The One Man Band – Zinfandel, 2010

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Wine Moment with Delaina

Hello Fellow Trader Joe’s Fans

It has been awhile so I thought I better give you another wine review. We were in our local Trader Joe’s buying splurges for the Super Bowl; and being a sucker for Zinfandels and things placed on end caps I could not resist tying this “new-to-me” Zin.

The Zinfandel is out of Sonoma County bottled by The County Fair Wines, titled The One Man Band 2010 and it is zin-fully delicious. Best part it was priced at $8.99.

The most dominate flavor to me was the blackberry but the vanilla rounds out the finish very nicely. There is also a peppery hint that adds a little punch to this highly berry flavored wine. Like many Zins it is a bit on the dry side but all of the berry flavors balance the wine nicely.

It turns out that Trader Joe’s featured this wine in their Fearless Flyer so if you would like a more details and sophisticated plate evaluation of this wonderful Zin check out what the experts have to say here: http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article.asp?article_id=469 .

It paired nicely with roasted chicken, asparagus, and sweet potatoes. (All purchased from Trader Joe’s of course.)

This wine would pair nicely with many entrees and hardly salads or hors d’oeuvres such as smoked gouda cheese. Yes…it is true I think smoked gouda goes with everything, just as I think Zinfandels go with everything.

I hope you enjoy this wine as much as I did.

Thank you for reading.

Cheers,

Super Bowl Food: 5 Easy Ideas

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Ok so we enjoy watching the Super Bowl…a bit. I love the super funny commercials and also the excuse to get together with friends. Also there is the big game too, right?

What I really like, to be honest, are all the fun snacks, appetizers and dips that are associated with watching the big game. I usually make items that I would not normally make (can you say nachos?) or have fantastic snacks and other food around that we don’t usually buy (ice cream).

This year, we are going to try a more healthy rout to the Super Bowl. Not completely over the top, but we are going to forgo some of the usually heavy traditional Super Bowl items that we usually have such as Pizza, fried chicken wings (oh be still my heart…) and the like.

ALSO, in addition to being slightly healthier, we are also on the search for the “GO EASY” route. I am looking to enjoy the funny commercials this year, not stress about the food.

So having said all that, here are a 5 ideas for easy snacks, and some simple recipes that will make your Super Bowl party tasty and a bit more healthy too.

1. Select a DIP or two (or three)

I love a good dip~ My thoughts this year are that a few dips with a selection of items to dip in will go a long way to keep the variety up and get a few vegetables in as well. We are planning to grab some Salsa (not sure if we will grab the green tomatillo or the smoked peach as both are really good), some hummus and make a creamy dip like my Durango Dip. (Just take a container of Sour Cream and add some Trader Joe’s Taco Seasoning to it. I would start with no more than ½ the package of Taco Seasoning as that stuff is good, but a bit HOT for me. Mix it well and try and make a day or two before so the flavors blend up).

2. Select some stuff to DIP into your selection of dips

I like to dip carrots into hummus, and potato chips into the Sour Cream dip, but my plan was to simply have bowls out on the coffee table and let folks dip as they wanted to. I am planning to get a container or two of those wonderful little cherry tomatoes and some cucumbers as well just to broaden out the veggie selection.

Also I am going to get a few different types of chips to have a variety for guests. My current favs are the tortilla chips with flax seeds and the sweet potato chips.

3. Make this recipe:   Sonoran Caviar

Truthfully, I  just love this stuff and would make it all the time if I could. I was thinking this year it could almost be a stand in for a chili~ black beans, corn and tomatoes, right? But really I was thinking it would be a filing and fun addition to our party. Again, if you can make it on Saturday then it will even better.

4. Nuts and other fun Snacks

You can’t go wrong with a bunch of different nuts from Trader Joe’s that is for sure. Almonds, cashews and peanuts Oh my! Which ones to choose? AND you can make your own nut mix by combining all your favorites in a big bowl… cashews and peanuts are yummy together!

We are also planning to get some pistachio nuts in the shells so that we can use our nervous energy and shell as we eat.  Yes, it sounds like a good idea now, but I probably will grit my teeth every time a shell hits the carpet 🙁

Another mix-up that I LOVE is to toss a bag of Trader Joe’s caramel corn together with a bag of peanut filled pretzels… Yikes! I just can’t stop eating this up! Warning: make this only when your guests have arrived to make sure some is still left. Seriously it is that good!!

5. Drinks

OK Sorry to say this but you are really on your own here, to select your favorite Super Bowl beverages. I will say that Trader Joe’s has a lot of fun beers that you can purchase individually. So this might be a good night to have a few different ones out on a table and have guests sample them and see which one is a winner.

We will also purchase some sparkling waters for guests, juices and white wine to create some easy moc-sangria drinks on the fly… a sorta Mixology class for guests really. And please don’t forget your drivers! They can enjoy a fun “mixology” cocktail without any alcohol too.

OK So that is what we are doing this year. A fun variety of lighter foods and snacks from Trader Joe’s that will (hopefully) cut down the prep and cooking time, the amount of time away from the screen and will be more relaxing for everyone. (we hope).

What are you planning to serve for the Super Bowl this year? You can share below or on Facebook! ~ Thanks!

Easy Stuffing Recipe

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Are you searching for an Easy Stuffing Recipe to make for Thanksgiving (or any meal ….)??.

Well keep reading and I will give you a very simple recipe that you will enjoy  with Turkey or any kind of roasted meat really…. I will admit that I love the stuffing leftovers (crusty corners) with cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes~ yum!

In my mind there are two important parts to the stuffing… the bread part or maybe stuffing base, and the flavoring parts which can include items celery and onions and also cranberries, sausage and the classic ingredient,  oysters (yikes … not in my stuffing thank you….).

Today I will share a basic/ simple stuffing that you can try as well as some options at the bottom to help you expand out into new flavors.

Easy Stuffing Recipe Ingredients

  • 1 loaf of Challah bread
  • 1 package of Diced Onions, garlic & Shallots (or 1 medium onion, diced fine)
  • 1 apple (optional) I used one large Honey Crisp
  • dried fruit (optional – I am using dried cranberries with orange oil from Trader Joe’s)
  • 1 package Hearty Vegetable Stock (or chicken stock, which ever you like best)
  • Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute ( 1 teaspoon- or more to taste)
  • Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper, dried or fresh Sage leaf –

How To:

1. Dice the Challah bread into 1-2 inch pieces. I like to dry the bread out for a bit, so I chopped it up before work today and then made the stuffing when I came home tonight.

2. Cook the package of diced onions, garlic and shallots together in a pan with olive oil  until they get a bit of color… Add the apple (chopped up small) if you are using and let it cook for a few minutes. Here is where I also add Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute and the dry Sage (maybe a 1/2 to a whole teaspoon or to taste…. this is where the real “stuffing” flavor comes from in my opinion ).

3.  I had some yummy dried cranberries with orange in the pantry and thought why not??  so I chopped them up just a bit and then added them to the pan for a few minutes to warm up.

4. Now add about a cup of the Hearty Vegetable Stock to the pan and let it come to a boil. I like to do this to “clean the pan” a bit and loosen up any brown flavor bits that might be on the bottom. The liquid will also “plump” up the dried fruits a little.

4. Pour the contents of the pan over the bread cubes and toss well. Add more stock from the carton until the bread is nicely moist but not too soggy….

5. Turn out the stuffing into a greased baking dish.

6. Now the stuffing is ready to place in the refrigerator until you are ready to heat it  up. I like to make stuffing a day or two ahead of time to let the flavors all blend together, but don’t worry  you can also make it and bake it right away….

Bake at 350 degrees  for 45 minutes covered. It will sorta steam. Remove foil after 30 minutes and let it get a bit crusty if you like….

Ta-da! You have just made Easy Homemade Stuffing! This stuffing might be OK for Vegetarians or Vegans as there are no animal products in the recipe, just check the ingredients in the Challah bread to make sure it is OK for you.

Ideas/ Options for Stuffing

  • Save up bread scraps/ ends/ toast that the kids did not finish etc… in the freezer and use for your stuffing.
  • Find day old bread specials at the store and use that for stuffing
  • Cornbread or Cornbread muffins are yummy crumbled for stuffing.
  • Try adding items like green onions, celery and other favorite vegetables to your stuffing.
  • For Southwest flavor, add diced green chilies to a cornbread base…. maybe sprinkle the top with cheese?

We hope you found this Easy Stuffing Recipe helpful for you. Leave a comment below or on Facebook and share what you used to make your stuffing…..

 

Vegetarian Thanksgiving Made Easy

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Are you searching for some ideas to make an Easy Vegetarian Thanksgiving this year? Recently we were thinking about different ideas to make our meal a bit more  Vegan and Vegetarian -diet friendly this year.

Think about it… so much of Thanksgiving is about all these crazy-good side dishes and so many of them are vegetable based ~ including many yummy desserts, right.. 🙂

Some ideas to consider for an Easy  Vegetarian Thanksgiving:

  • mashed potatoes
  • baked sweet potatoes
  • Brussels sprouts roasted with nuts and cranberries
  • roasted turnips and parsnips (my family’s favorite)
  • rolls and butter
  • cranberry sauce

butternut squash, carrots, acorn squash…. the list could go on and on….

One easy idea is to just substitute Trader Joe’s Hearty Vegetable Stock for Chicken stock in many recipes… that would be a great and flavorful addition to mashed potatoes, soup or stuffing.

To keep is super easy check out the fresh and frozen sections of the store. Trader Joe’s has some delicious  side dishes that would be perfect for a vegetarian Thanksgiving…  Here I am thinking of the 4 cheese au gratin potatoes, or their new one that is a creamy potato and spinach combo (had a sample of that one last week- yummmooo).

Recently at Trader Joe’s we we talking (and sampling coffee and ginger biscotti pieces- YUM) and the friendly Trader Joe’s employees were talking about…. Tofurkey!

Once an item of legend… now the Tofurkey has arrived and is on the shelf at Trader Joe’s stores ~ At least the one that we shop at in Kansas City.  No one who was working  that day had ever tried this unusual item… but they noted that a LOT of customers were purchasing the faux birds.

So I thought I would mention this  just in case it might round out your Vegetarian Thanksgiving table.

Do you enjoy Tofurkey? What are you serving for your Easy Vegetarian Thanksgiving??

Share in the comments below or on Facebook …. have a GREAT DAY!