Book Club Part III

It was my turn again to host book club and as always, I went straight to TJ.

Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of my cheesy Naan, but I'll at least add the recipe below.

In addition to Naan, I made bruschetta, black bean salsa, and brownies. Then, I bought fruit and dark chocolate sea salt candies.

 

Cheesy Naan:

• frozen Naan
• mozzarella cheese
• Italian Seasoning

1. put Naan on cookie sheet.
2. brush on olive oil.
3. add cheese, salt, Italian Seasoning
4. cook at 350 for 10-15 minutes, then at 400 for another 5-7.

Black Bean Salsa:

MIX in a small bowl:
   1/3 cup sugar
   1/3 cup cider vinegar
   1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

IN SEPARATE BOWL, MIX:
   1 can black beans (rinsed & drained)
   1 can shoepeg white corn (rinsed & drained)
   1 bunch green onions (chopped)
   Cilantro (to taste)

Combine ingredients and mix well.  Add 4 oz. crumbled feta and ground pepper to taste. Serve with chips. (Full disclosure - my chips were not from TJ!)  

*Tip: do not mix together more than 30 minutes before serving. It gets too sweet if it sits out or in the frig for too long.

Bruschetta:

• For the tomatoes:
• 2 pounds of roma tomatoes (or any good, ripe tomato)
• 2 cloves of garlic, very finely minced
• 5 basil leaves (plus more for garnish), rolled up and sliced into thin strips
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper
• For the bread:
• ½ loaf of wheat french bread (about 7-10 slices)
• Softened butter for spreading onto the bread
• 1 clove of garlic

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. Quarter your tomatoes, and pull out all the seeds and "pulp" out of the middle with your fingers and discard so you are just left with the meat of the tomato
3. Chop the tomatoes up into small, bite size pieces
4. Transfer your tomatoes into a medium bowl and add in your garlic, basil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste
5. Store in the fridge until the bread is ready
6. Slice your loaf of wheat french bread into about 1½ inch slices (ish)
7. Spread softened butter onto both sides, place the bread on a baking sheet, and place in your preheated oven for 10 minutes
8. Remove the bread from the oven, flip all of the slices over, and bake for another 5 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides
9. Slice the tip off of one garlic clove so you have a flat surface
10. Rub the garlic clove across the top of each toasted bread slice
11. Spoon the tomato mixture onto the bread, top with a little more basil, and serve.

Book Club Appy

It was my turn to host Book Club last night. I decided I wanted to make all new recipes. I never do this. The risk is too great!  But I got inspired on Pinterest. 

I really liked these, but I actually preferred them without the tomatoes.  Maybe next time I will skip the tomatoes and sprinkle a little paprika on top for color?

Ingredients:

3 Persian Cucumbers (I have bought these everywhere, and TJ has the best, hand's down!)
15 cherry tomatoes
Ranch Dressing
1 tbsp. dried thyme (dill works too)
4 ounces cream cheese, brick, softened

1. soften 4 ounces cream cheese.
2. peel and cut cucumbers.  make cuts thick.  scoop out center of cucumber with melon baller or grapefruit spoon.
3. cut tomatoes
4. use a hand mixer, mix together dressing, thyme and cream cheese.  mix on medium until blended, then on high for another minute.
5. put in ziploc bag, cut tiny corner off, and pipe into the cucumbers.  top with cherry tomato halves.

Summer Mom Lunch Part II

When I had elective laser eye surgery a few weeks ago, my dear friend (and amazing cook) brought my family dinner. I loved this quinoa salad she made. It was just so fresh and tasty. I decided to recreate it TJ style.

Here's what you need.
-quinoa
-grape tomatoes
-Persian cucumbers
-feta
-basil
-balsamic dressing

Cook one serving of quinoa (cook two if this is for family dinner). While it is cooking, cut the two veggies and the basil into strips (about 6 leaves).

Once quinoa is cooked and cooled, mix it together with the two veggies, the basil strips, salt and pepper to taste, and several tablespoons of the BV dressing. 

Voila!

PS - this basil plant was $2.99 at the Teej. Can't beat that!

Summer Mom Lunch Part I

Every summer, I get inspired to make new lunches. Both for me and my kids. This week, I made two new "mom" lunches.

Full disclosure - this one I sampled at TJ.

It is just three ingredients, all pre-packaged for you!

Mix in a bowl and serve.

This would even be great to bring to a summer potluck BBQ.

Happy Valentine's Day from Trader Joe's

I love the holidays and find it so much fun to see what special items TJ has for each.  Here's what I found for Valentine's Day last week.

Ranunculus!  This is my very fave flower, but I never, ever see them anywhere.  I even requested them last year for my milestone bday.  My husband went into a nice, well-respected florist, and she couldn't get them.  But leave it to TJ to have them for under $5 a bunch!

And like always, some cute and clever treats that you just can't pass up!

5 Unique Items for your next Trader Joe's Shopping Trip

I love that Trader Joe's is mainstream enough that I can get almost everything I need there for a week of eating. I do have to supplement a couple of other places for things like Heinz ketchup, fresh fish and poppy seeds, to name a few.

But how about trying a few unique items at TJ?  Here are 5 suggestions for you.

-ready-to-eat beets (perfect in a salad, and so quick)
-Irish butter (from grass-fed cows!)
-fresh squeezed OJ (tastes DEE-LISH)
-uncured bacon (tastier than nitrate-filled bacon!)
-Spring Onion Rice Noodle Soup (great lunch)

Book Club Part II

When I host book club, or anything else for that matter, I aim to make one appy and one dessert myself, and then supplement with TJ awesomeness.  Aim...

It's my turn to host book club.  Here's what's on the menu. And the shopping list and Black Bean Salsa recipe appear below.

SHOPPING LIST:
green onions
cilantro
can corn
can black beans
crumbled feta
apple cider vinegar
olive oil
sugar
2-3 of cheeses (gouda, brie, cheddar, etc)
crackers
corn chips
frozen pizzettes
honey sesame cashews
pink lemonade
wine

BLACK BEAN SALSA:

Black Bean Salsa

MIX in a small bowl:
   1/3 cup sugar
   1/3 cup cider vinegar
   1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

IN SEPARATE BOWL, MIX:
   1 can black beans (rinsed & drained)
   1 can corn (rinsed & drained)
   1 bunch green onions (chopped)
   Cilantro (to taste)

Combine ingredients and mix well.  Add 4 oz. crumbled feta and ground pepper to taste.

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.