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….
Bacon. It’s like meat candy all on its own. Add something sweet and spicy and you have on heck of a combination. The combined saltiness and textural elements work so very well in Trader Joe’s Sweet Sriracha Uncured Bacon Jerky.
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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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The pros: Trader Joe’s Enchilada Sauce is a staple item in my household and makes for a quick and flavorful meal.
The cons: The directions add extra steps which can be skipped with minimum consequence.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Mediterranean Style Orzo Pasta Salad is new and makes for a good grab and go item if you are going to a BBQ or need a quick side dish.
The cons: Could use a bit more acidity. If you plan on mixing everything in this bowl, you’ll need to move it to a new container.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Smoked Salmon Poke Bowl is another new addition to the refrigerated section and has a lot of familiar flavors.
The cons: My brown rice was a bit more on the undercooked side.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Organic Pesto Tortellini has been on the shelves for quite some time. It makes for a quick and easy meal.
The cons: Bland tasting pesto with almost no texture to it.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Coconut Shrimp are a decent tasting appetizer or quick dinner.
The cons: Could have been crispier, shrimp could have been bigger, ratio of breading to shrimp was about 1:1.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Reduced Guilt Stuffed Shells will make you feel good as the entire entree is 270 calories.
The cons: Only two shells came in my package so I’ll need a snack to actually feel full after eating this.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Panko Breaded Tilapia are reasonably priced, heat up well, make for a solidly portioned fish meal and are crisp.
The cons: When prepared in the oven this product does leak some oil so be prepared to put something under this.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Mini Chicken Tacos are a tasty and quick appetizer that are ready in under 10 minutes.
The cons: Like Trader Joe’s Mini Beef Tacos, Trader Joe’s Mini Chicken Tacos look nothing like the picture. Unless, you have tiny hands, you won’t be able to get much in these tiny tacos.
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: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Wine Country Chicken Salad has large chunks of chicken, cranberry, celery and walnuts with some poppy seeds sprinkled in for some subtle texture.
The cons: The balance in this product seems wrong. There was too much mayo and the chunks of cranberries were left in huge chunks.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Handmade White Tortillas are super tasty and very fresh tasting. These are imperfectly shaped which makes them seem a bit more homemade.
The cons: I wish these were available in more sizes and I wish I could find this on a more consistent basis.
The verdict: …
If you are searching through the fresh meat aisle there are a few selections which now include March’s new Trader Joe’s theme: coffee. Trader Joe’s Coffee Rubbed Flank Steak made a lot more sense than the Coffee Spatchcocked Chicken. The coffee here was a lot more subtle without being so forward. This makes me wonder why we haven’t seen any red-eye gravy with all this coffee craziness.
The pros: Trader Joe’s Coffee Rubbed Flank Steak is pre-marinaded so you don’t have to do any of the work.
The cons: Directions should remind you that for the most tender pieces you should cut the meat across the grain. Touching the meat or the marinade will leave an orange hued stain so be careful if you don’t wish to look like you’ve had a poorly done spray tan.
The verdict: …
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 Thai Sweet Chili Veggie Burger is an Asian spin on their other veggie burgers. Was tasty out of the frying pan. Heat is subtle but present. Trader Joe’s Thai Sweet Chili Burger had enough oil in the burger to cook it without oil in a pan.
The cons: If you are looking for that fake meat flavor, you are out of luck here.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Canneles de Bordeaux is respectable in calories. Reminded me of a creme brulee with it’s caramelized outside (but no crunch here) and custard filling. I enjoyed this more heated slightly in the microwave than cooled.
The cons: These dessert are small so plan accordingly. You’ll finish each in about four bites.
The verdict: …
The pros: Stew Leonard’s Garlic Bread is super convenient, has the nutritional information, bread was very fresh
The cons: Under buttered (margarine) and not quite enough garlic
The verdict: …
The pros: With a little planning and a bit of actual cooking, Trader Joe’s Uncooked Wild Blue Shrimp are quite good. Shrimp are a blank canvas and take well to a variety of cooking methods. These were a nice size and were not fishy at all.
The cons: Expensive, but a better value than some other options in the freezer aisle.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Garlic and Herb Pizza Dough is inexpensive, quick, easy, little wait time, you are only limited by your own creativity.
The cons: Short shelf life but can be frozen.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s This Fig Walks Into a Bar is organic, flavorful, some nutritional value, tasty, inexpensive compared to other organic snack bars.
The cons: The entire line of “This Insert Fruit Name Here Walks Into a Bar” cereal bars are addicting, it’s just a matter of which flavor you’ll enjoy. I found this to be the sweetest of the bunch.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s This Mango Walks Into a Bar has good tropical flavor, reminds me of a Nutrigrain bar, nutritionally it’s not a total loss or just empty calories.
The cons: Easy to eat a few of Trader Joe’s This Mango Walks Into a Bar in a sitting.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Fully Cooked Baby Back Ribs are tasty, tender and ready in under 20 minutes.
The cons: If you are hoping for championship level BBQ, this isn’t it. Doesn’t mean that it’s bad either. It’s just not the best BBQ I’ve ever had. You’ll also want a very sharp knife in order to separate the ribs. Some were no problem, some were a bit of a challenge with a very sharp knife….
