Tag: frozen food (Page 1 of 6)

Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe Gnocchi Review

A solid – but not too solid – dish

I’m a fond of Trader Joe’s frozen gnocchi dishes and this Cacio e Pepe Gnocchi is no exception. The gnocchi were large, pillowy but with some weight in them – they really just that the perfect density. They come in a mild creamy cheesy sauce that is brightened by what you would swear is freshly ground pepper. If you like the flavor of black pepper, you’ll enjoy these.

The package should serve two if you add a salad. I cooked them according to instructions in the microwave, and that worked very well. It sells for $3.50

Trader Joe’s Mini Cheeseburgers Review

Microwave burgers suck, these are no better.

I don’t know that I need to say anything more about these Mini Cheeseburgers than what I wrote on the title: they suck. They don’t suck any more or less than any other microwaved burgers out there. Microwave is just awful for burgers, it makes them taste boiled. These ones taste exactly like the White Castle frozen burger you can get at the supermarket. At $4.50 for 3 burgers, they’re actually more expensive than the White Castle ones. Needless to say, I wouldn’t get them again.

Trader Joe’s Bambino Pizza Formaggio

Convenient but unremarkable

I found these Trader Giotto’s Bambino Pizza Formaggio – single-serve cheese pizzas – to be extremely generic as far as frozen pizzas go. They are fine, but there is nothing remarkable about it. My daughter liked them because she can easily cook them in the air fryer. And they’re the right size when you want a light meal. But otherwise, they’re unremarkable.

The package of four sells for $4.

Trader Joe’s Tortilla Española Review

A complete failure

The first trip Mike and I took after we were married was to Spain, and decades later I still hold fond memories of those amazing tortillas. They were cheap, filling and so delicious. I was thus pretty excited when I found this Tortilla Española at Trader Joe’s – only to become immediately disappointed after trying it.

The tortilla was too eggy and too dry – despite the fact that it did feel oily. The onions, if they were there, managed to provide no flavor whatsoever. It was just a dense, unappealing, flavorless mess. It may very well be that this is not a dish that freezes well and that its appeal is on it being freshly cooked. In any case, this should be avoided at all costs.

I threw out most of it. TJ’s sells this for $5.50.

Trader Joe’s Organic Cheese & Tomato Pizza Review

As generic as they come

Trader Joe’s Organic Cheese & Tomato Pizza is as generic a frozen pizza as you can imagine. It tastes just like every other frozen cheese pizza out there. The dough is on the thin side, so it was crispy even though I cooked it on a baking sheet. The sauce was inoffensive, the cheese a bit on the scant side. There was just nothing remarkable about it. My daughter liked it because she thought it tasted like cheeetos, but I definitely did not get that.

It’s made in Italy, which in this case is a minus – because if you’re going to ship something in an energy-guzzing frozen container all the way from Europe to California, it should be better than average. At $6, it was equivalent in price to supermarket pizzas when on sale.

In all, I wouldn’t get it again for myself, but my daughter might for herself.

Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken Review

My daughter is a huge fan of orange chicken with rice, and thus she had this frozen mandaron orange chicken when she saw it at Trader Joe’s. I’d gotten it in the past, though I tend to skew prepared food I can’t warm up in the microwave or the air fryer. You need to cook this in the oven or sautee it on the stovetop.

She wasn’t super fond of this, though I did overcook it. She thought it was fine, but not as good as what you can get in a restaurant. She wasn’t too sure she’d get it again.

The 22 oz package costs $5 and is enough for two meals. Rice is not included.

Signature Select Ultra Thin Crust Garlic Chicken Alfredo Pizza Review

Pretty tasty

I was surprised at how tasty this pizza was. I don’t usually like thin crust pizza, but it is a great way to save carbs. And this one is really ultra thin. The cheese and the alfredo sauce combined so that it looks like there is a lot of cheese. It was flavorful and loved the little bits of oregano. The caramelized onions provided the occasional burst of sweetness. The chicken didn’t contribute much more than protein. In all, I’d get it again.

Regular price is $7, but I got it on sale for $4.50

Trader Joe’s Family Style Meat Lasagna review

I still prefer Stouffers

Trader Joe’s Family style meat lasagna is not bad. It’s a perfect acceptable dinner for two, when you add a side salad. It says it should feed four – maybe if they are children and/or are eating a salad and some bread to fill up. It’s not overly cheesy, not overly saucy and particularly memorable, but it will do. Alas, it isn’t as good as Stouffers. It taste more home made and less commercial, but not as good. It’s just $7, so it does make for an affordable meal.

Trader Joe’s Linguine with Pesto & Tomatoes Review

Another failure

I like a lot of Trader Joe’s frozen pastas, but this one was a failure. The dish is pretty much what it sounds like: linguine with pesto and tomatoes – but the pesto just wasn’t very tasty, there wasn’t much of it, and I was thoroughly unimpressed. Adding Parmesan helped but not enough. I wouldn’t get it again

Trader Joe’s Chicken Shawarma Bowl Review

Disappointingly insipid

Shawarma, in both its lamb and chicken varieties, has become quite common in the US, as Arab/Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food trucks and restaurants have become popular. And putting foods traditionally wrapped in tortillas or breads into bowls has been a thing here for quite a while. It’s thus not surprising that Trader Joe’s would offer a frozen Chicken Shawarma Bowl. What is surprising is how flavorless it is. The bowl has rice, spiced chicken, red peppers, tiny pieces of spinach and pickled onions and is supposed to have a spicy garlic sauce. There is some spice into the dish, but very, very little flavor either in the individual ingredients or in the dish as a whole. It’s edible, but I definitely would not get it again.

« Older posts

© 2024 Marga's Food Blog

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑

RSS
Follow by Email
Pinterest
fb-share-icon
WhatsApp
FbMessenger