Carrot Ginger Cake with Brown Butter Icing
Welcome to another edition of "Tracy uses her cellphone for a blog post!"
Mission: Make a tasty cake for girl's night in an hour or less.
Picture this. I spent the day waiting for Casey's work to let him know if he had to fly out for work that night (which meant I would miss Glee with the girls) or the next morning (I could go to Glee with the girls!). If I could go, I'd have to bring dessert for the 5 of us. If not, then I'd sit at home watching it by my lonesome. This waffling back and forth happened ALL. DAY. LONG. And finally, at 5pm (1 1/2 hours before I was supposed to be at my friend's house) I got the green light that I COULD GO! Flight was booked for the next morning! Awesome.
So with an hour to whip something up, I enlisted the help of Cooper to make this little cake. I pulled a box of Trader Joe's Deep Dark Gingerbread Cake Mix from the pantry and added a few ingredients and tada! We have a Carrot Gingerbread Cake. The cake was moist & spicy and the Brown Butter Icing was STELLAR. The girls loved it, just as much as Glee! You might need to think of Coach Beast to help you cool off from eating a slice....but a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream just might do the trick! ;)
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My current fave Trader Joe’s dessert
Let me introduce you to what I've been eating for dessert for the past two months. Two months? Yes you heard that correctly. I'm totally obsessed. It's a combo of Nonfat Plain Frozen Yogurt with a few small scoops of Mango Tangerine Sorbet. Both items come from the freezer/dessert section of Trader Joe's. The combination is totally swoon-worthy.
I love the light creaminess of the plain/tart frozen yogurt and the tangy citrus-y sweetness of the mango tangerine sorbet. My taste buds love it and I think yours might too! Tangy, tart & sweet! I've been known to throw a few raspberries in the mix, but mostly I just eat a scoop or two of each flavor in a little bowl. It's EXTREMELY low in fat too, so you won't feel super guilty if you put extra scoops in your bowl. I hope your nearest Trader Joe's stocks these items because you are in for a real treat if you can get your hands on some!
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Trader Joe’s Brownies
I'm pleased to announce that Trader Joe's Truffle Brownie Mix is kickass. There's bits of chocolate chips in every bite!
I made a batch last night for our weekly Project Runway girls night and they were a hit! I ate two brownies before I even left my house. *slaps wrist* That's why I brought a *plate* of them to my friend's house.... No evidence of the ugly gouged corners.
Just follow the instructions (add 2 eggs and a stick of butter). And then be a rebel like me and add an Andre-the-Giant sized handful of chopped pecans/walnuts/what-have you. Do it. Do it.
And then save yourself a little corner piece to have with your morning coffee....because it was such a wonderful way to start a gloomy rainy today. Imagine living in a world where brownies for breakfast was the norm...
30 days of Trader Joe’s
Phew! That was a quite a project I got myself into! I just wanted to thank all of you who stopped by & commented. You kept me going! It makes me thrilled to hear from other Trader Joe's lovers out there! And thanks to you, I have some new items from Trader Joe's in my pantry right now! Thanks for the recommendations!! I'll let you know how it goes.
For those of you who wondered if I will be continuing this----FEAR NOT, I will be posting more Trader Joe's Favorites/Concoctions. The frequency might not be as great....but for now my goal is to post a few items/favs per week! So look out!
Thanks once again! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
-Tracy
Mediterranean Couscous
Favorite Trader Joe's Item #30: Couscous
Cook couscous according to directions.
I doubled the recipe so that we could have leftovers for the next few days.
Let's begin with the recipe......
Chop 1 red onion:
Drain & rinse 1 can of garbanzo beans:
Chop up some little tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes (half of the TJ's jar), two handfuls of basil, 2 lemons & 1 jar of marinated artichokes:
Open 1 package of crumbled feta:
Mix those ingredients with the Cous-Cous.
Make sure to add some Extra-Virgin Olive Oil.
Squeeze the lemons on top & mix. Add salt & pepper to taste.
Serve in a bowl:
Dig in with a fork or spoon:
It's pretty good with grilled sausage on top:
Now you have a tasty meal & a few leftovers to last you a few days. The end.
Creamy Mushroom Soup
Favorite Trader Joe's Concoction: Creamy Mushroom Soup
Ever have one of those nights where you come home from the grocery store with SOOO many potential dinner options and you can't think of what you REALLY want to make/eat? And then all of a sudden you make something that you had no intention of making when you bought your groceries? That's what happened Tuesday night.
I bought mushrooms on Tuesday. I LOVE mushrooms. Husband-not so much. But he's been eating mushrooms in stuff lately....so I figured I should go full force and make some mushroom soup. Baptism by fire anyone?
Over the summer I read Ruth Reichl's Comfort Me with Apples: More Adventures at the Table (fabulous book btw). I whipped out her recipe for mushroom soup from the book because it sounded so damn good....This makes about 4 bowls worth. Maybe less... I lost count because I was in a mushroom soup coma.
Here are the 'shrooms I used along with the whipping cream (don't be a hater!) and Beef Broth Concentrate from Trader Joe's (totally easy/excellent!)
Here's your ingredients:
- 10 oz. sliced mushrooms (I used crimini for this soup)
- 1/2 stick butter (you can cut that in half if you are feeling chubby)
- 1 small onion diced
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup of beef broth (I used 1 packet of the TJ's condensed beef broth mixed with 1 cup water)
- 2 cups half & half (I used 1 3/4 cup whole milk mixed with 1/4 cup whipping cream)
- Salt & Pepper to taste (I added a lot)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Trader Joe's Black Truffle Oil (when in Rome-right?)
Melt butter over medium heat in a heavy saucepan. When foam subsides, add onion and sautee until golden. Add mushrooms and sautee those babies until brown.
Here's me sauteeing some mushrooms. They're not brown enough yet:
Stir in flour to coat the mushrooms. Then slowly stir in broth. Heat half and half/milk on the stove or in the microwave and slowly add to pot. Add the nutmeg & bay leaf. Stir thoroughly to ensure that everything is incorporated. Simmer on low for ten minutes (do not boil). Add salt & pepper to taste.
I was thinking a little red wine or brandy would be good mixed in. I'll have to try that next time!
Pour into your bowl & top the soup with little splashes of the Black Truffle Oil and more Salt & Pepper.
Put a spoon in and moan. You will. I promise.
The only thing that I didn't like about this soup was that there were no leftovers!
Wasabi Tamari Almonds
Favorite Trader Joe's Item # 28: Wasabi Tamari Almonds
Have you noticed that I'm a HUGE fan of almonds?? They are my favorite nut ever!
I eat them by the handful....
Sometimes I put them in little bowls to prevent an out-right binge.
But not that often! Perfectly spicy! Perfect snack food! I'll covet these... until my next TJ's run...where I'll buy more!
Chicken Gyoza Potstickers
Favorite Trader Joe's Item #27: Chicken Gyoza Potstickers:
(they come in an all veggie kind too)
I like to keep these in the freezer. On nights when I'm feeling super lazy and the husband needs to be fed, I can easily whip something out to the table.
I like the pan fry them & serve them with a dipping sauce.
Sunday night I was feeling really anti-social and didn't want to face crowds of people in the supermarket. So, I looked in the fridge and found some ingredients to make us some soup.
By the way...another main contributor to this soup is Trader Joe's Shredded Carrots:
I like to use these when I make my Vietnamese chicken salad- but that's a whole other post.....
I digress... Here's your ingredient list:
- Chicken Gyoza Potstickers (the more the merrier, I think)
- 2 large handfuls of Shredded Carrots
- 4 green onions chopped (both white & green parts)
- 2 big splashes of Soy Sauce
- 1 32oz container of chicken stock or veggie stock
- a few pieces of sliced ginger
Pour entire container of chicken stock in soup pot. Add half of the green onions & all of the sliced ginger. The more ginger, the spicier it is. I used about two thin slices for the entire pot. Let that simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the carrots, soy sauce, and the pot stickers to the soup. Bring the soup to a slow boil (10 minutes).
Finish off the soup with the rest of your Green Onions....Add some pepper & more soy sauce if you need some more kick.....
Tada! This recipe makes about 4-5 servings
I think bits of fresh Baby Spinach would go well in this soup too! If only I had that the other night... Next time!
