NEW Southwest Salad Kit

I love salads for lunch, but it is hard to make it tasty enough to feel satiated enough! I was so excited to arrive to TJ this morning and see this new (new to my TJ) salad kit.

I have purchased a competitor's Southwest Salad Kit and this one is almost exactly the same. The only addition to the TJ bag is the cheese, which I am not loving (has a slight resemblance to stinky cheese) but I can handle it in small doses...

I added some grilled chicken and am very happy with this hearty lunch!

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!)

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.