Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs & Stir Fry

Need dinner in 10 minutes (no joke!)? My daughter & I played "Iron Chef" and she timed me. We were both laughing so hard as I literally *threw* items into the wok. A fun memory and a delicious, low-fat & cal, high fiber & protein meal. What more could you ask for?

I grabbed 2 bags from the freezer & all my remaining fresh veggies. Guess what? The WHOLE family LOVED it!

Ingredients:
1 bag of Trader Joe's Turkey Meatballs
1 bag of Trader Joe's Pre-cooked Organic Brown Rice (organic is key, regular = disgusting)
1/2 bag of Trader Joe's broccoli Slaw
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 zucchini, finely chopped
1/2 container of crimini mushrooms
1 handful of mini carrots, finely chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 handful of snap peas, sliced on diagonal
{remember: you can just use any hard vegetables left in your drawer, you don't have to use all of these or you could add more)
2 T peanut or vegetable oil (EVOO will NOT work with stir fry, gets too hot)

Sauce:
1/2 C (or more) Soyyaki sauce
2 T cornstarch
2 T honey

Directions:
1. Turn stove onto high heat (7 or 8); Add oil into Wok.
2. When oil is hot, stir in vegetables, salt & pepper to taste & cook until they begin to look transparent. Remove.
3. While vegetables are cooking, defrost meatballs for 2 minutes in microwave (entire bag).

4. Turn Wok heat to medium. Add in sauce & stir quickly, add in meatballs. Keep stirring. Don't let sauce burn. Coat meatballs in sauce until saturated and covered.
5. While meatballs are coating in sauce, put rice in microwave & cook.

6. Serve meatballs over rice, vegetables on the side or add on top of rice, then meatballs.

Enjoy!

Trader Joes Co-Op June 2010

Well, folks, I haven't tried too many new things at TJs this month. Seems like June brings us lots of fresh fruit (YUM!) and less processed pickings (YEA!). What to do with those extra peaches? See my peach cobbler above.

Homemade Corn Tortillas - YUM & Compare the nutritional information to their "flour" version. Shocking! right. You'll never return to the land of flour.

"Just Sauce" Turkey Bolognese (freezer section, thanks for the tip bro!): easy breezy, just heat it up and you have some divine, healthy rich sauce that doesn't leave you pouring over your stove on all day in the middle of summer (making the homemade version). I add a little of TJs marinara to make it go further - easily serves a family of 4 (w/ 2 small children)...even better = portion control. Pour it over some of their Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti! Need a bit more food? Cook up some of their breaded eggplant with it (even if you hate eggplant, you'll LOVE these - so mild & yummy! my kids eat them all up!)

Mango Gelato - it's back! The one in the square box we've been waiting for all year, downside is that it doesn't last long.

Frozen Sockeye Wild Salmon: A great buy for $8.00 (2 fillets; fed the entire family). Defrost, marinade in Soyaki or the Island Soyaki for an hour and grill. I'm not a {cooked} fish lover {prefer it raw} but I cleaned my plate and so did my kids & begged for more - twice this week!


WINE TASTING

I have tried a few (or more) new wines this month. If only I had the cork to tell you yes/no. Here's what I can tell you.
RED: Note that I am in a kick of Central Coast Wines
1. BEST {absolute favorite right now!}: Concannon Petite Sirah (not to be confused with "Syrah" OR the Australian version "Siraz"). Concannon (est. 1882)is the first winery to pour Petite Sirah - a light wonderfully balanced red, perfect for summer everything. Oh, and did I mention it's *only* $5.99 with a very regal label!
2. Hamilton-Stephen, Pinot Noir - an incredible Pinot and could easily compete with any wine over $50, yet it's *only* $9.99 - great gift for a dinner party or housewarming. Plus the label is cool & vintage-y.
3. Monte Ducay Reserva (Spanish) at $5.99 you must like the Spanish Tempranillo and Garnacha grapes. I'm not a fan even if it was a $100 bottle. So I'm the wrong person to ask. If you like those grapes, try it and let me know how it compares. I can't give an unbiased opinion even if it is Spanish. On that note: TJ's selection of Spanish wines are not to be bought (a part from the standard Marques de Riscal {personal favorite} and Marques de Caceres. Now is not the time to rob the Armada at Trader Joes.

*A suggestion of what to do w/ $2Chuck {besides pour it down the drain?}. Fill up a glass with ice, fill 1/2 the glass with wine and the other 1/2 with Squirt (yes, it must be Squirt) and you have "Tinto de Verano" a summertime favorite in Spain. Great for an afternoon BBQ or go crazy and barbie up some Paella.

WHITE: oooh. My recent trip to Santa Barbara persuaded me to try (and love!) white wine. There is a micro-climate in Santa Ynez (much cooler) that allows it to grow Pinot Noir (red) and Voigner (white) to the wine-makers delight. My new favorite is the Voigner. Light, crisp, fruity and *not* buttery.
1. TJs "petit reserve" label of Voigner is fantastic, a true summer delight!
2. TJs "petit reserve" label of Albarino is also very light and paired wonderfully with brunch.
*Both wines are $5.99 (seeing a trend here?)

Linguine with Sausage & Peppers by M. Lazaro

Oh, yum! This was delicious, light, easy AND fast! I just modified {see brackets} the "Everyday Food" recipe and it was a smash hit! Only took 15 minutes!

Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
1lb linguine {I adapted to what our family eats- 1/3 bag & used whole wheat spaghetti b/c I didn't have linguine on hand}
1lb turkey sausage {I use chicken apple sausage from trader joes}
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced {I used a teaspoon of canned, minced garclic}
4 yellow or red bell peppers thinly chopped {I used yellow and only 1 for a family of 4 - depends on how much you like these}
4 T butter {I used only 1.5T}
4 C argula {I used a 1/4C b/c that's all my garden had}

1. in a large pot boil pasta.
2. while pasta is cooking, cook sausage + 2T water *covered* in a non-stick pan over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Uncover, raise heat to med-hi. Brown the sausage, breaking it up w/ a spoon, about 7 minutes
3. Add the garlic, bell peppers and 1/4 C of the pasta water; cook until peppers soften about 6 minutes. Add 3/4C pasta water AND butter; swirl to combine.
4. Transfer drained pasta to sausgage/peppers. Add argula, salt & pepper (to taste) and toss; Simmer for 2 minutes. Add more pasta water as desired.
4.

Trader Joes Co-Op Spring 2010

A few great finds so far this spring...

*Pomegranate Green Tea {make sure it's chilled) - refreshing!
*Fish Nuggets - sounds sketchy, but the kids (and papa!) LOVE them...and less waste since they're so little. Serve w/ sweet potato fries.
*TJ's lemon curd served with biscuits or scones. Yum!
*Tarte aux Champignons (frozen mushroom tarte/pizza) serve w/ fresh greens & vinaigrette & their divine shaved Parmesan.
*Fat-Free refried beans (great alternative for kids who don't like spice) & a quick bean & cheese burrito

Don't buy!
*Regular {frozen} brown rice that is microwaveable-soggy & gross. Pay the extra $1 and buy the organic brown jasmine.
*Frozen potato melody - all different colored potatoes - strange spices, horrible texture.

Wine Tasting:
1. Liberte, Cabernet {not to be confused with "Liberty"-also very good but pricier}. This is a terrific bottle for $10 - you'll be shocked at it's fullness & the beauty of the label!
2. TJ Reserve Label (boat on label) - 1996 - Cabernet, excellent! $10
3. TJ Petite Reserve (aloha flower on label), Pinot Noir - $5.99 - great buy. good wine. Do *not* by another red under this label though, they're terrible.
4. Darian, Rioja Spanish Wine - light, $5.99. A decent table wine, probably better for a tinto de verano (1/2 wine, 1/2 squirt/sprite over ice) or sangria.

Trader Joes Co-Op September/October

Here are some recipe ideas for TJ shoppers from our October Co-Op. Enjoy!

New ones I tried last month.
* Elizabeth suggested buying the frozen Brown Rice packets - yummy brown rice in 2 minutes! (vs. 20) yum
* JoAnne suggested the kettle corn (danger! you may eat the whole bag!) & says the canned tuna/olive oil and canned crab is terrific (see her recent post to my blog - crab/shrimp enchiladas)
* Becca suggested the frozen turkey meatballs - yum!

New seasonal items to try (or not try)
* Elizabeth tried the pumpkin pancake mix and said it was "Great!"
* I tried the "maple cookies" (bella talked me into it) - you'll love them if you like a strong maple taste (i don't)
* Tonight I tried the frozen "roasted corn" (I love the sweet corn, so I thought I 'd like this version) - you'll love it if you like the taste of ashtrays (gross)
* After a 10 year hiatus (Becky and I lived on this stuff in college) I revisited the pineapple salsa - yum! great w/ their carnitas (as tacos).


From Chris & Marci
1) Lunch - Roasted turkey slices topped with Havarti lite (They make all kinds of cheese in lite now, and south beach prefers you to eat it. So I throw the combo of turkey and cheese in the toaster oven for 5 min and then you have a turkey melt no carbs.
2) Breakfast
A) 2 eggs and turkey bacon
B) Plain non fat yogurt and the 3 berry granola (one of my favorite things)
C) Blue label OJ - Fresh squeezed (best OJ ever, a bit spendy but better than naked)
D) Garden Patch vegetable juice (you would never guess it but I drink this every day)
E) The green juice (due to my lack of eating green things I drink this as well, its actually really good.
F) Soy chorizo! This is my favorite thing! I love the soy chorizo! It looks nast but get over it. I cook it until brown and throw a couple eggs on top and let the eggs cook. Delish!!! Super good with breakfast burritos!
3) Dinner
A) Mandarin orange chicken with the brown rice Elizabeth was talking about. I eat this about once a week now
B) I like all the marinated meets for tacos (although I would say their asada is a bit over marinated)
C) Soyaki marinade is one of the best
D) I really like their BBQ sauce and ketchup. More than bullseye and Heinz
E) So Lowell Frank taught me a TJ's recipe. You dump all of the BBQ sauce in a pot, add frozen meatballs (i like the turkey ones as well, but any will do) and let them cook. Delicous appetizer, although sometime I eat it for dinner.
F) Sweet potato fries - though it may be shocking I like any of their fries.
G) Frozen mini pepperoni pizza's - their fresh pizza is nast
H) Frozen mini chicken tacos - awesome but probably not good for you
I) asparagus. Mix in bowl with EVOO and salt. Throw on grill on HIGH for 7-8 min (the proper amount of time to cook about any meat - High heet 8 min) and its tender deliciousness.
J) Ground turkey - don't buy the frozen kind but the ground turkey is great for burgers or tacos and way better for you than beef.

From Elise
Smoked Salmon and Spinach filled Crepes are really good something different, I just have a hard time figuring what to serve with them.

shrimp and crab enchiladas by J. Allen

INGREDIENTS

• 12 (12 inch) flour tortillas
• 8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
• 1 (6 ounce) can crab meat, drained (TJs had a great one!)
• 1 pound cooked medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 1 (20 ounce) can green enchilada sauce
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Lay tortillas on a flat surface. In the middle of each tortilla place equal amounts of cheese, crab, and shrimp.
3. Set aside some cheese to sprinkle on top of the tortillas.
4. Roll the tortillas to form enchiladas.
5. Arrange side by side in a 9x13 inch baking pan.
6. Pour green enchilada sauce over all of the enchiladas; the green sauce should cover the enchiladas completely.
7. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the enchiladas.
8. Cover, and bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven.
9. Remove cover, and continue baking 15 minutes.
10. Top enchiladas with sour cream and green onions to serve.

Spicy Asian Slaw

1 bag of shredded green cabbage
1/2 bag of shredded carrots
TJs "old fashioned" extra crunchy peanuts (sweet & crunchy)
1/2 C raisins (I've made it w/ Craisins and it's yummy too)
Asian Style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette

Toss and add dressing to taste.
*adjust to 1/2 or 1/4 for 1 person

This would also be an awesome cold/hot pasta salad. I would sub cabbage with a a thick egg spaghetti noodle, add cooked/bbq'd chicken, then toss with other ingredients (add diced chives? minus raisins?)

Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salad

1 Bag TJs Roasted Corn, defrosted
2 cans TJs Black cans, drained and rinsed
1 Red Bell pepper, diced
TJs cilantro dressing (some like El Torito better); Balsamic might be good too.

Place veggies in blow and then add dressing to taste.

Optional: Add diced tomatoes and/or diced avocados

Would be a great side dish with either a Citrus Chicken or any BBQ

Asian Broccoli Slaw

TJ Organic Broccoli Slaw
Asian Style Spicy Peanut Vinagigrette
50% less salt Cashew pieces

Mix & Enjoy

Sundried Tomato Chicken by E. Seaton

1. pound chicken breast to thin
2. fill with sundried tomato pesto (TJ's has a *great* one)
3. fresh spinach
4. feta cheese (ricotta might be good too!)
5. roll & secure with a tooth pick
6. sprinkle breadcrumbs on top (i like "italian" flavored)
7. bake uncovered in foil lined pyrex @ 350 degrees for one hour.

T&T Grilled Cheese by M. Lazaro

*Sandwich bread
*Honey Roasted Turkey from TJs
*Havarti Cheese
*Fresh sliced tomato
*Garlic salt

Butter 1 side of each bread slice
Add 1 slice of cheese on the non-buttered)/each side
Add 1 slice of turkey to each side
Place sliced tomato in the middle
Sandwich together, place on grill/pan on med-hi heat
Once cheese starts to melt, press down with spatula, sprinkle garlic salt on top, let it cook another 30 seconds then flip. Repeat & Serve.

Serve w/ tomato soup for a dinner meal.

Quick Mex - by J. McGuckin

1 package of the cooked bell Pepper sausage sliced and heated or browned
3 pepper salsa in a jar
Shredded cheddar
Cooked rice
Mix salsa and sausage and serve over rice and top with cheese

Pizza/bread appetizer- by J. McGuckin

One package of fresh herbed pizza dough
½ container of lemon artichoke pesto
Fresh parmesan
Roll out dough and top with pesto and cheese and bake about 12-15 min at 425.

Chicken Cacciatore - by J. McGuckin

4 chicken breasts (uncooked)
Salt and pepper
4 slices of provolone
1 jar cacciatore sauce
1 can Sliced olives
Put chicken in 8x8 and season top with cheese slice, pour sauce over and top with olives and bake @350 for 45-60 minutes, and serve over pasta or mashed potatoes

Fancy Mac and Cheese - by J. McGuckin

2 boxes of white cheddar Mac and cheese made per directions (or 2 of their frozen Mac and cheese containers)
1 carton of fresh bruschetta
1 lb cooked sweet Italian sausage browned and crumbled

Mix all together, one of my kids favorites

Carrot ginger soup in a box - by J. McGuckin

½ jar yellow curry sauce in jar
1 package of Thai lime rice (in vacuumed sealed bag)
Cooked chicken
Fresh cilantro
Mix all and heat and then top with cilantro

Easy Soups - by J. McGuckin

Tomato red bell pepper soup in a box (not the low sodium)
Dollop of cilantro roasted pecan dip (near all the hummus)

Heat soup and stir in dip..yummy and easy

Mango Meatballs – by J. McGuckin

1 package of frozen mini meatballs
1 jar mango chutney
Cooked white rice

Brown meatballs and simmer with chutney until heated and serve over rice with peas

3 Bean Salad –by C. Kemp

• 1 can of 3 bean salad ( in the bean section)
• 1 carton of their cut up carrots, celery and onion mix in the veggie section
• The bag of cooked lentils in the veggie section
• TJ's Balsamic Vinegar salad dressing
• Feta Cheese
  

*Add can of bean salad (drained a little)add the carrots and celery (no onions)add some lentils
Balsamic Vinegar to taste top with feta cheese

Trader Joes Co-Op July/August

Snacks
· Sweet Potato Chips
· Snap Pea Chips
· Cinammon graham crackers
· Fruit leather - kids LOVE them
· Freeze-dried Stawberries
· Organic box of lollipops - small & easy treat & relatively healthy - great flavors
· Refried beans - salsa style - easy & kids love them
· Red pepper hummus
· Mediterranean hummus w/ their pita chips.
· Triple cream blue cheese
· Manchego Cheese
· Apricot Stilton Cheese
· Sundried tomato pesto - by hummus - *really* good on a chicken dish
· Roasted tomato salsa with their blue corn chips
· Unsalted white corn tortilla chips
· Corn Salsa “tomato-less”
· Mini PB or cheese sandwich crackers - kids fav
· Righteous Rounds – (hard) chocolate chip cookies but loaded with fruits *and* veggies (kids can’t even tell)

Breakfast
· Bluberry waffles, easy and good for the kids
· Cinammon raisin bread
· Honey o's (cereal) - so good with fresh fruit!
· Pecan praline granola - divine on any yogurt
· Mini cranberry/orange scones - soooo good with a cup of coffee!
· TJs Oats & Flax instant oatmeal
· TJs French Roast Coffee - wins "family taste tests" all the time
· Chocolate Croissants – frozen
· Creamy Yogurts - TJ brand - comes vanilla/blueberry; banana/strawberry – top with their pecan and praline granola!

Bread
· Truly handmade tortillas (multiple sizes!)
· Rosemary bread with a carton of the fresh bruscetta
· Garlic + cheese croutons - a staple for all of our salads!
· Mini pita pockets – kids think it’s fun to stuff them w/ sweet & salty things. (watch out though, they are fresh and can go bad fast!)

Side Dishes
· Sweet Potato Fries - frozen
· Chipolte Fries (if you like spicy) - frozen
· Pork pot stickers - freezer section (great appetizer for above meals) serve with their Gyoza Sauce
· Tomato-less salsa (looks like corn salsa - divine!)
· Boxed Mushroom Risotto - alone = great side dish OR add favorite sautéed Italian veggies (and/or sausage) and you've got a full meal
* Fried rice w/ veggies - frozen

Salads
· Pear Gorgonzola vinegrette dressing.
· Pasadena Salad - amazing and 200 calories; easily serves 2
· BBQ Chicken Salad

Main Courses
· Steak kabobs - think FILET on a stick (2 for less than $6!); we marinated them in TJs Soyaki for 3 hours and served with baby broccoli and crimini mushrooms. – Melissa
· Korean BBQ - SO easy and delicious - melt in your mouth meat- serves four, serve w/ rice.
· Maui style BBQ ribs; serve with white rice and fresh pineapple.
· Frozen Chicken Taquitos - (clear top) - yum
· Frozen Mac N Cheese (slice up tomatoes, add and serve)
· Frozen Spinach Pizza (my kids love this; loads of spinach)
· Frozen Enchiladas - spicy, so "no" for kids w/ sensitive tongues.
· Frozen Tamales - you can microwave but taste SO much better steamed.
· Frozen Teryaki chicken
· Organic vege chili in a can, great on top of rice or with cornbread, easy and great!
· Organic lentil soup in a can, my kids love it and so good for you.
· Pizza bread (in the bread section), already cooked, put pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and any topping you like, so easy and really tasty.
· Chicken pesto wraps, in the fresh deli section (aaron loves these)
· Pad Thai noodles in a red box (just add water),$2.00 and a great easy lunch
· Frozen black bean and cheese taquitos dip them into there salsa verde mixed with light sour cream – Christen
· Mandarin orange chicken (loved by all!) Great with the broccoli florets (steamed) & their microwavable brown rice - freezer section
· Frozen Ham & Gruyere Cheese - in pizza section but much thinner - chartuse colored box. bake as directed, let cool, poor a bag of varietal lettuce on top, sliced parmesan cheese and a dash of balsamic vinegrette - yum! great quick dish to serve @ a luncheon, w/ friends or in my case for *me* for lunch.
· Frozen Baked Eggplant Parmesan -one of my kid's favorite. set aside any hesitations re: eggplant. serve w/ pasta and red sauce.
· Make-your-own “orange chicken" NOT fried - season chicken & saute in TJ's mandarin orange sauce (in glass jar) - sauce aisle; serve with the broccoli florets & brown rice
Desserts
· Brownie truffle mix, make them as the box says and they are awesome!
· Soy vanilla ice cream , with great taste half the fat
· Mini Peanut Butter Cups - great for a sweet & tiny treat after dinner...these would be killer atop Elizabeth's chocolate peanut butter cupcakes.
· Frozen Apple Tart - really thin
· Mini Mint Mouthfuls (ice cream sandwiches)
· Strawberry Frozen Floes (popsicles)
· Strawberry flavored licorice bites - candy section - SO yummy & again, not too terrible for "dessert"

Drinks
· Organic strawberry lemonade, in the juice section
· Blood Orange Italian Soda
· Sparkling lemonade - a few flavors
· Charles Shaw Merlot wine & Hansens Lime Soda (ratio: 1/3 wine, 2/3 soda = “tinto de verano”)