You know how when you eat something new and you immediately fall in lust?

That happened with these Stuffed Pork Apple Cheddar Grilled Sandwiches. Try saying that 3 times fast.

For week 2 in my partnership with The Motherhood and the National Pork Board, Patrick was tasked (by me) to make a new pork recipe with pork tenderloin chops.

Holy.

Delicious.

Again, my girls even ate it. Which, seriously, if my girls eat something that’s not pizza or a peanut butter & Nutella sandwich, the Earth must be off its axis.

Stuffed Pork, Apple, Cheddar Grilled Sandwiches

8 boneless pork loin chops, cut 1/4-inch thick and trimmed (10 to 12 ounces total)
4 tablespoons apricot preserves
2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
Nonstick cooking spray
8 slices country wheat bread, 1/2-inch thick
3 tablespoons margarine, softened
1 granny smith apple, cored and sliced 1/8-inch thick
4 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, reduced-fat (made with 2% milk/fat free), thinly sliced

The full recipe is listed on the Pork Be Inspired website. Because he likes to grill, Patrick grilled the chops instead of pan-frying and grilled the whole sandwiches instead of panini-ing them.

Check the National Pork Board website for current Publix pork specials and other recipes to try out. This week, Pork Loin Chops are on sale for $4.99/pound. Like the Pork Be Inspired page on Facebook for updates on the new Love Me Tenderloin Giveaway. Follow @allaboutpork for additional information and specials. 

© Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing] for A Whole Lot of Nothing • Your Favorite Blog, 2012. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: pork apple cheddar grilled sandwich, pork recipe, Sponsored

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“The other white meat.”

It could be my own personal motto, but the National Pork Board thought of it before I could. It’s a good thing I like eating the delicious meat of the pig, or we’d have a problem with our shared motto.

As part of a four-week-long sponsored partnership with Publix, The Motherhood, and the National Pork Board, I was invited to try out different cuts of pork with new recipes. Seeing as I’m not a girl who loves being in the kitchen, I recruited Patrick to make all of the recipes I’ll be sharing. The world is a better place for that.

This week’s cut is pork tenderloin, and with that cut of meat, we decided on trying a recipe that was suggested.

Pork Tenderloin Sliders With Three* Sauces Recipe

1 1lb pork tenderloin, trimmed
your choice of seasoning
2 T olive oil
12 mini rolls (We used King’s Hawaiian)
baby greens
sliced plum tomato

Cut tenderloin into 1/2 inch thick slices.
Sprinkle pork with seasoning.
Heat skillet with oil over medium-high heat.
Add pork to oil to brown, turning once, about 1-1/2 minute for each side.

Note: Pork should be heated to an internal temperature of 145ºF.

Yogurt-Lime Sauce Recipe

Mix together:

1/2 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon lime zest, grated
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped (We used dry)

Goat Cheese-Basil Sauce Recipe

Mix together:

4 ounces soft goat cheese, at room temperature (1/2 cup) (Pro-tip: don’t use crumbles)
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped (We used dry)
1 small clove garlic , minced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Pinch black pepper

*This recipe calls for making three different sauces, but Patrick isn’t an avocado fan, and since he was making the whole deal, I wasn’t going to push him on making something he didn’t like. That’s called: Picking My Battles.

Take one King’s Hawaiian roll, careful not to shove it in your mouth because you know of its sweet, buttery goodness, schmear it with your choice of sauce, slap on a pork slab, top with tomato and greens.

Shove that homemade pork goodness in your mouth.

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Seriously, it’s crazy delicious. And seriously, it took Patrick all of about 20 minutes from start to finish to make the entire thing.

This week at Publix, pork tenderloin is on special for $4.99/pound. It’s my personal recommendation that you try these pork sliders because my kids even ate them. And if my kids eat something new and like it, the Earth shifts.

Check the National Pork Board website for current Publix pork specials and other recipes to try out. Like the Pork Be Inspired page on Facebook for updates on the new Love Me Tenderloin Giveaway. Follow @allaboutpork for additional information and specials. 

© Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing] for A Whole Lot of Nothing • Your Favorite Blog, 2012. | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: easy recipe, pork tenderloin, sauce recipe, sliders recipe, Sponsored

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There will never not be a time in my life where I will outgrow loving Elmo. Like, never. I’ve met the real Elmo, and it was pretty much one of my top 5 best moments of life ever.

Now that SeaWorld Orlando has a Breakfast with Elmo & Friends, we can all get on the Elmo Love Train. Breakfast with Elmo & Friends is a character meet-and-greet opportunity, and if you’ve not had the chance to enjoy a plate of eggs and bacon with your kids screaming for an autograph from their favorite character, that’s an experience you need to have.

If you have little kiddies, they probably have serious love for Max & Ruby, the Doodlebops, and Choo-Choo Soul. (Or maybe your husband has a crush on Genevieve like someone I know.) On upcoming Saturdays at SeaWorld Orlando, your kids’ favorite TV shows will be live on stage! (Or maybe your husband wants to go oogle at Genevieve from afar.)

Just for Kids Saturdays - Concert times: 11 am and 2 pm

Seating for the concerts is available on a first-come, first-served basis with tickets being handed out at the Nautilus Theatre starting at 9am on concert days, free with park admission. Or, when you have your breakfast with Elmo, you’re guaranteed a ticket to the afternoon concert of the day.

We’ll be at SeaWorld Orlando this Saturday! Anyone else going on an upcoming Saturday? Maybe I’ll be oogling at Elmo. And maybe we’ll oogle at dolphins. BECAUSE WHO CAN’T NOT OOGLE AT DOLPHINS?

I mean, seriously. They’re amazing.

Disclosure – I am receiving entrance into SeaWorld Orlando in exchange for this informational post about Just for Kids Saturdays and Breakfast with Elmo & Friends. All opinions are my own.

© Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing] for A Whole Lot of Nothing • Your Favorite Blog, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: concerts, dine with elmo and friends, just for kids, seaworld orlando, Sponsored

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Thanks to Walgreens for underwriting this post. I was paid as a member of the Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all mine. Visit http://www.walgreens.com/beauty.

I’m all about putting me first. Clearly, I’m the most important person in my life. When mama ain’t happy, no one is happy. I try to remember than more now in December with the holidays than any other time of the year. The endless shopping lists, packing lists, to-do lists, and gift lists are just that: endless.

If you know me, you know I’m not a makeup girl aside from my staples of base, mascara and maybe some eyeshadow and eyeliner. But when I go out to Target or even to The WalMart, I put on all of my night-out makeup and fix my hair. Why? Because if I look good, I’ll feel good, and I’ll feel better about the throngs of people I’m weaving through, standing in line behind, and elbowing if need be.

It’s all those gifts that are last-minute, but SO important that can be found at the drugstore or grocery store that I think of just hours before Santa makes his way down the chimney. The stocking stuffers like candy, gum, and travel-sized toothpaste (you know you’ve done it) are just down the road from my house in abundance. And the stock of makeup that Claire, my nearly 6-year-old, has requested for Christmas was easy to pick up. While I’m there, the wrapping paper and bag o’ bows are all at the drugstore, too.

Remember, everyone can use an extra bottle of travel-sized Pert and a mini bottle of Scope. Santa wants you to be clean for your family. Hopefully this year, my mom Santa stuffs my stocking full of that makeup I need for my next trip to The WalMart, because I don’t want to end up as a feature on the People of WalMart.

© Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing] for A Whole Lot of Nothing • Your Favorite Blog, 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
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Thanks to L’Oreal for sponsoring my post about my favorite beauty looks, tips and tricks! Check out Makeup.com for beauty advice from the experts.

I’ll be honest: I’m not much of a makeup girl. I could it’s because I think too much makeup doesn’t look attractive, but really it’s my laziness that stops me from putting on more than just base and mascara most days.

I do glam it up for date nights and when I want to impress the ladies*, but normally, it’s just clean my face, put on some base, and slap some mascara onto my eyes. If I’m feeling super sassy, which of course I do when I’m impressing the ladies*, it’s eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, blush, and some lipstick. Again, it’s not a lot, and as my sister and mom like to say, it’s “never enough.”

The extent of my daily makeup routine.

Having pale skin with acne problems means I can get sunburns easily, and I have uneven skin tones. The most important thing I do with my makeup on a day-to-day makeup as well as on impress-the-ladies* nights is to use concealer on my acne. After years AND YEARS of searching for the perfect concealer, it was my sister (of course) who gave me MAC’s Studio Finish. I keep it in my purse for touch-ups and cover-ups, and more than any other makeup, it covers up without making splotches.

The moral of this story is to listen to your sister if she knows more than you do. Every once in a while, she’ll impart some nugget of wisdom that will eventually lead to being a great cover-up-your-zits piece of advice.

*I say “impress the ladies” because there’s not a woman who wears makeup for men. Most of the men I know could care less about the makeup their woman wears, my husband included. (Same goes for clothes and shoes. Straight men don’t care; your friends are the ones judging you, hopefully nicely.)

I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. Click here to learn more about Makeup.com or become a Facebook fan by clicking here.

© Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing] for A Whole Lot of Nothing • Your Favorite Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: acne, concealer, coverup, mac, makeup, Sponsored

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This post is sponsored by Tempur-Pedic, the brand millions of owners trust to deliver their best night’s sleep every night. Enjoy our Buy 2, get 1 free pillow offer now and give the gift of custom comfort to someone you love.

We all know by now that I’m a creature of comfort. I especially like holidays to be expected, planned, and the same as they were the year before. Keeping to the tradition of years’ past keeps me sane.

I like my Easters at my Grandma’s, my Thanksgivings at my Aunt’s in the forest, and Christmas at my parent’s. When plans deviate, I kind of go mental.

At my mom’s (it’s always referred to as “my mom’s” even though it’s my mom AND dad, but really, it’s her house because she rules it with an iron fist) for Christmas, we have small traditions we play out every year, the same as the last. Mom hands out new PJs for everyone to open on Christmas Eve and no one has PJs for her because she poo-poo’d the ones someone surprised her with the year before.

Christmas morning, my dad and any men in the house (see: our husbands) go out to the living room to start the coffee and set up video cameras. The ladies and children put on makeup, keeping on our PJs, and await the “all clear” to come out to see what Santa brought. The kids go nuts, we all open stockings, then we stuff our face holes with orange and cinnamon rolls.

After we’re stuffed with diabetes, we stack up our loot, comparing who has the biggest pile. That’s my sister’s doing, not mine. The kids start opening presents as everyone waits for their turn to open their own presents. Yes, we each open our gifts one-by-one as everyone else watches.

Shut up. It’s not strange to us.

Once all the presents are open and the kids are high as a kite, my mom makes pecan waffles, and we again stuff our face holes with the diabetes.

Sometime in the early afternoon, my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law with her family (if they’re in town) all come over and we repeat the whole opening presents ordeal.

Imagine how jacked-up the kids are now.

All this time, my mom cooks a massive Thanksgiving-like dinner with some help from me and my sister. Then we turn on the Nat King Cole, my mom huffs a few times at my dad, and we ALL sit down for what my dad will declare, “THIS IS YOUR BEST WORK, VIC.”

Combined, these are my holiday comforts. I feel like Christmas is complete when it’s done just this way, but no matter where it’s held, as long as I have my family, it’s all good. Mostly.

Comfort is the perfect gift for everyone on your holiday gift list, so be sure to take advantage of Tempur-Pedic’s Buy 2, get 1 free pillow offer! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective

© Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing] for A Whole Lot of Nothing • Your Favorite Blog, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: christmas, holiday comforts, Sponsored, tempur-pedic pillow

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My house is the opposite of decorated.

I’ve never had an “eye” for design whether it’s clothing, style, or home. When it came to doling out all of the taste genes, my sister got them all. She actually finds pleasure in shopping for home decor whereas I find pleasure in letting her shop for my home’s decor.

Jackie went with us when we picked out all of our big furniture pieces when our house was built, and when I bought the media bookshelf without her stamp of approval, she scoffed at my glass shelving.

I’m just doing the best with the limited resources with which I was birthed, JACKIE. <— See how I can blame my mother for anything?

To prove my point, I took pictures of the art on my walls.

Girls got bored of the red flower framed prints over the living room couch, so they added their own.

Claire's Pepto Bismal-pink walls are barren, aside from 2 Etsy artworks, an IKEA light, & random stickers.

Anna's room used to be the nursery, & since I'm never painting over the John Lennon animal mural our old neighbor did for us, she put up her Justin Bieber/random hockey posters shrine around it.

More Etsy artwork in the girl's hallway. Please excuse the over-flowing laundry hamper.

My dad had Quentin Tarantino sign a $5 bill when he happened upon him at a hotel bar about 15 years ago. That's back when we had VHS tapes & the covers to frame with the signed bill.

On the floating wall shelves in the main hallway are the photos I took on my trip to Europe. That I took in 2003. 8 years ago. The same photos are still there.

I'll totally take credit for this artwork. Except my mom bought it, & my sister chose its placement.

This photo I took (with my iPhone!) of Cinderella Castle is one of my favorites, so I had it printed as a 20" x 16" canvas from Easy Canvas Print, & hung it in our main hallway. *pats self on back*

Also in the main hallway is this 16" x 20" canvased print of my girls from Easy Canvas Print. Again, *pats self on back.*

Thanks to the fancy people at Easy Canvas Prints who canvased my photos, my once barren walls have extra pretty pictures! I think Quentin Tarantino would be jealous of my girls’ placement of prominence in my house over his. He needs not be jealous; I’m sure Mr. Tarantino could frame a $5 bill I’ll sign for him.

Now I just need someone to come in and take care of my floors. Notice how I managed to not get one smidgen of my carpet in the photos? That wasn’t done by accident. It’s a sad, sad situation what’s going on under our feet.

DISCLAIMER: While I was provided the two photos on canvas by Easy Canvas Prints in exchange for the mentions in this post, all opinions are my own.

© Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing] for A Whole Lot of Nothing • Your Favorite Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: easy canvas prints, home decor, i suck at home decorating, photos on canvas, Sponsored, wall art

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There’s two things I love only slightly less than TV: free and food.

I was asked by The Motherhood to let the people of America and more specifically, the people around Orlando, that you can get both “free” and “food” from Wendy’s on Monday. Score!

Wendy’s is making their way around the US in what they’re calling the HOT ‘N JUICY Tour of America. I know what you’re thinking: “How can a food truck touring the US and stopping in Orlando be any better than going to the Wendy’s down the street?” I’ll tell you: “Free HOT ‘N JUICY cheeseburger burgers and Frosties.”

I’ll take one of each, please.

This Monday, the Wendy’s HOT ‘N JUICY Tour stops in Altamonte Springs just north of Orlando at Cranes Roost park. If you’re in the area, dress up the kiddies and/or yourself, and stop in between 4-9pm to get your free burger and Frosty. Get there between 4-5:30 and see the real, live Wendy herself.

I wonder if Wendy dresses as Wendy for Halloween. 

For more information about the event here in Orlando, visit their Facebook page. If you’re jonesing for more info on what the HOT ‘N JUICY cheeseburger is all about, it has its own hashtag on Twitter, #hotnjuicy. BECAUSE OF COURSE IT DOES.

Wendy’s on Facebook
Wendy’s on Twitter 

Disclosure: I was compensated by The Motherhood for this informational post about Wendy’s HOT ‘N JUICY Tour of America in Orlando. 

© Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing] for A Whole Lot of Nothing • Your Favorite Blog, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: free cheeseburger, Sponsored, wendy's hot n juicy

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A.S. There is a giveaway of a $100 gift certificate to TeaCollection.com below. You could go ahead and skip to the bottom to enter, or you could be extra Awesome and read all or most of the words I wrote between here and there.

My youngest daughter, Claire, loves her sparkles and glitter and anything that flashes. When she sees a shirt with a peace symbol and rainbows or a jacket with Hello Kitty, she pretend-faints dramatically onto the store floor.

Me, the opposite of a girlie girl, has a daughter who is the epitome of just that. I sometimes wonder if she’s mine, except for the fact that I remember birthing her and she looks just like me. She and my other daughter, who is more like me when it comes to tastes, could be the poster children for a Nature vs. Nurture study.

I was offered the opportunity to order some clothing from the high-end online clothing store, Tea, several weeks ago. I’m usually the mom who buys up every color of the $4, one season t-shirt from Target and Old Navy, so I jumped at the chance to get to try out some top-quality clothes on my girls.

Yes, I know it’s expensive. No, it’s not clothes I would normally buy for my girls. However, the quality of the clothing speaks for itself. They don’t sell this stuff at Target, people.

Tea is an online clothing store with a message of spreading cultural diversity through their clothes. Each of the pieces they design is meant to inspire you to learn about the culture from which is was inspired. From the collars on the shirts to the way the skirts fall, each design element is inspired by the world travels of the people at Tea. Though the inspiration comes from world cultures, the styling fits right into today’s most critical eye for fashion.

Just ask my Claire.

El Palau Tile Top (on sale for $12)
Playa Plaid Skirt (on sale for $17.50)
(I have no idea why she’s holding a pictoral dictionary, but it adds some class.)

There’s not a sparkle or sequin or peace symbol on this outfit, but she loves it. She flits an flutters around the house when she puts on this skirt and top outfit from Tea. I honestly think it’s because she knows good quality when she sees it. She gets that from me.

I let the girls pick out their outfits from the Tea website, and Anna chose to get an ensemble that included 3 dresses and 2 pairs of leggings.

Ancho Androna 5-Piece Set ($125)
Ancho Chile Stripe Dress
Talavera Layered Dress
Androna Yoke Dress
Skinny Stretch Leggings in Indigo & Med Heather Grey

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I have the cutest friggin kids on the planet.

GIVEAWAY!

The super nice people at Tea want to give one of my extra special readers a $100 gift certificate* to TeaCollection.com. I KNOW.

Even if you don’t have girls, Tea has boys clothes and trendy women’s clothes as well as newborn baby girl clothes and baby boy clothes. I was going to forego getting my girls some clothes an get myself some Tea shirts, but their sizes only go up to a 14, so I’ll have to wait until they add clothes for the larger ladies. (hint hint, Tea)

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment letting Tea know how much you love their clothes or a comment letting me know just how much you love me.

For an extra entry or two, share this post on Facebook and/or Twitter, and leave separate comments with the URL of the share(s). (If y ou don’t leave the URL of the specific share, I’ll have to delete your comment. Them’s my rules.)

I’ll use the fancy Random.com to pick a commenter to win from the comments left between now and Tuesday, November 1 at 10pm EST.

If you’re looking for a Tea discount coupon code, you can sign up for their newsletter at the bottom of their website, and they’ll send you a 10% off coupon. SUPER!

*Gift certificate is valid for US-shipped orders only because they don’t ship out of the US. Don’t like it? Move to the US. Or don’t, and keep your free government health insurance. Who’s winning now?

Disclaimer: I received a gift card for TeaCollection.com in exchange for my honest review of the clothes we received. All opinions are my own, suckas.

UPDATE: I picked a winner, and RANDOM.org picked Emily! Congrats Emily!

© Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing] for A Whole Lot of Nothing • Your Favorite Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 53 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: collection, coordinating outfits, dresses, girls clothes, Giveaways, high-end clothing, shirts, skirts, Sponsored, tea collection

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I’ve admitted in the past that I’m a horrible gift giver as well as a bad gift receiver. Really, it’s because I’m a selective perfectionist. Let’s blame my mother.

I have ideas on what I’d like to receive, and I have grand magical plans of what I’d like for someone’s reaction when they open the gift I’ve given them. The reaction I want to see is the recipient to do the Snoopy Dance of Joy while screaming to all of his/her friends that I am the most Awesome person in the world. When the reaction they have is less than overjoy, I feel like a gift-giving failure.

See that picture of my dad up there? That’s what I want everyone to look like when they open a gift I gave them. Never mind that he has that face because a plaque he gave my mom for her first hole-in-one has her name misspelled, but that’s the face I want to see when you open something from me.

My surefire plan of attack when shopping for gifts (an ongoing activity between now and Christmas) is to find the most obscure, unknown gift that has some kind of practical purpose that doesn’t cost me a house payment. I’m finicky like that.

[Pee Ess: Don't start drinking your Haterade because I'm talking about holiday shopping already. I know some people ::cough:: my mother-in-law ::cough:: who have been shopping since early summer. I hate to break it to you, but Christmahanukkwansmakuh is merely weeks away. Deal with that.]

Since I do 90% of my holiday shopping online, I have a list of a few online stores that have insane crazy Awesome original gifts stuffs that I think no one will have already bought for themselves or won’t receive from someone else. I’ve been going to UncommonGoods for as long as forever or at least as long as they’ve been around. They have some weird, interesting stuff on that site, so obviously, I love them.

(...)
Read the rest of I Want You To Snoopy Dance When I Give You A Gift (104 words)

© Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing] for A Whole Lot of Nothing • Your Favorite Blog, 2011. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: bingo, card game, dictionary, gifts for travelers, original gifts, silly socks, Sponsored, stocking stuffer ideas, uncommon goods, websters pictorial

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