Easy Taco Salad

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Last post I was telling you about our recent fantastic salsa discovery, Trader Joe’s Roasted Tomato Salsa. We were taking a moment to check out all the yummy salsas that Trader Joe’s carries when we found that one. We were specifically looking for a salsa that would taste great on a Taco Salad.

Taco SaladWe both enjoy taco salads~ they are quick and easy to make and are flexible, without food rules (at least in our minds) so you can add what you have on hand to the basics and have a tasty meal.

That is what we usually do. We start out with the salad basics, add beans or a meat of some kind, and then start adding the optional ingredients to sort of round out the salad.

Some of the optional ingredients we add include: broken taco chips, black olives, green onions, grated cheese, cold leftover veggies or rice~ you can add whatever you like ~ that is the beauty of this kind of salad.

For this salad, we browned a package of Trader Joe’s ground turkey with a spoonful of Trader Joe’s Taco Seasoning and used that as the point to build the rest of the salad.

We had lettuce, cherry tomatoes and an avocation to add some flavors as well. For a change we created Salsa Mayo by adding a scoop of Trader Joe’s Organic Mayonnaise to 2 scoops of our tasty new Roasted Tomato Salsa. We could have added it to some Sour Cream… but I forgot to purchase Sour Cream when we were shopping ….gr…

What is your favorite ingredient in Taco Salads?

Trader Joe’s Roasted Tomato Salsa

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We had the hankering the other day for a Taco Salad. I just love Taco Salad because of all the different flavors and textures in each forkful.   So off to Trader Joe’s of course to get all the goodies to make a few of them and tell you about a great new salsa: Trader Joe’s Roasted Tomato Salsa.

Trader Joe's Roasted Tomato Salsa

So as we were zipping around the store and gathering up all the ingredients, we started to check out all the many different Salsa choices at Trader Joe’s… and there are a LOT!

We started out with the jars of salsas as there are a few ones that we like in that section, but then remembered…. Trader Joe’s sells FRESH salsa as well.

There were a few different salsa choices for us, but when we saw Roasted Tomato Salsa we knew we had a winner. We love items that have a little oven roasted flavor/ grill flavor to them.

This salsa is really terrific~ but on the Medium /Spicy side (or at least we think so).

Have you tried this salsa? What did you think?

How To Cook Scallops

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Scallops are a wonderful seafood item that cook quickly and taste wonderful by themselves or in a number of dishes such as pasta. We love their firm-soft texture and subtle “sea” flavor as well. When we are cooking scallops we like to pan fry them so that we can keep an eye on them. Scallops are a great example of “fast food” you will want to get them in and out of a pan fast!

Trader Joe's Scallops

Trader Joe's Scallops

Trader Joe’s has a number of different kinds of scallops to choose from (different sizes and with or without sauces). Today we chose to cook Trader Joe’s New England Wild Jumbo Seallops. (Frozen Sea Scallops).

What we do is to thaw the scallops in cool water, and then dry them off with a paper towel.

Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper (if you want).

Heat your pan (we like to use a non-stick skillet) on medium-high until hot.

Add your oil to the pan -1 -2 Tablespoons and turn the pan to coat evenly.

Place scallops in the pan, one at a time, to cook. Remember to leave room between the scallops so only fill the pan 1/3 to ½ full.

Cook for 2-3 minutes and then turn over. The scallops should be a nice golden color.

Cook on the second side for 2-3 more minutes or until your scallop is fully cooked. Cut a scallop in half and make sure that the whole scallop is the same color on the inside. Raw scallops are more translucent, cooked scallops are firm and creamy-white.

Remove scallops from pan. Scallops are ready to serve.

If you are cooking the scallops in a couple of batches, keep the cooked scallops warm in a covered oven-proof dish (in a low temp oven) until all the scallops are ready.

Scallops really are that quick and easy to prepare and serve. Try and not cook them for too long or they will get very chewy.

Cooked Trader Joe's Scallops

Cooked Trader Joe's Scallops

A bit dark and blurry…. but you can some of the color and the juice that has come out of the scallops.

How often do you eat scallops?

Meatless Monday: Grilled Veggie Parmesan Sandwich!

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This Meatless Monday I have a tasty sandwich idea for you to try. Grilled Veggie Parmesan Sandwich. Yes I know already you are thinking… WHAT?? But this sandwich is super easy and tasty, and a bit messy too.

I first made these sandwiches at a restaurant I worked at right out of culinary school. We would grill halved zucchini (and eggplants slices sometimes) and then slice them into thin slices. We would then arrange the vegetables on a pie plate in a circle – about the size of our bread – top with a few spoonfuls of Marinara sauce (or your favorite spaghetti sauce) and heat. When it was all warm, add a slice of your favorite cheese- we used Provolone and heat until melted.

Now, carefully slip that whole arrangement onto a piece of toasted whole wheat bread.

Delish!

We used to serve these with a second “top” of bread, but when I make them at home, they are so messy that we are better off to serve them open-faced on a plate and cut up with knife and fork.

Now that we have discovered the Trader Joe’s Marinated Grilled Eggplant & Zuchinni (Misto alla Griglia) we can make them much more often.  Sometimes we sprinkle the hot veggies and sauce with some Parmesan cheese just before adding the sliced provolone. But sometimes we forget that too!

grilled veggies

We hope you love these quirky/ messy sandwiches as much as we do! Sorry there is no photo…we ah forgot and just started eating! OOPS!