We are addicted to Maria Rae’s chips and salsa! This is not some corporate, processed food product with a made up person on the label. In fact Maria Rae (aka Mary) can be spotted most Tuesdays sitting in our shop knitting.
Maria Rae’s was originally a restaurant in Enid. So many locals were asking for her salsa after the restaurant closed, that Mary started her own salsa company. She would occasionally treat us with her chips and salsa during Tuesday knitting. It quickly turned into an addiction, and we love it so much that we started selling her products in our shop.
Her family of salsas include the original salsa in three levels of heat (one, two and three), along with peach salsa, avocado salsa verde, and black bean & corn salsa. Level 2 is my favorite, Jeannie is a peach salsa gal. And her chips…I’ve never had anything quite like them. They are SO good.

Mary’s seasoning packets are the bomb as well. Holey Guacamole + fresh avocados makes incredible guacamole. Red Hills Seasoning + sour cream + salsa makes a fabulous dip. Spunky Spuds + potatoes + olive oil makes tasty oven roasted potatoes. So easy!

Mary also has tons of great recipes using her salsas and seasonings. If you’ve been to any of our parties and events lately, you may have noticed several of these on the menu. What a great (and easy) way to spice up your next soirée!

• Maria Rae’s Triple Layer Dip
• Maria Rae’s Hummus
• The Ultimate Spice Cake

If you’ve been in lately, you may have noticed that I am shrinking. When I was younger, I was always the skinniest kid in the bunch, and teased and picked on as a result. Life happens, and somewhere along the way I started expanding. I wasn’t terribly worried about it. After spending much of my life being pressured to sit still and eat, I wasn’t about to reverse course.
I am a pragmatic person, and peering into my aging future I didn’t want to wind up diabetic if I could avoid it. So I decided to seriously curb my Pepsi drinking. I love Pepsi, and drank it morning, noon, and night.
So if you are wondering how I’ve lost nearly 35 pounds since June, I’ve replaced Pepsi with far less enjoyable beverages (water, tea, ick), and eat Maria Rae’s chips and salsa for lunch most days. I call it my no-Pepsi/Maria Rae’s diet. You really should give it a try.
I do still enjoy an occasional Pepsi. If you hear me saying I need to “hit the hooch”, I haven’t taken up day drinking. That just means I REALLY need a Pepsi.

Enough about me, I have prizes for you today.
Three lucky readers will win a:

• jar of salsa
• bag of chips
• packet of seasoning

Simply state in the comments which flavor of salsa and seasoning you’d like to win. You have until midnight tonight! Sorry, drawing is over!