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Trader Joe’s Pacific Flounder with Crab Meat Stuffing

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Trader Joe's Pacific Flounder with Crab Meat Stuffing

Trader Joe's Pacific Flounder with Crab Meat Stuffing

Tender white fish, draped over a scoop of crab meat stuffing… ahh what could be better? The fact that all you had to do was thaw and heat this delicious main dish? YES! Thanks to Trader Joe’s.

We have purchased this tasty main course fish for many years now. They are one of those “sure thing” items that we turn to when we are having VIP Company or a special celebration and want to make something extra special. (birthday/ anniversary/ promotion etc…) Good for beginner cooks too!

They would be perfect for date night as well.

We like many things about Trader Joe’s Pacific Flounder with Crab Meat Stuffing especially:
1. They are sold individually (you can buy just what you need)
2. They thaw in a bowl of cool water quickly
3. They heat in under 30 minutes
4. They look good
5. They taste FANTASTIC!
Another cool thing? They hardly take any planning. You can just take them from the freezer and thaw them in a bowl of cool water about 30 or so minutes before you want to bake. Then heat the oven and remove the fish from the packaging and place on a foil lined pan (spray foil with no-stick spray or spread lightly with oil).
Cover with more foil and bake (exact time is on the package, I tossed my package before posting! Grrrrrr).

EZ Date Night Dinner Thanks to Trader Joe's

EZ Date Night Dinner Thanks to Trader Joe's

While the fish is cooking, I usually heat or cook some vegetables and rice for the meal. We love to serve this fish with Trader Joe’s Bean So Green- the garlic butter sauce is just fantastic with the crab meat stuffing!

By serving Trader Joe’s Pacific Flounder with Crab Meat Stuffing, you can spend some extra time on the vegetables and rice, OR keep the meal simple and then spend your energy on lighting the candles in the dining room….
We hope you get a chance to try this product soon!
Let us know what you think

Trader Joe’s Bean So Green

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Trader Joe's Bean So Green

Trader Joe's Bean So Green

When you are looking for a new twist on a veggie side dish, check out one of our favorites: Trader Joe’s Bean So Green.

This is a wonderful mixture of veggies: green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, peas, romanesco and…wait for it….. garlic butter.

What the heck is romanesco, you ask?? (don’t worry I am a professional… and I had to Google it to figure it out  🙂

It turns out that romanesco is a type of broccoli that appears to be a sort a mixture between cauliflower and broccoli that is very popular in Italy.

If you look closely on the package, you can see some of the romanesco on the front part of the photo, it sorta resembles a shell? (hint: near the bottom)

Anyway this vegetable mixture is absolutely delicious and quick to make. You just need to pour it into a skillet, and add a few tablespoons of water and heat on medium, until all the veggies are warm/hot and the butter sauce is melted. YUM! What I like best is that it all heats up quickly and the veggies are still nice and crisp and the garlic butter just adds a special touch to the vegetable mixture.

Trader Joe’s Bean So Green is excellent served with roasted chicken or fish. We like to serve it up with some rice as well.   This is highly recommended for new cooks, as it would “jazz up” an otherwise plain/ easy meal and turn it into something special…. date night maybe??

We hope that you get a chance to try out this frozen vegetable mixture. Let us know what you think!

Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Nibs

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Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Nibs

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Nibs

Here is a tasty product that I just picked up today when we were shopping at Trader Joe’s. Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Nibs. They were at the check out- next to all the mints and chocolate bars. Now I can lie and tell you they just caught my eye, but I actually was reaching down for a box of those HOT mints (the little deadly English ones…) and these were next with the small box of mints.

At first, I was just going to put them back, as I was looking for a mint, but then I got curious about what these actually were. When we worked at the chocolate shop, we did sell packages of chocolate nibs that were rich, sorta bitter and just wonderful.

So we gave them a test, and were very happy with the results. The nibs are small-ish about the size of a tick-tac and have a chocolate coating or shell.

But when you pop them into your mouth, they have a wonderful chocolaty flavor that is just right when you are having a craving for something sweet.

Also it helped that another customer in the line behind us saw what we were looking at and was prompted to comment on how she enjoyed them as an “emergency” treat in her purse. So that is where I placed the tin- in my purse for an emergency chocolate attack! HEY I think I feel one starting…….

Have you tried this product? What did you think?

How to cook Salmon in the Oven That Everyone Will Like

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OR an easy and foolproof way to cook all kinds of fish in the oven at home quickly….

We like to eat fish. In fact we like all kinds of fish but one of our favorite type of fish is salmon. We really love that deep red salmon (wild) that you sometimes see in the stores. Luckily Trader Joe’s sells this wild salmon and even in smaller packages that are better for two.

We have even purchased a rather large piece of salmon, cooked the whole piece and then had some nice salmon leftovers to have the next day on a salad. (I was planning to make a salmon salad sandwich with mayo and celery but truthfully just got a little lazy and placed the salmon on some salad greens. I am glad now, as the salmon was just fantastic! and tasty! I so love it when you can cook at home and say this was way better than going out)

OK so the big question is: how to cook the salmon, right??

It really is very quick and easy.

Roasted Salmon in the Oven

Heat your oven to 425 degrees

1. Prepare your baking dish by covering it in foil and either spraying with no-stick spray or a little oil. (yes I mean a little- spread it out with your fingers so there is only a thin film of olive oil on the foil in the pan).

2. Prepare your fish by thawing if frozen, then rinse and dry with paper towel. Place your fish (skin side down) on the oiled foil in the pan.

3. Lightly coat the fish with olive oil (again, thin) and season with salt and pepper, season salt or whatever you like to use. We like to use either a season salt or a salt-free seasoning like Trader Joe’s Seasoning Salute.

4. Place in the pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes for each inch of fish. This means if your fish is an inch think, you would want to check after 10 minutes to see if it is done. If you have a very thick piece of fish, say sea bass, you might want to go for 15 minutes.

5. Check you fish to make sure that it is fully cooked by cutting into the thickest part with your knife and seeing if the fish is “clear”(uncooked) in the middle or if the color is the same all the way through (fully cooked).

After   you have made your fish this way a couple of times you will find that you get used to the high heat and quick heating time. You will get a feel for how long you will need to cook your fish- and then you can start to experiment with marinades or sauces to top the fish.

Let us know how this works for you. Enjoy!