Grand Opening for new Pollo Tropical in #Jacksonville

Disclosure:  I received a press kit including a meal pass to facilitate this post. All opinions are 100% my own. 

Pollo Tropical is opening it's fourth (4th) location in the Jacksonville area on Friday, June 20th. The newest location will be in Bartram Park at 13776 Old St. Augustine Road. Lucky for you there is a giveaway involved, you just have to keep reading to find out more.

You know the grand opening is going to be a great party just from the fun press package I received!

I can't believe I haven't been to one yet! Shocking since I love trying new foods, and Caribbean-inspired food sounds so tantalizing!  But never fear, I'm fixin' to get my jerk on. Just look how appetizing their dishes look.

What is Pollo Tropical

Pollo Tropical is a Caribbean-inspired fast-casual concept known for its fresh, flame-grilled chicken marinated int a proprietary blend of tropical fruit juices and spices, as well as authentic, made-from-scratch side dishes, soups, salads and wraps.  My mouth's watering just thinking about it, what about yours?  These aren't your average fast food restaurants. We're talking made-from-scratch y'all, yet ready quick enough for drive thru service.

More on the grand opening

You know anything to do with Pollo Tropical is going to be fun right?  I mean that's what the Caribbean is all about.  This won't be any stodgy, boring old grand opening, there's going to be plenty of fun with Calypso music, robosurfers and local officials who will herald in the opening.

The opening celebration kicks off at 10am with a presentation by company leaders and local officials before the music starts and doors open to the public at 10:30.  A robosurfer contest on a simulated surfing machine will take place at 12:30pm, in which media personalities will compete for first, second and third place prizes in the amounts of $1,000, $500 and $250, to benefit their charity of choice.  See, what did I tell you!  And that's not all. The first 100 guests will receive a coupon for a free Create Your Own Family Meal redeemable on a future visit.  One guest will win Free Chicken for a Year, which includes 52 Be Our Guest cards redeemable for any sandwich or wrap combo, small TropiChop or quarter chicken with two sides. Plus there will be spin-and-win prizes. The grand opening festivities will continue through 9 p.m.

The new Bartram Park location will help better serve the Jacksonville community with their uniquely tropical twist on fresh, healthy, hand-prepared foods.  The new 3,800-square-foot restaurant will seat 90 guests and be open daily from 10:20 a.m. to midnight.

The grand opening sounds like it's going to be a whole lot of fun, so if you're in the Jacksonville area, I hope to see you there.  If you can't make it to the grand opening you can also receive a coupon for either a buy one, get one free quarter chicken with two sides or a $3 off a family meal by signing up for the Pollo Reward$ loyalty program.   I can't wait to come back with pictures to share with y'all.

Win a meal

And you know we're not done yet right.  Thanks to the wonderful folks at Pollo Tropical I'm giving away 1 FREE Create Your Own Family Meal with 2 sides and 1 Be Our Guest cards.  Que the confetti drop, now it's a real celebration.  Enter by following the simple instructions on the Giveaway Tools form below.  Be sure to do the mandatory entry or the others won't count.  Giveaway ends 6/27/14 @ 11:59 p.m. EST.

Entry-Form

Life's Better Under The Palm - See y'all there...

Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.

~ Ecclesiastes 9:7

Publix Breakfast Club $25 Gift Card Giveaway

You heard it all your life - Breakfast IS the most important part of the day!  We've been hearing it since we started school. Is not an old wives tell.  It's a fact, but how many of us actually follow our own advice.  We rush out the door, pulling through a fast food drive thru or even grabbing something in the break room and then we crash a few hours later.

It's time to re-think your breakfast routine!  Challenge yourself and discover how much time and money you could save during the week by shopping and eating breakfast at home.

Eating a healthier breakfast at home doesn't mean it has to be a big production with a lot of dishes to wash.  You can easily pour yourself a bowl of whole wheat cereal with milk.  Not only does it save you money and nourish your body (which feeds your mind) but it also saves you time.  No long wait in a drive thru lane.

Starting this week, April 1st till April 10th you'll be able to stock up on your favorites during the Publix Breakfast Savings event.  You can take advantage of great savings on some of your family's favorites like Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch and other General Mills breakfast items.  I've got two little munchkins that spend a lot of time at our house and we all eat cereal any time of the day or night.  Both the kids have their own favorites, so I'll be stocking up on Honey Nut Cheerio's and Lucky Charms for sure.

For coupon offers on varieties your whole family will love, visit the Publix Breakfast Savings page at http://www.everydaysaver.com/publix.  See you're already saving money and time by printing the coupons right in your own home.

But the fun doesn't stop there or should I say start there, because I want to the party started with a giveaway.  Thanks to my generous sponsors, General Mills and Publix trhough MyBlogSpark I have a $25 Publix' Gift Card to give to a lucky Cotton Pickin Cute reader.

Enter using my simple Rafflecopter form below.

Good Luck Y'all!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: The information, products and General Mills gift pack were provided by General Mills and Publix® through MyBlogSpark.

Pillsbury Baguette Chips Giveaway

Do you ever get tired of the same old snacks.  Heck, even the same old dinners.  I know I do and even though Neil never complains he does too.  Even when we go shopping, we stand there and say "It's the same old stuff".

Now I've found something new on the snack shelf thanks thanks to Pillsbury.  Yeah, the same pillsbury in the baking aisle.  It's called Pillsbury Baguette Chips.

These crunchy chips are cut from oven-baked bread and then deliciously seasoned.  Enjoy them on their own, partnered with dip, or in a varity of other ways.  Best of all - with 130 calories per serving (21 baguette chips), and 50% less fat than regular potato chips*, Pillsbury Baguette Chips are delicious snack chips that you can feel good about eating.  To see more nutrional information you can visit Pillsbury's website here.Last night I thought it would be a nice change to have a game night with dinner.  We hadn't done that in so long.  So I sat up the game table for a change of pace. Sunday nights always seem perfect for soup and salad or a sandwich.  We went with salad since it's been hot outside.  The Baguette Chips went perfect with both.  It's like adding little cruetons to your meal.

I loved the Cheddar Sun-Dried Tomato in my Southwest Chicken Soup and the Italian Cheese and Herb went perfect with the salad.  The food didn't last long but the game did.  You know, I'm so glad we did decided on a game with dinner. It gave us a chance to spend quite time just talking and laughing.  No T.V., no computer, we just sat and played.  Truth is we were still snacking on the chips way after dinner, all through the game.  I think we'll be doing this once a week now.

I can't wait to make some dip to eat this with. They have a really nice thickness and will hold up to dippng great. Try a bag for your family.

If that’s not enough to get your mouth watering, then check out these delicious chips for yourself. To download a printable coupon for $0.75 off one package, you and your readers can visit http://bit.ly/PBCcoupon today!

With summer here, I bet you're ready to win your own party pack?  Well you've come to the right place because Pillsbury is offering one lucky Cotton Pickin Cute reader their own box of SIX "6" bags!  Yippee!!!

Your gift pack will contain:


(3) Bags of Pillsbury Baguette Chips in Italian Cheese and; Herb


(3) Bags of Pillsbury Baguette Chips in Cheddar Sundried Tomato

It's easy to enter just follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter form below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

“Disclosure: The product, gift pack, information, and additional sample have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.”

Hamburger Helper Prize Package Giveaway

When I hear that daily question of “What’s for dinner?,” I don't get worried even when I'm super busy! Honestly, Neil askes me to make Hamburger Helper all the time.  He really loves it.  What I love is how quick and easy it is for me to make when I'm busy.  What's even better is that Neil has helped me out when I'm really behind and made it himself!  No kidding.  Thanks Neil and thanks Hamburger Helper!

For 40 years, Hamburger Helper® has helped to make family dinner time easy, and now with two new delicious varieties, Ultimate Beef Stroganoff and Cheesy Italian Beef, Hamburger Helper offers even more options for easy family style cuisine. With naturally- flavored mixes and rich, tasty sauces, Hamburger Helper makes a meal your family will be happy to gather around. Be among the first to try these two new, quick and easy dinner options with the ones you love. Because after all, who couldn’t use a little help in the kitchen?
NEW Hamburger Helper Ultimate Beef Stroganoff provides rich roast beef flavor and pasta with a decadent sour cream flavored sauce mix.  This is my favorite by the way.

NEW Hamburger Helper Cheesy Italian Beef features real Italian herbs and pasta enhanced with naturally flavored Italian-style sauce mix.


Just add milk, water and ground beef


In addition, visit http://bit.ly/HamburgerHelperCoup to download a printable coupon for $0.70 off the purchase of one box of Hamburger Helper and be sure to share this coupon with your family, friends and readers so they too can take advantage of the savings and try these new varieties today!

Visit the Hamburger Helper website here to find ways to spice up your meals with recipes, videos and more.


Your Hamburger Helper prize pack will contain:

• Box of Hamburger Helper Ultimate Beef Stroganoff
• Box of Hamburger Helper Cheesy Italian Beef
• Serving dish
• Slotted serving spoon
• Trivet

Now here's a chance for one Cotton Pickin Cute reader (that's you) to win this awesome prize pack.  Just follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter form.  Please wait for the Rafflecopter form to load.

Mandatory Entry Has to be completed or your entry does not count.


After doing so, other extra entry's will unlock for you to choose to do any or all.

All entry's are verified when the winner is chosen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck Ya'll!!

Disclosure: The Hamburger Helper New Varieties information, product, and prize pack have been provided free of charge by Betty Crocker® and General Mills®, through MyBlogSpark.