Victoria Resident Competing in HEB Quest for Texas Best 2021

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We were all smiles yesterday when we heard one of our VIP listeners, Billie Rae Rodriguez of Victoria, had entered her amazing hot sauce into H.E.B.'s Quest for Texas Best!

H.E.B.'s Quest for Texas Best, now in its 8th-year, is a contest that offers Texans an opportunity to win up to $70,000.00 in prizes as well as a grand prize of being on the shelves of H.E.B. with their winning food item. This is the first year H.E.B. has included non-food items as well. Video entries were accepted this year beginning in February with the deadline yesterday on April 7th.

Billie Rae submitted her video just in time!

So, you might be wondering how we know her hot sauce is amazing? Well, Billie Rae has brought her hot sauce to the radio station, so we know first hand! In fact, Billie Rae is such a VIP listener that she told us the reason why she entered H.E.B.'s Quest for Texas Best this year is that she heard us talking about the contest on air!

We had a chance to reach out to Billie Rae and she shared with us that she had actually been thinking about entering her hot sauce ( known as chile) for years.

"This year I just said, "I'm going to do it." Billie Rae offers, "That is my advice for anyone who is thinking about entering next year, "Just.Do.It."

Billie Rae says she was very nervous about making the initial video you need to enter, but she reasoned this year that there would only be two answers, yes or no, she reasoned she had a 50/50 chance and decided to go for it.

She has won several awards for her hot sauce which she confides takes her up to 3 hours to prepare from scratch when she is making big batches. But she doesn't stop there, her company, "Cowgirl Creations," includes pickled jalapenos, pickles, and okra. Her pickled okra is her grandmother's recipe, but her hot sauce is her own.

"I worked for years perfecting my recipe. I've got it down to a science," Billie Rae says with earnest.

We wish her the best of luck while she waits the next 4 to 8 weeks to hear back from H.E.B. but you better believe we're ordering some pickles and okra and hot sauce while we wait to hear back from her too!