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.