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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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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My husband and I are suckers for having appetizers in the place of dinner. However, this box became just my dinner. I didn’t want to share these. Now, don’t judge me to harshly when I say, I like Chinese food better cold rather than fresh out of the takeout container. And there is a connection here.
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The pros: Trader Joe’s Peanut Butter Cartwheel Cookies are the newest cookies to hit Trader Joe’s shelves.
The cons: If you like truly crispy cookies, then you might want to pass on these as these are crisp around the edges.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Mini Hold the Cone Vanilla Ice Cream Cones are one of two year round varieties of mini ice cream cones.
The cons: Hard to eat just one. Chocolate and vanilla flavors are offered year round. Other varieties will appear, but are seasonal.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Dover Sole is an item I’ve only noticed a handful of times at Trader Joe’s, but it is one that is worth of reaching for especially if you like a delicate fish.
The cons: Can be hard to find at times or at least my Trader Joe’s did not carry it often.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie is 2000 calories in all, but makes for a pretty good dessert.
The cons: C might be for cookie, but this is not good for your diet. Then again if you picked this up, I’m sure diet might not be on your mind.
The verdict: …
I remember when we finally got my Mom to start text messaging. She flat out refused for a long time because phone companies were charging by the text. In her mind, all there would ever be were voice calls. If you need something, you’ll call and speak to someone. Well, eventually this changed when my sister went on a trip to Ireland. She was 16 and about to go abroad for the first time. Texting suddenly became a necessity to keep in touch with a loved one thousands of miles away and several times zones apart.
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The pros: Trader Joe’s Churro Bites are perfect for those who like things sweet, but not too sweet. These are baked so they will save on calories.
The cons: These won’t win any beauty pageants.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Brioche Toasts are a two to three bite size slice of brioche that are crisp and delicious. At under $2 it’s a great deal. It also might have some interesting other applications beyond just appetizers.
The cons: If you are using this in place of crackers, then consider making sure you have napkins or plates because there will be crumbs from this toast.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Pitted Amarena Cherries are new and perfect for the cherry lover in your life. This jar is a nice size. Would make for a good stocking stuffer.
The cons: This is a seasonal item and there is no telling if this will be back next year.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s It’s Sedimentary My Dear Cookie is a great gift idea that makes for a tasty batch of cookies.
The cons: This is a seasonal item. The brown sugar in mine had hardened to near sedimentary rock level making a my spoon have to do a bit of jack hammmering and scraping to get this out. This also requires a 2 hour rest in the refrigerator, so if you need cookies quick, then reach for something else.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Creme Brulee Tarte is a very well done tarte that gets almost everything right. This will also allow you to skip needing a blow torch. I strongly disagree with the serving size. These are 4 very large servings. That’s a good thing.
The cons: This is a seasonal item. This was difficult to move from parchment to a pie plate.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Creamy Roasted Cauliflower and Onion Dip is a new and delicious dip found in the freezer section of Trader Joe’s.
The cons: This item is labeled HOL on my receipt which usually indicates it is a seasonal item. Unfortunately, I strongly disagree with this being seasonal. This would make an awesome addition to Trader Joe’s Spinach and Artichoke Dip that is available year round. I also disagree with there being 8 servings. I believe this to be closer to 2-3 servings at most.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Raclette Sliced Cheese is not new, but is a divine find in the cheese aisle.
The cons: For me, this item was addicting.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Coconut Whipped Topping is ideal for someone who can not have dairy products but still want to have whipped cream. However, this is not quite as neutral in flavor. If you like coconut, then you’ll like this.
The cons: This item is priced higher than regular whipped cream and due to social media buzz about it, it seems to have disappeared off of store shelves.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Cinnamon Stars is new, generously sized, and seasonal.
The cons: This was neither soft nor crisp. It had an odd texture for a cookie. To me, this was just weird. Frosting was totally flavorless.
The verdict: …
Truffles don’t come cheap. However, Trader Joe’s is starting to make me wonder about that. There have been several months were the foods had a theme. October seems dominated by all things pumpkin. This past March it was all things coffee. Now, aside from peppermint, truffle seems to be the new winter flavor. People’s feelings towards truffles can best be summed up by one of two emotions: love or disgust….
The pros: Trader Joe’s and the Astounding Multi Flavor Joe Joe’s is a large package of chocolate covered cookies which are all well done and might be a crowd pleaser.
The cons: Some of these are sold separately. Some are not. This is seasonal, so if you love it, you’ll want to pick up an extra.
The verdict: …
And now for the fifth installment of the Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer Matchups. I’ll add more to the list here as reviews are posted. While I won’t have all of it, you can still take a look at the full flyer here. These are the items listed in the flyer that I have tried and reviewed (or have tried and it’s in a draft folder of this blog waiting to be published). Happy shopping! There are some real gems in this month as the Thanksgiving season is about to begin. This is also called the Food Pilgrimager. So there is likely another one after Thanksgiving. See the bottom for my top 5. So here are my Trader Joe’s November 2017 Fearless Flyer matchups.
If you have any requests or comments of things I didn’t try yet, leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you. Anything with a picture is a review from this blog, Become Betty. Anything without a picture is a link to another site that has reviewed the product. There are a large number of items that are brand new and no reviews are posted. Others have returned from last year and there still aren’t any reviews to which there are no links associated with them. I’ve linked to other reviewers who have tried some of the items. If there is a picture featured, it’s a review from Become Betty, if not, you’ll be taken to an outside reviewer who shared their thoughts on this product. I hope you find this helpful and cheers until the next Fearless Flyer!…
