Trader Joes Must Haves! and some not so must haves...

I love Trader Joe's, with all its unique products.
Recently I saw a pin on Pinterest that sparked my desire to make a little trip. The pinner listed her favorite Trader Joe's items and why they are so good. I tried some of hers and stocked up on my own favorites. Now I want to share them with you!

I'll start with my 'all time' favorites. Items I always buy when I go to Trader Joe's. 

First are these Just Mango's.  I love dried fruit in its natural form. Not soaked and coated with sugar. These mango slices are dried with nothing added to them. Their natural sweetness and soft texture make them a wonderful treat. I do have a tendency to eat the whole bag though. There are 4.5 servings in each bag and one serving is 3 points.

My other dried fruit favorite are their Dried Pineapple (pictured above) that are just pineapple rings with nothing else added. They are chewy and delicious, but seasonal. You can usually find them starting in the spring.

These are good if you love coconut. How could they not be really. I must admit though that my favorite candy at Trader Joe's are the Chocolate covered Fleur de Sel Caramels. They were out on my visit but it is a staple product and you have not lived until you try them!!

Don't let the name fool you. Soy and Flaxseed Tortilla chips are delish! They are a bit thicker than regular tortilla chips so they are perfect for scooping mango salsa or bean dip. They also come in a spicy version that is OK. I like the plain and pair them with Costco's Mango salsa or the Peach Mango salsa at Trader Joe's. Yummy!

Leeks, a favorite? Well, if you like to make soup in the winter you know that many recipes call for leeks. I don't know how many leek bundles I have bought only to use one leek and the rest gets wasted. I never thought to slice and freeze them. With this bag of frozen leek slices you will always have them 'on hand' and I got about 3 pots of different kinds of soup from one bag.

Now on to a luxury item!  Haha. I admit that I bought this pizza because I watch Top Chef and see them use  Black Truffles in recipes. I always wanted to try them, but knew that I would never spend the money. I was so excited when I saw this Mushroom and Black Truffle Flatbread. I do love mushrooms and it was my chance to try Black Truffles. This flatbread pizza does have a rich wonderful flavor. You can tell that there are some really good ingredients in this product. For only $4.49 it is a great way to try Black Truffles. 

My sister Andrea told me about this wonderful salad dressing. It is rich with a bit of sweetness and light Gorgonzola cheese flavor. So good on spinach salad with candied almonds. Champagne Pear Vinaigrette

These snack sticks are amazing. If you love Apple Jacks cereal, you will love these! They are light crunchy little tubes of deliciousness! Lightly sweetened with a light cinnamon flavor. A fun little snack.

Now for the items I won't waste my money on again.

These are good and would be good in soup instead of oyster crackers. Although, the gorgonzola cheese flavor is not strong enough, they are just OK.

These chocolate bars were recommended by another shopper at Trader Joe's on my trip. I even bought a whole jar of Cookie Butter, (pictured in the top pic) but I don't get it. I bought the cookie butter with pieces of cookie in it. I didn't like it and couldn't think of a use for it. I love gingerbread cookies and this spread is like gingerbread spread, but weirdly thick and too sweet. I didn't like it in the candy bar either. 

The Caramel Milk Chocolate bar was good, but nothing special.

Yuck, and I love sweet potato's.

These were a few others from the other pinners post.

I did love the Kefir, like drinking yogurt. I will buy this again, it just happened to be in the photo.

The Carrot / Orange Juice I won't buy again just because I now know that I don't like carrot juice. No offense Joe.

The Mac and Cheese I bought because of the other Must Have list. It, of course, was delicious as is almost all Mac and Cheese. I try to stay away from Mac and Cheese, it is a trigger food.

Squishers, yummy, so my kids say...

Kettle Corn Cookies, too crunchy and the popcorn stuck in my teeth. My kids did not like these cookies.

So there is my list. A bit jumbled, sorry for that. I didn't plan the photos well enough. I will continue my search for delicious products at Trader Joe's. I know there are so many more.

Please share your favorites here in the comments section! 

Cleaning out the Closet once and for all! Well, 'til spring or fall...

We tend to accumulate lots of extra clothing that distracts us from what there is to wear. Don't we all feel that we have 'nothing to wear' from time to time?  Well twice a year or at least every couple of years we need to clean out the closet and take stock of what we really have. It is best to do this twice a year. 
When I clean out my closet, I take a day, get everything out of my closet, within reason and get rid of what I didn't wear over the winter or summer depending on the current season. 
First, if you are going say, from winter to spring, I pack up what I did wear over winter and get out my spring/summer clothes. 
For the items that are a bit too small, (but I plan to get into before that season is past), I think an under the bed bin is good. I want to be able to pull it out and check to see what fits when I do get on program. :)

I read an article in a fashion magazine a few years ago about how to clean out your closet and always have just the clothes you wear at your fingertips, I can list the rules.

1.Take everything out and pile it on the bed or where ever.

2. Put on your shaper or whatever you where under dressy items to try on what you haven't been wearing.

3. As you go through each piece, one by one, as yourself three questions. 

• Do I wear this? 
• Do I love it? 
• Do I need it?

Party Cheese Tortas; Pesto, Cheddar, Pineapple

Isn't it great to have a signature dish? One that is easy to make and you also love. Mine is primarily the Pesto Torta. It is nice to have a couple other cheese spreads. I will give you my base recipe and the variations that I have tried.

 

Pesto Cheese Torta (or a variation from below)

You Are My Sunshine Lyrics Wall Art (Subway Art)

'You Are My Sunshine', My mother was looking for some wall art with the lyrics to this song.  

A few years ago she started traveling back to her family reunions every couple of years. At the reunion the whole family sings this song together.
She found a similar sign in a catalog, but what fun is ordering one online when you can make one?... 

Hmmm, well, it sounded fun before I started. This was a challenge, but, I actually did enjoy it and would make another one if I were so inspired.  :)

How to Throw a Cookie Swap / Cookie Exchange Party

Cookie Swap / Cookie Exchange Party

Everyone loves a cookie swap! You bake a bunch and go home with a variety to share with your family and friends. It is one of the easiest parties to throw. Here's how:

The Best Carrot Cake Ever! Cream Cheese Frosting too, So Easy!!

This is the best carrot cake recipe ever! 

Just the right amount of spice, lots of texture, not oily and Oh, the fluffy cream cheese frosting!!! 

Cake:

2 C. Sugar
4 Eggs
3/4 C. Vegetable Oil
2 C. Flour
2 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Vanilla
3 C. Grated Carrots
1/2 C. Chopped Nuts ( I use Walnuts )

Frosting:

2 8-oz package Cream Cheese, softened
1 C. Butter (2 sticks)
4 C. Powdered Sugar
Lemon Juice or Milk (if it's too thick)

Instead of a Gift Bag, Give Reusable Containers!

I love gift bags, they are too easy, but usually get wasted.

For a recent Cookie Swap, we wanted to come up with a cute way to collect all the cookies for each person into something reusable. We went to the dollar store first. Found these cute little bins, they are about 6" tall and wide. We also bought color tissue paper that coordinates with the bin colors. Then on to the craft store and found these thin wooden hearts. My idea was to paint the hearts with chalkboard paint, it comes in cans and a spray paint.

That way your recipient can reuse the bin and label it however they want. I think it would be great in the mudroom or entry closet labelled 'gloves' or in the media area labeled 'CD's' or whatever your need. Could be for anything that will fit in the container you choose.