Have Trader Joe's Over for the Holidays...

I wanted to keep Christmas dinner simple this year and what better way to make it simple than shopping at Trader Joe's to help with meal planning?

This was our Christmas menu, which of course was all purchased at Trader Joe's!

Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup topped with white cheddar
Scallion Pancakes
Green Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette
Burgundy Pepper Lamb Tips
Cheesecake Medley served with Golden Caramel Swirl Ice Cream
Sparkling Pomegranate Juice

The meal took me less than 2 hours to prepare (including the thawing of dessert).  The thing I wanted most this Christmas was to spend time with my family instead of working away in the kitchen all day. Thank you Trader Joe's for helping with my holiday dinner menu!

Are you looking for a simple menu for New Year's?  Let Trader Joe's be your one-stop-shop for your next holiday dinner!  If you want a classic theme with a roast, vegetables, potatoes, salads, soups and desserts Trader Joe's can help you with some unique, tantalizing dishes that will surely please your taste buds!

Here are some photos, so you know what to look for and where to look for in case you want to prepare a meal similar to mine.

Organic Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup: I doctored up a bit by adding some chunk to it...fresh tomato chunks that is...

...and topped it with some freshly grated white cheddar cheese (once served)

Scallion Pancakes - These were amazing!  I remember making these from scratch, when I was a kid, but so happy that Trader Joe's sells them pre-made (heat & serve).  These were a hit...my husband and daughter thoroughly enjoyed them!  I cut each round pancake into 1/4 and served with dinner! Where do you find this at Trader Joe's?  Find in the frozen foods, Asian foods section.

Green Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette - Simple!  Just a bag of my favorite mixed greens & a couple splashes of Champagne Vinaigrette and we were good to go...feel free to add some of your salad favorites!

Burgundy Pepper Lamb Tips - Now, these made the perfect main dish for the occasion!  The best part about them was that they were lower in fat than your typical rack of lamb or lamb leg.  It was nice eating lean meat instead of eating a piece of meat and trying to find a part of it to eat that did not have any fat.  Me and my family are not big fans of meat covered with fat!  Where do you find this at Trader Joe's?  Find it at in the fresh meats/poultry section. 

Cheesecake Medley served with Golden Caramel Swirl Ice Cream - This was a perfect ending to a delicious meal!  The fun part about serving this dessert was that there were already pre-cut slices that I was able to slice in half, so we could all try a different flavor without having too much of a given flavor.  This put an end to your dilemma of, which piece should I try? Why not try them all??  Where do you find this at Trader Joe's?  Find it in frozen foods, dessert section.  There is no better accompaniment to cheesecake than ice cream of course!  What is the best ice cream flavor to accompany this already decadent dessert?  Why Golden Caramel Swirl...of course!  A tasty mixture of chocolate, vanilla and caramel! 

  

Sparkling Pomegranate Juice - Finally, let's talk drinks!  Me and my family do not always feel the need to serve alcoholic beverages, but we still want a bit of a kick in our drinks!  This drink brought a twist to your average sparkling cider, made with pomegranate flavors...yum!!  

Thank you for reading my holiday dinner recommendations brought to you by Trader Joe's.  Here are some photos of the dinner presentation!  This year's meal did not have too much going on all at once and made for very simple dinner in mind!  It was thoroughly enjoyed by all and we even had some leftovers! 

From my table to yours...I hope it was a good one for you this year!!

More to come in 2014!!

~ Trader Joe’s Shopaholic ~  

When I am not shopping at Trader Joe's, where am I shopping?  Vitacost, of course!  Click image to find some great deals for your pantry!  

My Pumpkin Ice Cream Addiction...

One of my favorite reasons for the fall and winter seasons is the overabundance of pumpkin!!  After all the pumpkins have been harvested for Halloween, it is time to roll out the pumpkin-based foods for Thanksgiving and will continue to linger for Christmas.  All the pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin mousse, pumpkin cake, pumpkin tortes....now, how about a pumpkin-induced coma?  I will be in one of those after these seasons are over with.

My favorite pumpkin product of this year has been Trader Joe's...or should I say "Pilgrim Joe" Pumpkin Ice Cream!!  If you like pumpkin, you will love this ice cream!  Now, if I had completely no self control over what I ate, that entire container of ice cream would have been gone the first night.  Luckily, I like to savor the rich flavors of pumpkin more often than once, so what fun is it to consume the entire container all in one sitting...no fun for me?!?!

I am thinking that this may be a seasonal item (will not be around after the holidays), so if you are looking for some amazing pumpkin goodness...then go grab some "Pilgrim Joe's" Pumpkin Ice Cream and delight in the joys of this flavorful dessert!!

This is what to look for in their ice cream section.  After you try it, please let me know how you like it!! Leave a comment!  Also, if you are a Trader Joe's Shopaholic or just share in that common love for this awesome store, subscribe to my blog and share what you like from Trader Joe's!  I occasionally have contests on here for special occasions!!  In fact, there is one coming up for Christmas!  Enjoy!!

When I am not shopping and finding great deals at Trader Joe's, I am shopping and seeking great deals from Vitacost (an Internet retailer of health foods, beauty products & supplements).  Click the Vitacost image below to view their site and their amazing product prices (40-70% less than specialty food and vitamin retail stores)!



Happy Holidays,

~ Trader Joe’s Shopaholic ~  

Trader Joe's: Exemplary Customer Service

As I sit here at another favorite specialty foods store of mine working away, I think about what I did not receive a great amount of, when I shopped here today - exemplary customer service.  Even though Trader Joe's has only been open in town for less than 2 weeks, I have already been spoiled and it is not just because they are a new store in town either.  Like I said in my previous post - that I grew up shopping at a Trader Joe's - and have always experienced exemplary customer service at their stores.  Now, I think people are flocking to the new Trader Joe's in town not only for the great prices, but to get a whiff of their exemplary customer service!  It is so awesome to walk into a place and be greeted by employees, have employees willing to help and actually have a majority of the registers open!  I have been spoiled myself and have chosen to do most of my shopping at Trader Joe's now and will probably never set foot inside a Walmart ever again.  Many of you may live in an area where Walmart has exemplary customer service, but where I live, it is like pulling teeth to even get an ounce of good customer service, so when I did shop there, I had to look around for cashier I remembered to have good customer service...sad, right?

Anyway, Trader Joe's has been welcomed here with open arms and I am so happy they are here.  I will probably be back there again later this afternoon after I pick up my little girl from school.  I thank them for bringing the joy back into shopping again!

Happy Shopping,

~ Trader Joe’s Shopaholic ~  





  

 When I am not shopping at Trader Joe's, I am shopping for great deals at Vitacost.com

Trader Joe's: Fall Food Favorites

My favorite part about the Fall season are of course, the Fall foods.  During my last shopping trip to Trader Joe's, I found myself amidst the beautiful colors of Fall!  I searched the store in hopes to find some things I could label as my "fall food favorites".

Pumpkin Macarons 

I love are macarons...not to be mistaken with macaroons (I do like those also).  Unfortunately, I have never worked up the courage to make macarons myself because from all of the preparation demonstrations I have watched, it all looks far too complex make plus I do not have a stand-alone mixer, which all the demos used.  I am not a baker, so I was never interested in trying to make macaron from scratch and risk completely destroying the end product and the money I paid for the ingredients would all go down the drain!  For those of you that have never had a macaron, I describe them as a light, chewy cookie sandwich with very similar properties to a meringue cookie that comes in many different flavors to choose from.  I do not eat them regularly because they are quite pricey and are only sold in specialty stores.  Fortunately, Trader Joe's sells some Pumpkin Macarons for a great price (and are probably seasonal): $4.99 per box of 12 (in the frozen section) as opposed to $1.99 - $2.50 per piece at high-end bakeries/stores.  Now, I love anything pumpkin, but I was still unbiased, when I tried these macarons because after all, I still love a good macaron.  I will let someone know if it was good or not, even if it was a favorite flavor of mine.  After the first couple of bites of the Pumpkin Macaron from Trader Joe's, I was hooked!!  I immediately knew that I was going to have to serve these for Thanksgiving dessert.  It is like a piece of pumpkin pie heaven in a delightfully delectable cookie !  Are you interested, too?  They are delicious and even more awesome if you are a pumpkin-lover...here is what you will need to look them for during your next Trader Joe's visit.

Persimmons

I grew up eating persimmons and I truly love them, so I was excited to see them at Trader Joe's for a very reasonable price = $.69 each.  When completely ripened, eat them right away - persimmons are delightfully sweet.  My mom used to make cakes and breads with persimmons, but I did not appreciate them until I was in my adulthood.  During my childhood, persimmons were just too sophisticated for my taste; however, my daughter (who has a very sophisticated palate) had one for the first time from the batch I bought from Trader Joe's and she, too, enjoyed them!  I cut them into eighths and she at them just like she would orange slices with a rind on them.  If you can get your hands on some persimmons from Trader Joe's, you will be in for and treat!  They are delicious and seasonal, so act fast...they will not be around for long; they are a Fall fruit!

 

Happy Harvest!!

~ Trader Joe’s Shopaholic ~

 

Trader Joe's = Awesome Prices

The one thing I have constantly heard, since Trader Joe's opened in my area is that the prices on food have been great compared to other area food retailers.  Being a Trader Joe's shopper most of my life, I agree with that a 110%.  Their prices are awesome and it has always been a pleasant shopping experience for me and my husband.  If you have never been to a Trader Joe's, get ready for an amazingly unique shopping experience.  Friends who have never been asked me what Trader Joe's is all about.  I cannot explain it...you just need to go and experience it for yourself.  It truly is a store not like any other.  The store is not huge, but you will find something that you like or will find something you have never tried and will want to try.  

Why shop at Trader Joe's for your family?  You can get nutritious, delicious and unique foods for your family at the fraction of the cost.  This has been the first time I have shopped at Trader Joe's as a family of three; it always used to be my husband and I that shopped there before our little girl was born.  Before I go into sharing any of my food finds, I want to share with you that I was able to shop for my family of three for $115.00 for 2-weeks worth of food.  From fresh produce, meats, poultry, frozen fruits/veggies, dairy and some fun foods...we are set for the next 2-weeks.  I will still go into the store during the week to look for some fun finds or re-stock on some things like kale and spinach that go quickly in my household.  

Here is a photo from my recent family shopping trip...

 













When I am not shopping at Trader Joe's, I am shopping at Vitacost for more great deals.



Happy Shopping!


Trader Joe’s Shopaholic