I usually don't pay much attention to Trader Joe's Fried Rice. Sure, I've tried a few of the more recent additions to the lineup, like the the Bulgogi Beef Fried Rice and the Korean Japchae Fried Rice. But for the most part, it's a home food for us, cooked from leftover rice. Until this week,…
Trader Joe's has come up with some pretty solid heat and eat holiday-ish entrees over the last few years. This year's entree (or one of, we'll see) is Braised Pork Shoulder with Fig and Apricot Sauce. The box shows nice uniform slices (which seems more like loin than shoulder to me), but ok. At $7.99…
If you make kalua pork on the regular, I don't think you'll be particularly impressed with Trader Joe's Kalua Pork Spring Rolls. I mean, they're fine. Not great, not bad, just...fine. The air fryer crisps them up really well...but mostly they made me wish Trader Joe's would go back to carrying standard spring rolls.
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Trader Joe's Apple Cider Marinated Pork Loin is a great way to welcome fall. I only regret that I didn't grab a jar of applesauce or the pineapple fruit spread. Because while it has cinnamon, cloves, and other spices in the marinade, this is definitely a savory pork roast. I ended up using a little…
Looking for an alternative to that Christmas ham or prime rib? It might not be your nonna's recipe, but Trader Joe's makes it super simple to put a reasonably sized porchetta on your holiday table.
An Italian Christmas tradition, porchetta is typically made with pork loin and/or pork belly with the rind on to…
The grill was once my husband's domain. I blame the fact that the button for the starter on our gas grill broke a couple of years ago and I really didn't want to risk sticking the lighter into the slot to start it. Maybe it *was* dangerous, but it was also a convenient excuse to not…
Ramen has officially gone mainstream. Target is offering “premium ramen” under its Archer Farms brand in four varieties – pork, beef brisket, mushroom and chicken teriyaki. {Record scratch} Chicken Teriyaki?! The new offerings use “ramen” as an Asian noodle soup catch-all and actually include rice noodles along with the ramen and udon options. If you…
Good Chinese takeout is one of those things you take for granted if you live in a big city. Sweet and sour pork, almond chicken and beef and broccoli are just a phone call away. Move out to the 'burbs and you may only have one or two choices, including Panda Express. Luckily, there's Serious…
Stir-fried dishes get all the glory for being quick to prepare. If you're working with tofu or chicken or just doing a quick vegetable side, it lives up to the hype. But bring noodles into the equation, as you would for chow mein, and your quick fix dinner goes out the window -- if you're…
The main attraction for tacos is the filling.
And when it comes to fillings, it pays to be equal opportunity. Who doesn’t love a good carnitas taco with a little onion, cilantro and green salsa? Grilled chicken with a little pico or al pastor with grilled pineapple and green onion. I’m good with all of it. Gringo tacos with ground beef and Alton Brown’s Taco Potion #19? It’s in regular rotation. Even a vegetarian version with lentils and whizzed up cauliflower, yeah, why not? Where I draw the line, and this might surprise you, is at tofu.