The Shame Squad

This is the second part of my foray in to freezer meals - the first part can be found here  for Cheesy Shells and Italian Sausage. Today we're making a pork and apples recipe adapted from The Pampered Chef.  I love this one--it's so easy to assemble in advance, most of the ingredients you likely already have, and it couldn't be easier to fix the day you want to eat it (dump stuff in pan, bake). So yummy.  And pretty. Maple Pork Tenderloin with Apples For this you'll need the ingredients below.  You probably have the oil, vinegar, garlic, brown sugar, mustard, and bags in your pantry!  You can also easily divide this recipe if you usually only cook for 2-3 people at a time (that's what I do when I make it). 2 pork tenderloins , about 2 pounds total - they can be expensive, so pick these up on sale 3 apples - I prefer honeycrisp but use what you like, or take one of these suggestions 1 small red onion 1/4 cup canola oil 1 clove garlic , pressed o

A month ago, a coworker invited me to a Pampered Chef Freezer Meal party.  I will admit that I went in to it with a little bit of an attitude: " I'm going to have to buy all their seasonings and the meals will be full of processed goo and not taste great ."   Four hours of fun, three glasses of wine, $170 for groceries and seasonings, and 14 meals later, I was happily proved (mostly) wrong.  Here's how my thinking changed: 1) I'm going to have to buy all of their seasonings - well, yes.  This is a service they're offering after all, and I felt like the $70 was more than worth the ideas and ingredients I got, plus not having to do the dishes and getting a free dinner was a bonus!  I discovered a few ingredients I would have normally given the "side eye" to, like cherry balsamic vinegar, which costs the same at the grocery store as it does from The Pampered Chef. 2) The meals will be processed - I was expecting lots of Cream-of-Something-Soup r

This year has been busier than we'd like; hence, why you're reading this (exciting and informative?) letter after Christmas. Why so busy? 2014 has been filled with accomplishments. Namely: I won the "Rookie of the Year" award at work. I got a large crystal sculpture for my troubles, which can also double as a murder weapon if needed. I also passed the SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources) certification exam, which is something you should study for if you don't value your sanity. Chris chose to remain married to me while I studied for the SPHR, which included feeding me at regular intervals, selectively ignoring the little nests of flashcards and textbooks that I made on the living room floor, and listening to me talk incessantly about the finer points of labor unions. I'm sorry, honey! I finished my Master Certificate in HR from Cornell, and then got promoted to Vice President at my job, which is a local division of Xerox. In exchange f

The Today Show recently asked Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski questions to recap 2014 . They are hilarious, so you should totally check out what they said.  Since Amy and I are also hilarious, we decided to answer as well. Royal baby No. 2: Boy or girl? Alyssa: Guuuuuuurl...I hope it's a girl. As I've said before, I hope they name her Diana or Beyonce. Diana Beyonce Cambridge. Wait, don't you get, like, four names when you're a royal? Diana Beyonce Alyssa Johnny Weir Cambridge. Love it. Amy: I also hope it's a girl, so I can see what a crazy toddler-size British fascinator looks like. What do you think of Prince George? Alyssa: I think that Baby King will one day rule us all. Johnny Weir is right, he does steal. He also throws things. He threw a toy Bilby in Australia. But to be fair to Baby King, I think he was doing that in protest of Kate wearing a dress recycled from a previous tour. Amy: I love his short pants and his chubby cheeks. It makes me wa

My girl Kate came to NYC, and I would be lying if I didn't briefly consider buying tickets to the Nets game or the St. Andrews benefit gala (which turned out to be $10,000 for the cheap seats so HA HA HA).  Alas, I decided to admire from afar on the internet. And I was overwhelmingly...underwhelmed.  Before we get to the commentary and analysis, let me say this: Yes, it's totally judgypants of me to commentate on the woman's outfits because she's pregnant and she's running around in the cold, wind, and rain trying to look perfect when she is totally entitled to yoga pants and a stained t-shirt. No one analyzes or cares about what William wears, and it's a complete double standard, kind of like when the male anchor of Australia's Today Show wore the same suit for a YEAR on air  and received zero commentary, while his female counterpart got lots of unsolicited advice. If anyone followed ME around and analyzed my hair, jewelry, and clothing, the commenta