Dakota Style snacks Review

Today is going to be all about cooking and tasting products from Dakota Style, located in Clark, SD. This is another company that is deep rich in their history, as well as giving back. So before I tell you about my day of tasting and cooking with the products they sent over, let me tell you some of their story.

Dakota Style, began something wonderful in 1985, right in the heart of South Dakota, when they hand selected their first ideal potato. They, were off making chips from their very own home-grown potatoes before they knew it. Dakota Style just didn't submit the potatoes out to any random maker, they cooked each batch, one at a time, and seasoned each chip by hand, just like the good 'ol days.

They quickly embarked on the inclusion of daring flavors and also planned to extend their range to include spicy jumbo sunflower seeds, kernels and kettle shakes, utilizing just the finest products of nature and without shortcuts.

Dakota Style, didn't forget where they came from. A place where realizing how your food remains grown means something, and harvesting with the heart produces more than just a product. There are also plenty of open spaces, fresh air and dirt roads that need to be refined and Dakota Style, is planning to do it's part to keep it that way. Dakota Style,  still rising and resting by the sun and believing that they will be taking time to do things the right way by hand, resulting in an experience that you can taste and feel.

Dakota Style's boldest taste were influenced by the rough western lifestyle, the cowboys who we're born to ride, and the excitement of a good 'ol rodeo. This born-to-back attitude led Dakota Style, right to the Jared Allen Pro Bull Team (JAPBT), which is deeply rooted in professional bull riding, ferocious drive and all-American pride.

Dakota Style, found out that JAPBT also enhances Jared Allen's Homes for Wounded Warriors (JAH4WW) through multiple Professional Bull Riders (PBR) events, a strong and meaningful partnership emerged. In line with JAPBT 's initiative to give back, Dakota Style is more than excited to extend their efforts to support troops. Throughout the last two years alone, Dakota Style, has donated over 16,000 pounds of their delicious jumbo sunflower seeds to the U.S. military in Afghanistan. After becoming flooded with heartfelt letters from military personnel, Dakota Style, decided to roll out the "Chips For The Troops" program online, putting their, favorite industrial kettle chips in the hands of soldiers just in time for the holidays.

With such a great company, I am so excited to try all the products, they so graciously sent over, and the box sent had more then enough to try. So I took the day and did just that, put all the products to the taste test, and the recipe test.

Inside the box we're so many different varieties of Dakota Style products. The first four we're their kettle chips. And with some kettle chips from each bag, I created breakfast.

First up was the bag of Dakota Style original kettle chips, which was transformed into a topping for a small egg strata, as the top coating. Tasting the chips from the bag you can taste the homegrown flavors of the potato's. These are not like your other store brands where they are paper thin and break when you pick them up. They are extra thick sliced kettle chip, that held up great in my egg strata topping. The kettle chip, truly tasted like it should, the flavor of potato! The Dakota Style "original" kettle chip, is just that, the right saltiness, the right seasoning, and the right thickness. I was very impressed that topping the egg strata with the kettle chips, held their own.

The next small omelet I made, was with Dakota Style Jalapeno kettle chips. Again the kettle chips we're used as the topping, and held their own. Even tasting the Jalapeno kettle chips before topping my omelet, the flavor was on point. When you open the bag, the aroma of Jalapeno's can be revealed. The Dakota Style Jalapeno kettle chips, was again just the right thickness. They did not disappoint with flavor at all, even as a topping you could still taste the Jalapeno flavor. The best part is that after eating the Dakota Style Jalapeno kettle chips, they left no after taste in your mouth. The Jalapeno taste of the kettle chips again was on point.

Now my son in law took a plain omelet and added the Dakota Style salt and vinegar kettle chips to it. The kettle chips gave the breakfast sandwich a good crunch in every bite. Also a great thick kettle chip that held up using it on a warm sandwich. The vinegar flavorings for the Dakota Style salt and vinegar kettle chips, did not over power the taste at all. The salt and vinegar was in perfect balance. And you still get s nice pucker!

For the last bag of chips, to go with the omelets I made every one a twice baked potato and topped them all with mesquite kettle chips from Dakota Style. After getting the potato all done, I crumbled the mesquite bar-b-q kettle chips on top of each potato. Being on a warm dish did not phase the kettle chips, they held their own again. They still remained crunchy. When you open the bag of Dakota Style Mesquite bar-b-q kettle chips, your nose is hit with a nice southwest aroma. The flavor of the kettle chips are a full body, smoky taste, that’s perfectly balanced. A true Southwestern chip flavor. A nice thick sliced kettle chip, that has a nice mesquite bar-b-q taste, not covered in salt.

Lunch was all about creating dish's with Dakota Style sunflower seeds. The kids helped me shell the ones that needed to be, while I got all the other ingredients gathered together.

If you have never used sunflowers in your recipes, you don't know what your missing. When sunflowers are in season, and you can gather them fresh, you will not believe the flavor they add to a dish. For those who have a nut allergy, sunflowers make a great replacement. And they are price friendly, and a easy to find product.

So while I started some prep work on my dish's, I put some of the Roasted and Salted shelled kernels in a bowl and snacked on them. Dakota Style did all the work. They are ready to eat or cook with. And believe it or not for already being shelled, they taste great.

The first dish for lunch was a appetizer, of a vegetable cracker topped with Greek olives, sun dried tomatoes, and some of the roasted and salted in the shell ( that we opened). The sunflowers before you shell them have a wonderful taste, with a light coating of salt. To make these sunflowers seeds, Dakota Style soaks them in a brine water, then roasts them to perfection, and while they are still warm, they get the seasoning on. When eating them with the shells on you get such a nice crackling of the sunflower, nice and firm. Besides adding a great taste, and decorative look to my appetizer, sunflower seeds provide a great array of health benefits.

The bag of Jalapeno sunflower seeds, I tasted out the bag. You smell the Jalapeno flavor as soon as you open the bag. When you pop a few in your mouth, you taste the Jalapeno flavor, with the salt, and it pairs perfectly. They are a natural delicious snack, and they went great mixed into my broccoli salad. They gave the salad a nice look, melded perfect with all the other ingredients.

I had some lentil's and I thought I would make a small second salad, and add the salt and vinegar sunflower seeds that we shelled. But tasting a few right from the bag, was a delicious taste. On the shell is where all the flavor is, and right away you get a slight tang from the vinegar. It has nothing overpowering from it at all. After making the salad I sprinkled my shelled Dakota Style salt and vinegar sunflower seeds as a garnish. They really make a pretty garnish for salads.

For the main course of lunch I made everyone a turkey, cranberry sandwich with shelled dill pickle sunflower seeds. But tasting these Dakota Style dill pickle sunflower seeds right from the bag, is like eating a pickle out of the jar. The flavoring on the shell taste just like a dill pickle, with a garlic taste after. Very tasting, and gives you a little pucker.

Dinner was the final touch to use the pretzels, Dakota Style sent over.

My strawberry goat cheese salad with roasted chicken, was the starter. For the chicken I coated it with the salt and vinegar pretzels. The pretzels adhered to the chicken and stayed on through the roasting process with ease. Even on the chicken you still could taste the flavor of the pretzels. They made my dish surprisingly delicious. And the pretzels still had a crunch to them. The twisted pretzels to taste from the bag had the same dill pickle flavor. Not to much salt, and a great texture to them. If you love dill pickles these pretzels will be one of your favorites.

As a side dish for dinner I made a cheesy green bean casserole and used the jalapeno pretzels for the topping. As with all the dish's the pretzels held there ground on a warm dish. They definitely give your dish a anything but ordinary flavor. The jalapeno pretzels gave the casserole a little kick, and paired well as a topping with all the other ingredients. From the bag of DakotaStyle Jalapeno pretzels, you have the flavor of the peppers mixed with the right amount of salt. These would also be great as a snack with a cold beer!

The main course of the night was coated fish fillets using Dakota Style dill pickle pretzels. The fish came out with a crispy coating from the pretzels, and was a unique flavor that melded well. I didn't use any other spices except for the dill pickle pretzels, and after tasting it, did not need to. The coating stayed on the fish, just perfectly. Straight from the bag the pretzel twist tastes just like a dill pickle. The salt seasoning is in perfect balance with the dill flavorings.

For dessert, well I created two!

With Dakota honey mustard pretzels I made a apple oat bar. The topping of the apple oat bar was these honey mustard pretzels twist crumbled all over. It gave the bar a very tasteful unique outcome. A little sweet with a little tang. Tasting some out of the bag, you taste the honey and the mustard flavorings. You might not be able to eat just one, not of any of these products. They are fun for recipes, but great all by themselves out of the bag.

The last dessert I made was a cream pie, with Dakota Style original pretzels twist crumbled through out. It was like dipping the pretzel straight into a cream dip. The pretzels did not get soggy at all, and the pie as all the dish's did not last long. The pretzel originals from Dakota Style out of the bag, tasted buttery, with a nice crunch. Nothing over the top with salt either.

Well I am tired and full, just as we all are. All the products we're fantastic, in my recipes as well as out of the bag.

If you would like to know more about Dakota Style products, visit them online or on Amazon.

Disclaimer: Momzdailyscoops has personally reviewed the product listed above. Momzdailyscoops has not received any monetary compensation for her review. Momzdailyscoops did receive a free product to try out so Momzdailyscoops could evaluate and use it for her review. Momzdailyscoops thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ.