Dark Chocolate Almonds

Although I prefer milk chocolate, my last several dessert related posts have all been products with dark chocolate front and center.

I see these Dark Chocolate Almonds at the checkout line every time I go to TJ.  A friend had told me about them this summer, at a swim meet, when us parents were all sitting around eating the TJ Honey Cashews I brought.  He started by telling us that he doesn't even like almonds, but that he literally ate the entire container in one sitting.  And I am thinking to myself, "I don't like almonds either!"  But I was skeptical.  I refused to spend the almost $5 on these and risk wasting them.  For months.  Until now.

Guess what?  They are AH-MAZING.  The perfect combination of sweet and salty.  And you seriously can't tell they are almonds.

Dark chocolate = anti-oxidants.  Almonds = good fat.  Snack WINNER!

Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels

Another recent holiday treat that I decided to buy are the Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels. I am a sucker for anything with chocolate and caramel. And I always love sea salt on desserts.

They are example as described - which I appreciate.  And they make for a perfectly tasty combination.  Important to note for all those caramel lovers out there.  They are gooey, not chewy.

Trader Joe's Tandoori Naan... Pizza!

I heard about this from a friend who highly recommended it for "make your own pizza" night.  I was so surprised at how tasty it was.  The Naan tasted like perfectly cooked, flaky pizza dough.

Ingredients to purchase at TJ:
Tandoori Naan - keep in mind that each packet has 4 individual naan pieces
Pizza Sauce - we used almost an entire package from TJ for the 4 pieces of Naan
One bag Mozzarella cheese - we used almost the entire bag of cheese
Toppings - black olives, pepperoni, leftover chicken (I hid tiny pieces on my kids pizzas)

Cook at 375 for 12-15 minutes.  Enjoy!

Wine Country Chicken Salad

Let me start by saying, I love me some chicken salad.  I am totally obsessed with another store's CS.  But it is RIDICULOUSLY expensive.  SO today I decided to try Trader Joe's Wine Country Chicken Salad.  I came home, took it out of the bag, and took these photos.  And when I took this second photo, I realized that there is 31 grams of fat PER SERVING.  Yikes.  I won't be buying this again.  But I can't waste it either.  I've been eating just a few bites for lunch, with my fave crackers from TJ.  And it is good.  I approve.  It is tasty (it better be with that much fat), and I love the cranberries.  Gives it a little sweetness.

Pretzel Sticks Are Tasty with a Touch of Honey

I would not have bought these if my 3-year old hadn't asked.  They look like they  might taste bland.  Wheat pretzels?  Come on.  And the pretzel font on the bag is really weird (I am font obsessed.)  But go figure, they are super tasty.  And both my kids love them.  The wheat taste isn't TOO wheaty, and that touch of honey really works.

Dark Chocolate and Peppermint WINNER!

As I mentioned before, I love Christmas at the Teej.  And my very fave dessert combo in the whole wide world is dark chocolate with peppermint.  These cookies are AH-MAZING!  Perfect combination of the two star ingredients and the denseness (the height) is just right.  I need to keep sampling these!

Christmas at TJ - Peppermint Cremes

As I mentioned before, I love the holidays at Trader Joe's.  It's super fun to walk in and see so many new products.  Or maybe I just forget about them from year to year.

One of my fave things in the whole world is the combination of chocolate and peppermint.  And there are tons of options to try at TJ with this combo.  Joe-Joe's, peppermint bark, mini peppermint waffle cookies, peppermint pretzels and my choice for this week - Peppermint Cremes.

These are good, but not great.  There is too much mint in the middle.  For some reason, I thought these were cookies.  They are 100% candy.  And the inside is that soft, white, gooey middle, and it's just too much.  I'll still eat them of course, but I won't buy again.

Trader Joe's Asian-Style Lunch

This morning, I was at Trader Joe's, and was quite excited to see many new items.  I always love to try a few new things, so I was perusing the appy section today - in the frozen food aisle.  My husband was home, so I thought I would pick out a couple of appys to make for lunch.

The first thing that caught my eye were the cute little Shrimp Toasts.  At $3.99 a box, that is a typical price for the TJ frozen appys.  I then decided to try and find something cheaper for the second choice.  That is how I picked the Chicken Shu Mai, at $2.99 for a box.  Weird name, good price.


I am pleased to say that both were delicious!  And it was the perfect amount of food for two people to share at lunchtime.  We cooked the Shrimp Toast in the oven, and the Chicken Shu Mai in the microwave.  The sauce for the Chicken was very tasty and actually paired nicely with the Shrimp Toast as well.  If you are eating the Shrimp Toast on its own, I would suggest you have soy sauce on hand or something similar.  I have complained about this before, but there should be a sauce included with the Shrimp Toast.

Holiday Season at TJ - 99 Cent Chocolate Advent Calendars - Say Wha?!?

UPDATE: The chocolates inside the calendar are ROTTEN.  They are discolored, blotchy and taste funny.  Huge disappointment for my kids.  And me.

I do love that TJ celebrates the holidays.  Today, seeing as it is early November, there were several Thanksgiving related items, like pecan pie filling in a jar, pumpkin cream cheese and frozen pumpkin pies.  There was even a Turkey Gingerbread Kit.  But I don't get excited about Thanksgiving, so I am skipping right to Christmas!

Did anyone else know that TJ gets 99 cent Advent Calendars every year?  According to the cashier, they sell out SUPER FAST.  I bought one for both of my kids, and decided that even though there were multiple designs to choose from, I should get them the same one.

Hurry in and grab yours today.  They have about 1000 (I think?) and when they're gone, they're gone.

 

Homemade "Weeknight" Chili

Chili is really one of the easiest things to make, and it almost always tastes good.  But it is time consuming.  Here is a very basic chili recipe, made from all Trader Joe items.  It's faster, with slightly less simmering time... I like to call it "Weeknight Chili."

Weeknight Chili

Ingredients

• 1 package Ground Beef (I like the 94/6 at TJ)
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 14-28 ounces Tomato Sauce  (if you like it thick, just use 14, for thinner, use more!)
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Ground Oregano
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
• 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder (more To Taste)
• 1 can (14-ounce) Kidney Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1/4 cup Masa (corn Flour) Or Regular Corn Meal
• 1/2 cup Warm Water
• Blue corn chips (optional)
• Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese (optional)
• Sour cream (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Brown ground beef with garlic in a pot over medium-high heat. Add tomato sauce, salt, oregano, cumin, and chili powder. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add drained and rinsed beans, stir.  Then add the Masa mixed with the warm water.. Stir to combine, then cover and simmer for another 20 minutes.

If you have time, simmer uncovered for 25 more minutes.Serve in individual bowls.  Pile on chips, cheese, and sour cream if using.

Organic Frozen Pizza Crust - Set of 2

These were tasty and easy to work with.  It was nice to have a quick meal.  BUT, there is a fundamental error for someone kitchen-klutzy like myself.

The directions require that you leave these frozen crusts out until they come to room temperature.  This only took about 20 minutes.  Then, you put them on an upside-down cookie sheet.  Great idea.  You then cover with pizza sauce (I love Trader Joe's refrigerated sauce) and all your fave toppings.  The idea is that the crust will slide off from the cookie sheet directly onto the oven rack.

But when I did that, the first two inches of the crust flopped off the pan and the cheese all slid down into the 425 oven.  And man did it burn.  I still just cooked the pizza with the cheese sizzling below, and my entire house FILLED with smoke.  My upstairs smoke detector went off!  Lesson learned - my first floor smoke detector is broken.

I'm on the fence if I will buy these again.  My husband suggested that maybe I should have put flour on the cookie sheet first?  Gee thanks.

Brownie Crisp - it falls short!

Very disappointing.  I love sweets, so this seemed like a no-brainer.  A brownie and a cookie.  But It did not excite me.  A brownie needs to be soft and this is crispy.  Just weird.

Delicious Drink for your next Grown-ups Only Party!

I modified this recipe to make it so I can buy everything I need at Trader Joe's!  This has been a big hit the two times I served it.  It's also great to serve without the alcohol.  I even poured a glass pre-Prosecco for a friend who doesn't drink, then added the alcohol.

Here is your TJ grocery list:

1 orange
1 pomegranate
1 bottle Pomegranate Limeade
1 bottle TJ freshly squeezed OJ
1 bottle Prosecco

And here is the recipe, as I found it online:

Champagne Cocktail

1. 1 quart pomegranate juice
2. 2 cups fresh orange juice, straine
3. 2 cups chilled limeade
4. One 750-milliliter bottle Prosecco
5. Lime and orange slices, for garnish
6. Ice
7. 1 cup pomegranate seeds

In a pitcher, combine the pomegranate juice, orange juice and limeade. Pour in the Prosecco; float lime and orange slices on top. Ladle into 12 ice-filled glasses, sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and serve.

 

Egg White Egg Salad

Guess what?  Egg salad needs yolks!  SKIP THIS ITEM.

Trader Joe's Watermelon Delivers!

Trader Joe's has an exceptional price on watermelon and it tastes terrific.  Cut out the middle man and do it right!

South African Style Potato Chips... Hmm...

YUCK.  These don't even taste like potato chips.  They taste like a whole new product.  Meat slivers.  I've been to South Africa.  They have amazing spices.  And incredible cuisine.  But I never had meat chips there.  Back to the drawing board Teej.

Pineapple Juice is a WINNER!

Twice now, TJ has been sampling this Pineapple Juice while we were shopping.  And my kids went ballistic they loved it so much... and wanted it so badly.  I did end up purchasing one carton, for a fun treat, but at $4 a pop, it is a once-in-a-while thing!

I sampled it as well and it is really, very tasty. 

Happy 4th of July - Great Hostess Gift!

Here's a great hostess gift for your next July 4th party.  Under $10!

The three hydrangea stems are from Trader Joes, and came in one bunch for $5.99.  The Mason jars were $1 each from the Target $1 bins.  You could also get glass vases at The Dollar Store or buy a $2-4 Mason jar at Michael's.  And I bought the red ribbon at Wal-Mart for $1.49 a roll.  The navy Chevron ribbon was a scrap left over from an Art Party I threw, but was purchased at Hobby Lobby when the ribbon was half off.  The roll was about $3 on sale.

Magic Moo - Organic Chocolate Sauce

This is delicious.  My kids are loving it over ice cream and we just used it to make chocolate milk for the first time.

But there's a logistical downside.  It is really, really, really, really hard to squeeze out, once it has been refrigerated.  Like I can hardly do it, with my grown-up muscles.  I have to squeeze with all my might for a few seconds, and a dollop comes out.  So I do that about 14 times per kid's bowl.  My kids have absolutely no chance of using this product on their own.

Let me reiterate, it IS tasty.  And much better than the leading brand, that has high fructose corn syrup.  And corn syrup.  Yep, both.

Rice!

We love buying these big bags of rice either to supplement our TJ International dinners ;-) or to make when we're home cookin'.

The rice has easy directions, turns out well and tastes delicious.

A Few MORE New Snacks From Trader Joe's

Our latest new snack tries from TJ.

Yogurt Stars - my kids LOVE these.  So much so, that I can't buy them too often because the kids eat them (with my husband's help) in a matter of about 30 hours.

 Old Fashioned Blister Peanuts - weird name, eh?  I would never have purchased these, based on the name, but a TJ employee was walking around handing out samples.  And my three year-old loved them.  My husband and I quite enjoy too.  They actually have little bumps on them!

 My little one loves these.  They are nice and soft which appeals to his young gums.

The Best Dark Chocolate IN THE WORLD

This review comes from my mom.  A lover of dark chocolate.  Like eats it every night.

Recently, she was on a trip to France, where her group toured a chocolate factory.  And she deemed this chocolate the best she had ever eaten.  And she's tried a lot of different chocolates.  The friend she was with told her that this amazing chocolate was sold at Trader Joe's.  My mom absolutely did not believe her.

After she returned from France, and finished her stash, She went to TJ's, to prove her friend wrong.  But, low and behold, there it was.  And now my mom is a happy camper.  Eating a few squares a night of this decadent dark chocolate.

Protein-Filled Easy-to-Make Kid-Friendly Snack

Last summer, I got so fed up with my then 7-year old CONSTANTLY telling me he was hungry.  He was summer doing swim team and after an hour of swimming, five days a week, the kid was famished.

I don't buy too many highly processed snacks, and there are only so many organic snack options.  Those, coupled with cheese sticks, yogurt and fruit just wasn't cutting it.

Sooo, I Googled something like "afternoon snacks" and came up with a few different ideas.  I adapted a few of the recipes and came up with one real winner.  I made it once, then forgot about it.  Until swim team started up again this summer...

The two must-have ingredients from Trader Joe's are the Crisp Rice Cereal and the Dried Berry Medley (also a tasty treat on its own.)  See recipe at the bottom of this post, along with a photo of the completed snack masterpiece.

Crispy Oat PB Balls

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup crisp rice cereal
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup dried fruit

1.     Step 1

In a small saucepan over medium, heat honey, peanut butter, and butter. Stir until loosened and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cereal, oats, and dried fruit.

2.     Step 2
Drop mixture by the tablespoon into mini cupcake paper liners. Place on a rimmed baking sheet, and refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes.