Trader Joe's blog and cooking.
So you are craving Chinese, but for some reason you aren’t going out or ordering in. This is a good, but not a great answer to not getting it at your local Chinese food establishment. Why isn’t it great?
Well, the answer is simple: if it’s chicken fried rice, I expect there to be chicken with a healthy dose of veggies in there. Trader Joe’s Chicken Fried Rice was mostly brown colored rice with chucks of scrambled egg….
Right before I got married, a coworker and I took a Croissant making class at Sur la Table. Yes, I had a fluffy white dress that was tailored to my exact frame and I was making buttered treats. Sorry, not sorry. When I walked away from that class I realized something important: they are a TON OF WORK (and a lot of butter). Labor of love is fine, but even Betty Crocker acknowledged women have things to do most of the time. Why mess with perfection when you can buy Trader Joe’s Chocolate Croissants in the freezer section….
It’s been a while since Trader Joe’s Black Bean and Cheese Taquitos have been found on store shelves. And that made me sad. And it made my readers sad because these were the more flavorful of two taquito options.
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Is there anything more comforting than Mac and Cheese? I didn’t think so until I ate Trader Joe’s Mac and Cheese Bites. How can Mac and Cheese be made better? Clearly, the answer is breading them and frying them. This is another item from the freezer section, but I would keep this to a crowd pleasing appetizer or snack.
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Lunches. There are so many times I am so guilty of not making my lunch. Before I moved close to a Trader Joe’s I existed off of frozen meals. But truthfully, they were pretty terrible. The calorie count was reasonable, but there was a sacrifice in taste. Most of those frozen meals tasted like cardboard. Trader Joe’s Korma Fish Curry tastes like anything but cardboard.
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I remember going to the Hall of Science as a kid. And most childhood museum trips, the highlight was hitting the gift shop for some reason. The Hall of Science is no exception. They sold something that had all of our imagination going: Astronaut Food. Which reminds me a whole lot of Trader Joe’s Freeze Dried Strawberries.
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My Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze recipe is quick, easy, moist and uses lemon to add another dimension of flavor. This is a perfect breakfast, brunch, or dessert item to share or to freeze for fresh scones in the morning. These are delicious with both fresh blueberries and frozen blueberries. I’ve included lots of ways of adapting this recipe to make it even more delicious.…
If you’ve come to Trader Joe’s for your Corned Beef, you are in luck for St. Patrick’s Day. Even if you don’t celebrate that holiday, Trader Joe’s Corned Beef corned beef is something worth celebrating. Best of all there are two varieties: uncooked and precooked. This review focuses just on the corned beef you’ll be cooking for yourself. If you find that you are enjoying it, be prepared for this to disappear over the rainbow when corned beef season ends….
Confession time: It’s the second time in two days I’ve been to Trader Joes, forgive me, I went on a Sunday and it seems like food was going out of fashion, especially in the frozen section. I wasn’t actually there for this product. I was actually looking for Trader Joe’s Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Butter and Sage.
I adored it.
But like many things at Trader Joe’s they like to tease you with great items and come back and try something new every time. So, this is my new bag of gnocchi: Trader Joe’s Gnocchi alla Sorrentina. In plain English it’s regular gnocchi with tomato sauce and some cheese….
So if I’m going to do all these bread reviews, it’s only fair to share something that could use some bread. Or something for all that bread to sop up. I love a good sauce, but with almost a foot of snow being predicted by the weekend, I was thinking about some hearty meal planning and lots of staying indoors by the weekend.
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Well, it wouldn’t be the beginning of the year without looking at the lighter options available at Trader Joe’s. Now, I’ve had my fair share of Mac and Cheese offerings from the Pepperoni Mac and Cheese, Truffle Mac and Cheese, Gluten Free Mac and Cheese, Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese, and Hatch Chile Mac and Cheese. And yes, they are mostly pretty good.
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The pros: Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Nutty Bits are a well balanced snack that after a few bits are satisfying.
The cons: These don’t look quite as pretty as the picture. I kept wanting to call them bites, instead of bits.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic White Truffle Potato Chips are thin potato chips that are packed with flavor of truffle. Yes, truffle is actually on the ingredient list.
The cons: If you aren’t into the earthy flavor that truffles bring then you should avoid this one. This bag is only 6 ounces.
The verdict:
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The pros: Trader Joe’s Chicken Drummellas are basically just chicken nuggets.
The cons: For me there was a slight taste of raw flour and the breading lacked flavor.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Caesar Style Salad is generous with the salad, croutons and cheese toppings.
The cons: While generous with some elements, the dressing barely coated the lettuce and didn’t taste like a traditional Caesar dressing.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Vanilla Joe Joe’s will remind you of a more familiar Keebler cookie, but with a more natural vanilla flavoring and appearance.
The cons: The flavor here might be more adult friendly than kid friendly. I brought this in to share with my students and the kids were a little bit polarized by it. They either loved it or hated it.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Pizza Margherita is pizza on demand and ready in about 10 minutes from the freezer. It had a nice crisp crust.
The cons: None really come to mind.
The verdict: …
Velveeta and Kraft have nothing to worry about with Trader Joe’s Microwavable Mac and Cheese. The taste of Trader Joe’s Microwavable Mac and Cheese was just ok. Most importantly, you’ll have to bring your own dish.
The pros: Trader Joe’s Microwavable Mac and Cheese is only 230 calories per serving.
The cons: You might need to add additional water beyond what the instructions call for as my pasta came out dry every single time.
The verdict: …
During the winter holiday season I noticed Trader Joe’s Mini Quiche Duo . As quickly as they appeared in the freezer aisle, they seem to have disappeared like so many other well done products. Sadness about that product aside, I decided to be adventurous and try the much larger Trader Joe’s Broccoli and Cheddar Quiche. It’s closer to being full sized. Good enough for 1 person or two if you have a side that you’ll serve with it.
The pros: Trader Joe’s Broccoli and Cheddar Quiche had a nice flaky crust out of the toaster oven, loaded with broccoli and had a nice cheesy taste.
The cons: While the directions for Trader Joe’s Broccoli and Cheddar Quiche say you can put this in the microwave, I think you might end up sacrificing the quality of the pastry crust here. Nutritional information is a bit of a bummer after knowing it tastes so good.
The verdict: …
There are currently two varieties of Kale Chips available: Trader Joe’s Seasoned Kale Chips and Trader Joe’s Nacho Kale Chips. Which should you buy? I preferred the Nacho, but these weren’t bad as an alternative. They were salty, crisp and nutritionally a bit better than potato chips.
The pros: Trader Joe’s Seasoned Kale Chips are tasty and come in a resealable bag. You’ll want some portion control with this product.
The cons: These cost almost $32 per pound which makes them expensive. They have about as many calories as a bag of potato chips.
The verdict: …
If we could keep one of the recent coffee flavored new products around, Trader Joe’s Vietnamese Coffee Flavored Caramels is the one that gets my vote (ok, and Trader Joe’s Sumatra Coffee Brownies). It’s coffee flavor without being gritty. You can also have this product without getting a buzz from the caffeine. This is the application of coffee that just works.
If you are unfamiliar with Vietnamese coffee, here is what you need to know: it’s strong and it’s very sweet from the sweetened condensed milk. While this product is not strong in the coffee department, it’s sweet and it just works.
The pros: Trader Joe’s Vietnamese Coffee Flavored Caramels are sweet, and have a nice balance between the coffee and other flavors.
The cons: Might be too sweet for some. Might even be better with a touch of salt (but that’s clearly my own sweet and salty preference).
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Peppered Turkey Bacon is a thicker cut and more peppered variation of Trader Joe’s Uncured Turkey Bacon. It was meaty, smoky, and only 40 calories per slice.
The cons: There are no directions for cooking this in the oven which is unusual as their other varieties of bacon do have these directions.
The verdict:
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The pros: If you find salad to be boring or just love iceberg lettuce, Trader Joe’s Butter Lettuce is a good product to pick up.
The cons: Not as nutrient dense as some other salads in a bag, but if you need to break up your routine, this is a good one to reach for.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Espresso Baton is coffee and chocolate without the flavors being out of balance. One does not overwhelm the other.
The cons: If you are expecting a smooth chocolate, you’ll have some added texture here from the coffee grounds.
The verdict: …
