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View from a fridge

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Trader Joe's in the fridge

Some friends were over last night, and over the course of dinner, peeked into the fridge. Now we normally tidy up the fridge when we have company over, as a rule. But this time, we were not prepared for the reaction.

Our friends were shocked!

We really did have stuff from Trader Joe’s in our fridge. And more than just one item. In fact, there were plenty of goodies from Trader Joe’s on the first shelf alone…

OK here is a list of our favorite things that are in the fridge right now:

Creamy Peanut Butter

Dijon Mustard

Salsa Authentica

Sour Cream

Pesto

Butter

Blackberry Jam

Lemon Curd

The last item, the Lemon Curd, is not a normal purchase, but rather an experiment or splurge. An item to brighten up a cold winter’s day. However, it is soo good, it is  well on its way to becoming a “regular” purchase. It is THICK and tangy and just delish.   We have tried it a number of different ways and each way is better than the last.  The best way so far,  was when we made crepes with the Trader Joe’s pancake mix (just added extra water to the regular recipe on the box until the batter was THIN and made the crepes in a small, 8 inch pan).

Once all the crepes were made, we just spread them thinly with the lemon curd, and folded them in half and then in half again.  The were rich and just amazing… We also tried the crepes with a lemon curd/ blackberry jam center. They too were good, but were a little sweet overall.

Next time we are planning to try some unsweetened whip cream to the lemon curd and use that mixture in the crepes.

We hope you have enjoyed this voyage into the fridge too see all the Trader Joe’s products we use.

An Easy & Tasty Lunch Idea

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Trader Joe's Garlic & Herb chicken sausages

Today’s tasty lunch idea came directly from Trader Joe’s!

After the great taste of those Mango Sausages, we checked out the chicken sausage section to see what other great sausages were available.  We chose this package: Trader Joe’s Garlic and Herb Chicken Sausages.

These are fully cooked sausages that only took about 10 minutes to heat up in a pan on the stove.  Our guess is that you could heat them in the microwave even quicker.  They would also be a great lunch to take to work, as they are “Break Room OK” meaning they heat up quick and do not have a strong smell.

Anyway we just heated them up and browned them a little in a pan and served them with Trader Joe’s Dijon mustard, and a little side salad with a fresh lemon-Dijon mustard dressing.

Here is the recipe for the side salad:

Salad stuff that you like such as:  Baby spinach leaves, sliced baby carrots, sliced cucumbers or zucchini (we used zucchini as they just looked better at Trader Joe’s), cherry tomatoes and red onion slices.  Use amounts that make sense for the number of people you are serving. Or try…. We were just making lunch for the two of us, and we still have way to much salad. Oh well, perhaps it is a start towards tonight’s dinner?

Fresh Lemon-Dijon salad dressing:

In a  bowl squeeze out the juice from one small or 1/2 of a large lemon. Remove any seeds that come with the juice.  This should be about two tablespoons of lemon juice. Then add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard (or more if you like) and a little salt and pepper. Wisk together. Add olive oil, about 4 Tablespoons in a thin stream while you are whisking at the same time.   Taste the dressing on a piece of spinach or a carrot and see if you need more oil. Add more oil, until the dressing has a nice balance, and you enjoy the taste.

Toss the salad with about 1/2 the dressing and then see if you need more. If you still have some dry leafs, then add another spoonful of dressing and re-toss.

These were a nice mild sausage, that had good flavor without being super-strong flavored.

And like we already said, we served the salad and the sausage with a little extra mustard on the side…. Yum!

Have you tried these sausages? What did you think?

Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Covered Cranberries

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Trader Joe's Chocolate Covered Cranberries

Go ahead, we dare you!

These are just fantastic, chocolaty treats from Trader Joe’s. We first spotted them during the holidays but they are still available in the stores now. They look like a chocolate covered peanut or raisin, all different shapes and shiny on the outside.

But it is for the insides that you will love these little treats.

Each bite of dark chocolate is wrapped around a dried cranberry, making a wonderful mixture between the sweet rich dark chocolate, and the tangy and chewy texture of the cranberries.

We have used them in a number of ways, but our favorite is straight out of the package!

But be warned…. You may find yourself returning again and again to have “just one more”!

Cherry Lovey Gummy Tummies at Trader Joe’s

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Trader Joe's Gummy Hearts

Just in for Valentine’s Day are Lovey Gummy Tummies.  Don’t let the odd name put you off this treat. They are a wonderfully sweet and soft chewy heart with a dark cherry liquid center.  Now we normally don’t go for the gummy-type candy (the bears, fish and worms etc…) but again, magic happens here at Trader Joe’s.  Another shopper just happened to see us checking out the package and she quickly volunteered that they were just yummy and we should try them.

Well, she was right.

These cherry hearts had a wonderful texture, soft and yet you could easily bit into the candy without too much effort. The dark cherry liquid center gave each piece a great look and fantastic cherry flavor. We usually don’t like cherry flavored items, but these candies have natural cherry flavor, and  get a big YES vote from us.

We thought that these hearts would make a great garnish to many other Valentine’s Day treats as well. We first thought of frosted cupcakes or cookies for example, but then thought that they would look cute on a plate next to any dessert offering.

Another idea: sticking the hearts into a small snack size ziplock baggie and then into a Valentine’s Day lunchbox with a sweet note… Nice

We hope you are able to get your hands of a package of Trader Joe’s Lovey Gummy Tummies, and have a wonderful Valentine’s Day.