wisconsin, I would suggest sending small scissors or a small mult-tool/pocket-knife type thing with scissors as cutting with a pocket knife and squeezing to spread can be a little messy the way they have it packaged.

Unfortunately, none of my contacts have ever commented on any of the cheeses I’ve sent other than the Hickory Farms (which they’ve all been crazy about).  I too am really looking forward to those after Christmas sales.