Category Archives: trader joes

Talapia with Lemon Pepper Butter

Posted in 30 minute meals, fish, SP friendly, Standard Process Friendly, trader joes, Weeknight Meal by

Ingredients

For fish…

2-3 fillets of Talapia

1/4 cup flour (I like cassava flour- gluten free and grain free)

A few shakes of lemon pepper and salt

For the sauce…

1/2 stick butter, softened

Zest of one lemon

1 T fresh Italian parsley, chopped

3/4 tsp lemon pepper

1/4 tsp sea salt (or to taste)

Process:

Prepare the sauce:

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add lemon zest, parsley, lemon pepper and sea salt and set aside.

Prepare the fish:

Place the flour in a dish with flat bottom such as a pie tin. Season the flour with salt and pepper.Dredge fish in flour mixture to coat both sides.

Heat a large skillet. Add 2 T olive oil to the pan and sauté fish 3-4 minutes per side or until fish is golden brown and crispy on outside and opaque inside.

Drizzle with pan sauce and serve immediately.

Blueberry Peach and Goat Cheese Tarts

Posted in dessert, entertaining, sweet treat, trader joes by

Blueberry Peach and Goat Cheese Tarts

  • Servings: 4-6

Tender crust enveloping juicy colorful fruit, a few dots of cheese, and not much else. Makes four or six depending on size.  Feel free to change out the fruit if you like.  I especially like the combination of these summertime fruits.

Dough

You can make your own crust but I love the convenience of using frozen pie crust (Trader Joe’s is my favorite).  It comes in a package of two.   I  make 4-6 tarts with one crust.

 

The Rest

4 tbsp ground almonds (I love almonds but if you don’t – or have an allergy – you can skip. They help absorb the juice of the fruit)
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 ripe peach OR nectarine (white or yellow is fine)
2 tbsp raw sugar, divided use
3-4 oz. goat cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp lemon thyme leaves – optional
1 egg yolk, whisked

Instructions

  1. Thaw the frozen dough according to package instructions.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Slice the peach or nectarine into 12 slices and set aside. Line two baking trays/jelly roll pans with parchment paper.
  3. Divide dough into 4-6 equal pieces and pat into discs.  Roll out to measure about 5-7 inches each.  They don’t need to be perfect circles.
  4. Dust each with ground almonds, if using.  Divide the berries and peach slices between the dough discs, dot with goat cheese crumbles and thyme leaves (if using).  Try to leave a good margin so that you can pull the edges of the dough up over the form a crumpled frame.
  5. Pull up the edges of the dough but leave most of the fruit showing, and gently pleat.  Rustic and homemade is good!
  6. Brush the dough with egg or milk and sprinkle sugar on the dough and fruit.  place the trays in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden.  Cover loosely with foil and bak for about 5 more minutes.
  7. Remove from the oven and cool slightly, and then place on individual dishes for serving.  Feel free to add vanilla ice cream or creme fraiche if you like.

Enjoy!

 

Favorite Salsa Verde Chicken

Posted in 30 minute meals, AP's Favorites, chicken, comfort food, main meal, mexican, trader joes by

This 30-Minute One-Pan Salsa Verde Chicken is perfect for a busy weeknight.  It’s healthy, tasty, and super easy.

This Salsa Verde Chicken needs only a few basic ingredients and a casserole dish.

I always keep a jar of my favorite salsa verde from Sprouts in my pantry.  Trader Joe’s has a yummy version too, but I prefer the Sprouts version as it has a little more kick (from Jalapenos).

You can use either bone-in chicken thighs (my favorite) or boneless skinless chicken thighs works too.

Perfect over rice, tortillas, or chips.

<

PREP TIME 10 minutes
COOK TIME 20-40 minutes
TOTAL TIME 30-40 minutes
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
  • 2 lbs.  chicken thighs (bone in or skinless & boneless)
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin’
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1 jar (16oz) salsa verde
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 T. olive oil
  • Garnish: fresh cilantro leaves and lime wedges
DIRECTIONS
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
  2. Wash and chop the garlic, onion and red pepper.
  3. Wash and towel dry the chicken and then season with salt, pepper, cumin and oregano. Lightly brush the top of each piece with olive oil and sprinkle with the minced garlic. Set aside.
  4. Pour the jar of salsa verde in a casserole dish.
  5. Place the chicken pieces in the casserole dish next and add the onion and peppers to the dish and position around the chicken pieces.
  6. Roast for 20-40 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. (Larger chicken pieces will take longer).  Do not overcook.
  7. Serve over rice (or with tortillas) and garnish with cilantro and lime.

Homemade Valentine Oreos

Posted in sweet treat, trader joes by

Want to create a sweet treat for your Valentine?  Try these.  You can make them two different ways.  I prefer the Ice Cream sandwich version but if you don’t have space in your freezer, the frosted kind are great too.

Homemade Oreos for your Valentine

Cookies:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the cookies:

Continue reading →

Cherry Berry Vanilla Almond Granola

Posted in breakfast, Snacks, trader joes, vegan by

DFTSI Cherry Berry Granola_1095

You can customize this granola according to your preferences by adding in any sort of dried fruit or using different nuts in the recipe. I stumbled upon this gluten free recipe by Michelle Palin ~ My Gluten-free Kitchen and it soon became my favorite.
I recently made 12 batches of it to include in Valentines Day Care Packages sent to our graduated NCL Ticktockers that are away at college.  Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 cups gluten-free oats (rolled or old-fashioned, NOT instant)
  • 1 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup unrefined coconut oil (or melted unsalted butter or oil of your choice)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 Tbsp. sugar
  • 4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut – optional (I like wide sliced coconut from Sprouts)
  • 1/2 cup dried fruit – optional (I like Dried Berry Medley from Trader Joe’s)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 300°.
  2. Line a jelly roll pan (about 10.5″x15.5″) with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick cooking spray.DFTSI Cherry Berry Granola_1078
  3. In a large bowl, use a spatula to stir together oats, almonds, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon.DFTSI Cherry Berry Granola_1073
  4. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter or oil, honey and sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium heat stirring constantly with a whisk to get the sugar to dissolve and the mixture to come together. Once it comes together and simmers about 30 seconds, remove from heat. Whisk in the pure vanilla extract.
  5. Pour the hot liquid mixture over the oat mixture in the bowl. Stir well with a large spatula or wooden spoon. Spread granola on prepared jelly roll pan. Bake at 300° until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Once or twice during the baking time, pull out and stir well and put back in for the remainder of the baking.DFTSI Cherry Berry Granola_1054
  6. Transfer pan to a rack; If you want to add in dried fruit, add it now. Cool granola completely. If you want smaller chunks, stir several times while it cools so that it doesn’t harden into large chunks. If you want to add in mini chocolate chips, add them now after it has cooled completely.DFTSI Cherry Berry Granola_1089-1
  7. When cooled, use your hands to break apart to the size you want and store in an airtight container.

by Michelle Palin ~ My Gluten-free Kitchen

Autumn Gingerbread Muffins

Posted in Bread, breads, dessert, holiday favorites, sweet treat, trader joes by

Celebrate Fall and the Holidays by serving these adorable gingerbread muffins. These molasses and ginger treats are easy to make and add a festive look to any table. Serve them alone or with lemon curd. Trader Joe’s offers a great gingerbread mix that makes serving these cuties a snap.

DFTSI Autumn Gingerbread Cakelets_6630-1

Autumn Gingerbread Cakelets

Yield: 16 Cakelets (144 calories each)

Ingredients
1 box Trader Joe’s Gingerbread Baking Mix
1 large egg
1/3 cup canola oil
¾ cup water

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Spray cakelet pan with Trader Joe’s Canola Oil spray and sprinkle lightly with a few pinches of flour.
  3. Combine egg, oil and water in a bowl and then add mix. Fold together gently until ingredients are moistened. (don’t over-stir as the cakelets will become more dense).
  4. Fill the molds of the cakelet pan no more than ¾ full to avoid overflow. I use a tablespoon and then spread mixture to level tops and fill corners of each shape. Tap the pan firmly a few times on countertop to remove air bubbles.
  5. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of a cakelet comes out clean.

DFTSI Autumn Gingerbread Cakelets_6621

  1. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes then invert onto a cooling rack.
  2. Serve with lemon curd if you wish.   Yummy!

DFTSI Autumn Gingerbread Cakelets_6631-1

Note: My cakelet pan is made by Nordic Ware.  Any muffin or cakelet pan works well too.