What is your favorite Trader Joe's stuff.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

So excited that we finally got a Trader Joe's in my city.
Well not exactly in my city but close enough.

Yesterday I went hoping to stock up on the $2 Chuck wine and Pumpkin soup.
Well Pumpkin soup is all gone and won't be back until next year and they
had NO $2 Chuck! Said they didn't get the truck due to the snow.
I guess everything comes from up North. I see I'm going to have to
stockpile my favorites.

Which makes me want to know, what are your favorites?
I know you guys have lots of Trader Joe's experience all these years.
What should I definitely be buying that I've probably walked right by.
Be gentle with me as I am almost a TJ's Virgin.

So far I love the "unexpected" Cheddar. I love cheese.

What else should I add to my must have list?

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

My kids love the shockingly expensive goat-cheese medallions. The medallions come in a little net bag in the cheese area.

I like the mango tea for iced tea in the summer. I just use a couple plus plain tea to flavor a whole pitcher.

Their dried fruit is the best! The slab apricots (these are the tart, flat California apricots, not the sweeter, plumper Turkish ones) are fab! Dried apples. Nuts are also good--little bags of almonds to take in your lunch--I think they call them Just a Handful of Almonds.

When they have them, the watermelons are good (not the tiny ones, but the regular large round seedless ones). And the nectarines they get at the end of the summer, when every other store has yucky mealy nectarines, are great.

The frozen fruit and frozen vegetables are the best. Blueberries, mango, raspberries, petite peas, spinach, brussels sprouts, green beans--all really good.

We buy tons of the small frozen quiches for lunches, too. They heat well in microwaves.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Just remembered something! They have packages of bacon scraps, near the regular bacon. These are GREAT for making soup or anything where you're using a little bit of bacon for flavoring.

Also, their frozen desserts--everybody likes the mochi, and their raspberry tart is great and really nice to have on hand for guests. The lemon bars are ridiculously tiny. The package that says ten lemon bars has got to be kidding. In real-world sizes, that's four lemon bars...possibly two. But they're good.

Couple of things that TJs does not do well:
Coffee. I still haven't found any that's good; it all tastes weak to me. But I drink very strong NYC-style coffee. You probably drink very strong Miami-style coffee! Let me know if you find anything good.

Baked goods. The bread's heavy, the pies and cakes are bland. Always disappointed.

Oh, I forgot the thing we like so much that we can't buy it anymore! The pecan pralines. OMG, so good. SO GOOD. Save yourself!

[mav Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mav]

Gluten free chocolate cupcakes. They are to die for!!

[grest Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close grest]

The pumpkin cranberry scone mix...yummy!

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

I am not allowed to go there. I am banned. My wife said if I ever go there again she will throw me out along with everything else I buy from there. BTW I love there Australian Licorice

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

Well the Mint Marshmallow dark chocolate thingies I bought are delicious.
I'm gonna have a major tummy ache later cause I ate about 6 already.

Thanks for the tips already.
Keep 'em coming.

And Frank why does your wife hate TJ's?

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

\

And Frank why does your wife hate TJ's?

She does not hate it she just banned me from going there. I was like a kid in a toy store when I went there. I bought and wanted everything in sight

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

She does not hate it she just banned me from going there. I was like a kid in a toy store when I went there. I bought and wanted everything in sight

Oh, so you were spending ALL your allowance in the candy store?
Speaking of Candy, they have these awesome mango candies.
I bought some last time but couldn't find them this time.
Soooooooo delicious.

I think we have a stepchild TJ's down here.
They don't seem to have all the goodies I've noticed out west and in the NE.
Hopefully it will improve.
Or maybe people are just buying everything in sight.

[StressCadet Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close StressCadet]

Milk Chocolate covered peanut butter pretzels. Trust me.

[StressCadet Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close StressCadet]

I am not allowed to go there. I am banned. My wife said if I ever go there again she will throw me out along with everything else I buy from there. BTW I love there Australian Licorice

Poor Frank

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

I love Trader Joe's ginger cookies.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Here are some of our favorites. I'm sure there are others that are as good or better, but we haven't found them yet.

1. Chicken gyozu (freezer section). Wonderful appetizers with any Asian dish. My standard Saturday is Nissan ramen with two or three added gyozu.

2. Mandarin orange chicken.

3. Seafood blend (freezer section)

4. BBQ pork buns. We have a steamer, and they are superb when steamed. Not worth it unless you have a steamer.

5. mini-meatballs. An easy meal on a busy evening is to simmer them in a marinara sauce and serve with spaghetti. Or pit them in a crock pot, add some TJs Kansas City BBQ sauce, and serve as meatball appetizer.

6. Enchilada sauce. Unlike most enchilada sauces, this has a stronger chili powder base. Which makes it useful in a variety of other applications where you want a sauce that is more chili-based.

7. The simmer sauces. Take your pick.

8. Arugula and tomato pizza. Wonderful and easy dinner for two. TJ's arugula pizza, a nice tossed green salad with vinaigrette, a bottle of pinot noir, some candlelight ... need I say more???

9. Root chips.

10. Mochi and Australian licorice. I stopped buying these. A 50% fatality rate between RJs and the freezer home was an unacceptable loss rate.

11. Rosemary and olive bread.

****

I could go on with more. It's a dangerous place for me. If DW didn't like so much what I brought home, I would be in the same situation as Frank.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Oh, yeah! I forgot all the Asian food. We buy all that stuff from Asian supermarkets, but if you don't have those, then the TJ's stuff is very good. It's just more expensive at TJ's than at our regular grocery stores.

Also, I love the Australian licorice, but go easy on it. It's super-strong! Years ago I ate like six or eight pieces and I was having heart palpitations. I think it can increase your blood pressure. I stopped buying it...

Those ginger cookes are darned good, too. They're yet another thing I can't buy anymore. Steve is right about the mochi, too. We usually have a 100 percent fatality rate between TJ's and home, and we only live about five minutes from TJ's. And the TJ's mochi are better than the mochi we get at Asian supermarkets. The wrappers have that nice soft, chewy consistency.

[Kay H Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Kay H]

Oh, yeah!

Also, I love the Australian licorice, but go easy on it.heart palpitations. I think it can increase your blood pressure. I stopped buying it...

.

A few yrs ago when I was 1st treated for high blood pressure, the NP asked me if I eat licorice. When I told her no, she said that was good because it raises blood pressure.