Trader Joe's blog and cooking.
The pros: Trader Joe’s Tempura Shrimp Crunch Rolls is an on the go sushi where you can grab and go. There is a selection of sushi to choose from. Tasty but non traditional dipping sauces.
The cons: Not a variety that works well in the refrigerated section. Rice was all wrong. Tempura batter on shrimp was mush.
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 Honey Walnut Shrimp crisps up in the oven in about 10 minutes. Flavorful sauce, of which I didn’t need all of it.
The cons: I wished there was more shrimp. High in fat. Could have been more walnuts in the bag
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Sriracha Seafood Potstickers are very tasty if you prepare these the way pot stickers should be prepared: in a pan.
The cons: I microwaved half of the batch. Big mistake. They came out dry and rubbery.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Lobster and Shrimp Bites are mini seafood patties, but not finger food.
The cons: Follow the picture on the box if you want a sauce with this. It’s best to add a dab on top, as they won’t hold their shape for dipping. Strange almost carrot like orange hue to these.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Tempura Shrimp are fried goodness. While not as perfect as your local Japanese restaurant might serve you, this is as good as it gets in the freezer aisle. While these come to you already fried, they did not feel nor taste greasy. Sauce is a soy based but also tastes of a teriyaki as it’s thicker than regular soy sauce.
The cons: Enough dipping sauce for several batches of tempura, which means there is some serious waste here. I wish I could find another use for the excess. They include 2 packages of sauce. One package would be more than sufficient for both. Unless you are literally drinking the sauce.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Spicy Thai Shrimp Fried Rice is a relatively spicy rice dish that will need some supplementing of protein in order to bring it up to the standard of a meal.
The cons: I thought of this more of a side than its description of being a meal. For 4 servings to be in this bag, I would not consider 2 shrimp to be a meal. They were heavy handed on the Thai Chilis. Not even a lot of veggies on this one either.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s 14 Shrimp Nuggets contain crispy and crunchy shrimp nuggets straight from your freezer.
The cons: Greasy. A lot of breading as compared to shrimp.
The verdict: …
Below is sectional list and an alphabetical list of all the Trader Joe’s Reviews on this site so far. It should be in order based on the name that appears on the packaging. If you don’t see it, use the search feature. Feel free to comment on product you’d like to see me do a review on and I’ll add it to my list of items to try! I’m not affiliated with Trader Joe’s. Some ladies are excited to bring home a brown bag from Bloomingdale’s. This Betty gets excited when the brown bag is from Trader Joe’s….
Welcome to another edition of “I’ve had a long week and I need to pull something out of the freezer.” In one of my most recent trips to Trader Joe’s involved stocking up for what is turning out to be a crazy week. I love ordering Paella out, but there are 2 types of Paella. Real Paella and seafood with rice “paella.” The later is totally fake. Trader Joe’s Seafood Paella is pretty good for a freezer bag….
It’s completely possible that you have relied on a freezer meal at least once or twice in your life. I’ve eaten things like Lean Cuisines and SmartOnes in an effort to deal with both laziness, not packing a lunch regularly, not wanting to go out to lunch and not wanting to spend $10 on lunch. Yes, even a lazy dinner can be added to this list.
Now, Trader Joe’s Shrimp Tacos were awesome, but I will warn you, they are a bit misleading if you go by the picture alone….
If there was ever a foodie Home Depot, it would be called Sur La Table. I confess it is the one store I have a weakness for. Some women struggle with going into Target and walking out with numerous unplanned purchases. I have the same struggle, but it’s at Sur La Table. Yes, it could be so very easy to not walk in. But I have to. You see Sur La Table has Cooking Classes. If you struggle to boil water or just want to learn, they have a calendar set up (and even occasionally offer sales) just with classes. If there were just one class I would recommend everyone to take, it’s the Knife Skills class. After that feel free. You’ll walk away with solid recipes or the knowledge that you should not try this at home (Yes, sushi class I am speaking to you). I’ve taken more than a dozen Sur La Table Classes. They’ve all been excellent….
There are times I don’t enjoy cooking. Sometimes it’s really nice to just be taken out somewhere. I had a recipe similar to this at my local Japanese restaurant, instead of Thai Sweet Chili, the used an orange liquor.
I, like the author of Skinnytaste, have never had Bone Fish Grill’s Bang Bang shrimp. From what it sounds like its super high calories, fried, mayonnaise and from what people say it’s outstanding. So I gave this recipe a whirl. It goes great with both salad or rice….
Some of my cookbooks are ones that will be cherished and unopened on a coffee table in the house. Others look like the have waged kitchen warfare. In addition to the iconic Betty Crocker books that line my bookshelf, this is one book that deserves to also be a “Betty.” A funny story about this one:
One Christmas, I asked my then boyfriend for a series of cookbooks as a gift suggestion. One of which included Gina Homolka’s The Skinnytaste Cookbook. Upon opening the gift it was difficult for my then boyfriend (now husband) to not see the joy in my face. With a big “Thank you” he promptly replied, “I’m glad your happy, just don’t make me any of that crap.”…
