We got home from our 10-day trip and the fridge was empty so we stocked up at Trader Joe’s. Sometimes I get bored with shopping there but then I have dinner at someone else’s house and all the ingredients are from Trader Joe’s! Then I’m like, “That is a great store,” and “I’ve never even seen that there!”
There was a TON of organic produce! It was even a sunny day in Seattle. For lunch I picked up stuff for turkey sandwiches with sliced goat cheese and a side salad with mixed greens and beets. For dinner I went for one of our go-to’s with a twist: Gluten-free pesto pasta with veggies and meat. This time I added fresh tomatoes, fresh lemon juice and fresh basil. The grocery list for this recipe is at the bottom of this post. Pick up this pesto in the refrigerated section:
A shortcut I love, is to use the boiling water twice. First drop in some chopped green beans or broccolini (both available in “organic” at Trader Joe’s). Scoop them out after a few minutes to soften them and keep the boiling water to cook the pasta. I use this cool Chinese strainer spoon I found in an Asian Grocery store. I bet Williams Sonoma or Cost Plus World Market has them too.
This is a great traditional pasta alternative.
Add in chopped tomatoes, some pesto (3 tablespoons), fresh chopped basil (10 leaves), fresh lemon juice (2 lemons), olive oil (a few tablespoons), salt and we tossed in some chopped up chicken sausage that we cooked separately. Use the salt to bring out the flavors instead of adding more pesto for flavor.
My favorite part of shopping at Trader Joe’s is that you can get flowers for dinner too. I heart peonies!
…and a little dessert…
Grocery List:
- pesto
- basil
- tomatoes
- lemons
- green beans or broccolini
- organic brown rice pasta
- olive oil & salt
- chicken sausage or any meat of your choice…or not!
What is a new Trader Joe’s item you’ve been introduced to? What are your Trader Joe’s staples? What is one of your go-to/easy weekday meals?
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.