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.

Everything but the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend

TWO friends have recommended this item to me, so I had to check it out! And, when I was checking out, the cashier got all excited and told me how much she loved it. She suggested you mix it into a pint of sour cream and voila! it's a dip! Served with potato chips. Dee-LISH!

Great Lunch or Snack - Tortilla Pizza Bites

Full disclosure, I found this on Pinterest and tweaked it just a bit for my kids. This is easy and so tasty. Both  my kids loved it so much, I had to make more! We went through about 3 dozen in mere minutes.

Ingredients:

Tortillas
Pizza Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Toppings - chopped up veggies, pepperoni, etc (optional)
Garlic salt, salt Italian seasoning to taste (optional)

Heat oven to 350.
Cut tortillas into circle (I used a circle cookie cutter.)
Spray muffins tins with cooking spray.
Place tortillas into bottom of muffin tins.
Top with a small dollop of pizza sauce. Trader Joe's has one that is is in jar in the canned foods aisle, and one that is in the refrigerated section. Both are tasty.
Sprinkle cheese and toppings and any of the garnish if desired.
Bake at 350 for 10-11 minutes, then turn up to 425 for 3 minutes.
Serve!

Two Amazing New Cookies

As far as I know, I have never seen either of these at TJ before now.  The Meringues are as good as any I've ever had or made.  Serve them with ice cream and guests will be wow-ed.  These yogurt cookies are seriously crazy good.  My family of four devoured them in a day or two.

New Snacks - Two Hits and A Miss

My 4-year old is obsessed with SNACK-IES.  It's super annoying!  He watches way too much TV, and he insists on eating snack after snack the whole time.  SO get this.  If it is a "snack", it is healthy and comes from the fridge.  If it is a SNACK-EE (said loudly and with conviction,) it is tasty, probably not healthy, and from the pantry. This all stresses me out because there are only so many snack products out there that I'll buy!  And that he likes.  Here are my three latest attempts.

Cinnamon Apple Sticks - MISS
Fig Cereal Bar - HIT
Raises the Bar - HIT (did not expect this one to be a winner!)

New Dark Chocolate Sweet Treat!

Any time I see a new candy product at TJ, well let's be honest, a new CHOCOLATE candy product, I have to buy it. I'm a chocoholic, and I think the candy at TJ almost never disappoints. (You'll never see a review for the mango cookies... sorry!)

I am really digging these! I wasn't sure about the graham component, because I am hit or miss on my love of graham crackers in desserts. But it is not overwhelming, and the dark chocolate/sea salt combination on all TJ products is really outstanding! I love their dark chocolate (and I am typically a milk chocolate gal.) And the sea salt didn't seem like it would go, but it is the essential touch that makes these good enough to buy again.

PS - if any TJ powers that be are listening, I have not seen my most favorite - Milk Chocolate Jumbles - in a really long time!

No Bueno!

I should start by saying that a friend recommended this to me.  So I had high hopes. And I did eat this.  And so did my husband. But he texted me at work with "No Bueno."

It's just not right.  But my friend loves it. So purchase at your own risk.

Organic Lowfat Yogurt Smoothie

These are a big hit with both my kids. They are tasty, not too high in sugar, and they have a good serving of calcium. I put them in their lunch in place of the usual yogurt cup or tube. At $4 something for 4, they are pricey, but definitely less than the organic yogurt pouches that my kids love oh so much.

Pumpernickel Pretzel Sticks - YUCK! UNIVERSAL YUCK!

Every time I go to TJ, my 4-year old desperately wants to come with me. Today, it was frigid out, and my husband was home. I told my son he could stay home and watch a movie! But he chose to come with me. He loves the mini cart, and the manageable size of the Teej. I also always let him pick out one thing. Today, he insisted on Pumpernickel Pretzel Sticks. I told him that I really didn't think he would like them. They are the same look as the Honey Wheat pretzels, which he loves, so I tried to convince him to pick the tried and true, but (see above), he is strong-willed.

As soon as we got home, he wanted to try them. I took a bite first, and almost spit it out. I like Pumpernickel bread, but MAN ALIVE, I DID NOT LIKE THESE PRETZELS. And no surprise, either did the tot.  SKIP IT!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dunkers

I was hoping these would be like one of the other two chocolate chip cookies that I adore from TJ. But they are not. And they are not good. Not terrible either. But not worth the calories. They have a funny after taste that I have experienced with cookies before, but I have no idea how to describe it. Just trust me, skip these.

Caramel Cashew Cookies

Sweet Tooth fulfilled. These cookies are delicious. And they don't even have any chocolate! Amazing. I actually bought these for my husband, who loves cashews and is more of a caramel/butterscotch/vanilla guy, rather than chocolate. Well, we just taste tested them together and we both love them. Annoying that he can stop after eating two!

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!

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.

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.

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.