Trader Joe's Products (2002–2011)

[Pierogi]

The latest obsession from TJ's is from the freezer case “Trader Joe’s Wild Mushroom & Black Truffle Flatbread with Mozzarella Cheese”. About $4.99 and to FREAKIN’ die for………

You can really taste the truffle and it blends perfectly with the wild 'shrooms and the cheese. I had it for a light entree, but it would certainly work for an appetizer, or as a nibble for a cocktail party, cut into small pieces.

It was WONDERFUL. Nice crisp crust too.

[LindsayAnn]

Their Frozen Macaroni and Cheese is to die for. I am/was always a Stoffers Mac and Cheese girl (the red box), but the trader Joes is just as good, if not BETTER. YUM. Cheesy, buttery, so rich

[Kim Shook]

I have to disagree about the TJ puff pastry. I have totally switched to that - it's all butter and I find it very tender and flaky and never have had any trouble with it not rising. I haven't bought it yet, but they were sampling a frozen bay scallop, mushroom dish with a creamy sauce. I was almost afraid to try it ! But I girded my loins and tried a bite and was amazed. The sauce wasn't overly salty, the scallops were firm and sweet and not 'fishy' at all. Can't comment on the mushrooms since I am a fungophobe, but I was impressed. We'll be buying this.

[Special K]

The latest obsession from TJ's is from the freezer case “Trader Joe’s Wild Mushroom & Black Truffle Flatbread with Mozzarella Cheese”. About $4.99 and to FREAKIN’ die for………

Ohhh, maaaaan, you are so right! Thank you!

I think.

[OliverB]

Yikes! I think we may shop at the same Trader Joes.

corner of Treat and Oak Grove in Concord.

I forgot to mention their simmer sauces that come in glasses. Some very good Indian style, Italian, etc. I embellish them a bit with extra onions and curry powder if I have time and I usually fry the chicken first to brown it a bit, but even without that they make a nice quick meal. Add the curry naan bread and you're done.

I'll be back there tomorrow, looking for some of the recommended frozen things in this thread!

[OliverB]

forgot to mention the frozen artichoke hearts, they're also quite good and cut down on prep time tremendously. I like to roast them in a pan, maybe a squeeze of lime or lemon juice or some nice vinegar, s&p. But they can be used for all kinds of things. I love artichokes, and don't mind cleaning them, but if I want a whole lot of them this is an excusable shortcut IMO. And I find them better than pickled or otherwise preserved hearts, much more versatile.

[Karystos]

I really like a lot of what Trader Joe has to offer. It is one of the easiest places in my area to find nitrite free meats; bacon is a good example- both the Trader Joe and Niman Ranch uncured bacon are excellent. I also think the frozen Greek pizza (Olympia I think maybe it is called) is a tasty nosh, and they have a decent selection of wines at competitive price-points. That having been said, I think their "raw" meats are good but their prepared stuff is really hit and miss. Some of their pre-made stuff can taste "over prepared" and a little "chemical-y" . . . as an example, I bought some pre marinated (always a risky choice and I should have known better) chicken carne asada, which when I took it home and cooked it, was fairly acidic and almost inedible.

In general, I think Trader Joe's is a good, (often thrifty) option for finding healthy and interesting stuff otherwise not available to people in many parts of the country who might not have access to specialty food shops.

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

Yikes! I think we may shop at the same Trader Joes.

corner of Treat and Oak Grove in Concord.

I forgot to mention their simmer sauces that come in glasses. Some very good Indian style, Italian, etc. I embellish them a bit with extra onions and curry powder if I have time and I usually fry the chicken first to brown it a bit, but even without that they make a nice quick meal. Add the curry naan bread and you're done.

Yup, that's exactly the same one I shop at.

I'm familiar with the simmer sauces... I miss the Cuban Mojito one they used to carry. It was awesome with pork.

[OliverB]

funny, hello Neighbor!

I just bought some chicken chile verde burritos this week - meh, bland and boring w/o some Mexican hot pepper sauce IMO. I won't get those again. I did pick up those chocolate croissants and will make them this Sunday if I remember to defrost them the night before. Also got the party meat balls, they're good and the kids like them. And meatballs is something I'll probably never make myself.

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

The party meatballs are popular at our house... most often served with mushroom gravy over rice.

[John Rosevear]

The Chicken Tikka Masala tastes disturbingly like a curry I often make ("disturbingly" because making mine is a 2-3 hour process involving lots of toasting and grinding of spices and whatnot). It's very good; my only complaint was that portions were a bit skimpy.

[LuckyGirl]

I hate to break the news to the folks who like TJ's puff pastry but I was told by my local store that TJ's has discontinued it.

My girlfriend has told me how much she liked the product and a while back I had some hors d'oeuvres that she put together using it and was impressed.

I walked up and down the frozen food aisle yesterday at TJ's looking for it to no avail. When I asked about it the store manager looked in his order book and told me it had been discontinued. Boo.

As far as the topic goes-

I keep TJ's mac & cheese in the freezer for when my nieces and nephews are here. They all love it and say that it's "the best". I like it too once in a while.

I rarely (like 3 or 4 times a year) eat frozen meals but I occasionally have a taste for TJ's eggplant parm. They sell two different ones. Both are good but the one in the non-clear packaging is super good, like almost as good as my M-I-L's, like so good that I wouldn't go to the trouble of making it from scratch for myself I would buy theirs.

I have a weird "thing" for frozen mixed vegetables and TJ's are the best. The corn in their mixed veggies is crazy sweet white corn. I wish they included lima beans in the mix but, such is life.

I've had a few of their pizzas over the years and the one that stands out as worthwhile is the Alsacian pizza that's been mentioned on this thread.

[Pierogi]

I have decided that TJ's sour cream is simply the best available in SoCal, unless you have an in at a dairy. I used to be a huge fan of Daisy.....but TJ's is head and shoulders beyond it. It's TANGY, it actually tastes like something, and doesn't break down into a watery goop. I will go to TJ's solely for the sour cream, although I usually get many, many other things there as well. All of their dairy, actually, is excellent, as are their prices for it. The Greek-style yogurt has been thoroughly discussed in another thread, and is great. Their milk is a steal, as is their own branded butter. The heavy cream in the little plastic bottles is the best I've found. But the sour cream is like the sour cream of my childhood. I could eat it plain, by the spoonful.

[Pierogi]

I hate to break the news to the folks who like TJ's puff pastry but I was told by my local store that TJ's has discontinued it.

My girlfriend has told me how much she liked the product and a while back I had some hors d'oeuvres that she put together using it and was impressed.

I walked up and down the frozen food aisle yesterday at TJ's looking for it to no avail. When I asked about it the store manager looked in his order book and told me it had been discontinued. Boo.

....I have a weird "thing" for frozen mixed vegetables and TJ's are the best. The corn in their mixed veggies is crazy sweet white corn. I wish they included lima beans in the mix but, such is life....

Hmmmmmm, I asked about the puff pastry probably 3 months ago, and was told it was a "seasonal" product, and they'd be bringing it back around the holidays. I'd keep checking, your guy may have been mis-informed, or maybe it's regional.

If your TJ's carry it, try their frozen roasted corn kernals. They are amazing. Honestly tastes as though you roasted an ear yourself.

[Pierogi]

Run. Do not walk.

Trader Joe's Maple Leaf Cookies.

OMG.

A deceptively simple little maple-ly sandwich cookie double-stuffed with a vanilla cream filling. There are only 15 cookies in a box which can be a curse (because you want to eat more) and be a blessing, too (because you want to eat more...but shouldn't).

Any other fans of this cookie out there?

DAY-UM.

Those are good cookies.

Day-um.

[Toliver]

Run. Do not walk.

Trader Joe's Maple Leaf Cookies.

OMG.

A deceptively simple little maple-ly sandwich cookie double-stuffed with a vanilla cream filling. There are only 15 cookies in a box which can be a curse (because you want to eat more) and be a blessing, too (because you want to eat more...but shouldn't).

Any other fans of this cookie out there?

DAY-UM.

Those are good cookies.

Day-um.

Welcome to the fan club!

[OliverB]

I just finished a bag of puffed rice balls with sesame and sea weed from their snack isle, I think it's something new. TJ branded and I thought quite good. The kids love them too, but that's probably to be expected :-)

[LindsayAnn]

I just finished a bag of puffed rice balls with sesame and sea weed from their snack isle, I think it's something new. TJ branded and I thought quite good. The kids love them too, but that's probably to be expected :-)

I got those a few weeks ago! They're still here (I have soo many snack type foods it takes a while to get through them all). But they are opened and about 1/4 eaten. I agree, they're good. Smaller little circles than cheese balls, same airy texture/crunch, salty and yummy with a slightly seaweed taste. Nice light snack!

[OliverB]

I love the frozen fire roasted corn, but I seem to be alone with that love in my family. Oh well, more for me! We just made those chocolate croissants (thanks for a spell checker!) for the first time this Sunday morning, they really are quite good! I'd probably put slightly sweeter and nuttier chocolate in there myself, but FWIW they are really good. Fun too, as you could not fit a single one of them into the small box that 4 came out of.

They also have at least at times a frozen seafood mix that's great for pasta or pizza.

[LindaK]

Mostly I shop at Trader Joe's for staples, such as nuts, canola oil, canned beans, canned tomatoes (a good buy, especially the fire roasted tomatoes), and frozen things like the mango, berries, or edamame. The dijon mustard is good too, if you like it hot.

But I have a few favorite items that I haven't seen mentioned here. I've never been a snack person, but I love their pita chips with sea salt--not too salty, not greasy, better flavor and half the price of the brand I used to buy at Whole Foods. The other item that's become a staple in my freezer is the tandoori naan. Really good. Though the directions say to heat them in the oven, they reheat perfectly on the stove top in a nonstick skillet in only a few minutes. Among other things, I use them to make quick flatbread pizzas for friends' kids when they are over--and for myself as a quick lunch or late snack.

[heidih]

I will agree with the naan- if we are talking about the fresh ones by the bread. The garlic and the curry are both great bases. I also think their mini toasts are a great bargain. They are super crispy and I put them out with all cheeses, spreads, and dips. Sgtored in a zip lock bag they maintain crunch for some time. They also had the cheapest fresh cranberries this season at $1.99 versus $2.50 or more at most places.

[BeeZee]

snack-y things called something like "seriously seedy/nutty" - they are packed 9 in a plastic shell, cello wrap/red label. Crunchy layer of nuts and seeds bound lightly with a glaze, backed with a disc of rice paper. Crunchy and addictive.

[melissafitz]

i was just extolling the wonders of their candy cane joe-joes. like ben & jerry's mint choco cookie ice cream w/o the brain freeze. and their frozen hors d'oevres are quite tasty -- better than some passed hors i've had at many a cocktail party.

[LindaK]

I will agree with the naan- if we are talking about the fresh ones by the bread. The garlic and the curry are both great bases. I also think their mini toasts are a great bargain. They are super crispy and I put them out with all cheeses, spreads, and dips. Sgtored in a zip lock bag they maintain crunch for some time. They also had the cheapest fresh cranberries this season at $1.99 versus $2.50 or more at most places.

I was referring to the frozen naan, but will look for the fresh version in the bread section and give it a try. Thus far I've not been impressed with anything from their fresh bread section, so haven't browsed there in a while.

The mini toasts, like many of their crackers, are a great buy, I agree.

[Kim Shook]

We had two different flatbread pizzas this week - the mushroom & cheese and the ham & caramelized onion. Both were very good - but the ham was the best. And we were VERY happy to see the chocolate covered peppermint Joe-Joes back. Mr. Kim bought 8 boxes ! I was, however, very sad to learn that they don't sell their all butter frozen puff pastry anymore. It was so much better than Pepperidge Farm and I will not pay the insane WF price for it. So it's back to Pep Farm, I guess !