Chimichurri Tomatoes

Well, I've been slacking for the past few weeks, haven't been posting at all, but I'm back in the game. I've been going through one of those phases where I haven't felt inspired to cook - so we've been eating lots of pasta and a variety of Trader Joe's frozen foods....mixed with an occasional "breakfast for dinner" and an occasional pizza or Burger King run (please don't tell anyone!). Anyway, I finally made a nice dinner last night: Salsa Chicken (recipe to follow), couscous, and my Chimichurri tomatoes and it tasted so good. Here are the recipes:

Chimichurri Roasted Tomatoes
- 1 big container TJ's mini pearl tomatoes
- 2-3 TBL TJ's Chimichurri sauce

Heat oven-proof saute pan over medium high heat, add Chimichurri sauce. Once slightly warmed, add tomatoes and stir until coated with oil. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Put in 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or 375 degree oven for 15-20 until tomatoes are roasted through. (Note: when I made these, the sauce that wasn't stuck to the tomatoes cooked and got crispy on the bottom of the pan - yummy! So, when I served them I mixed the tomatoes with this additional crispy sauce from the bottom of the pan).

Trader Joe's Favorites

Well, its Thursday morning and I actually have a moment to myself. My oldest is at preschool and my youngest is napping - I feel almost human, freshly showered, sipping my coffee, without any small people trying to climb my chair or demanding a snack 15 minutes after breakfast has ended.

Anyway, if you haven't figured it out already, I'm a huge fan of Trader Joe's. When we moved out here to Cali last year and before I had any friends, my weekly grocery shopping trip at TJ's was probably the highlight of the week. Now I have friends and a routine and a second child, and shopping there usually involves taking the baby in the backpack, the toddler in the cart, and an arsenal of snacks. Nevertheless, I still enjoy shopping there, trying new products, dreaming up ways to cook with their products, and of course, eating their food.

Here is my list of Trader Joe's favorites by section:

-Produce section: Goddess Dressing. When we have this salad dressing in the fridge, I pretty much find any and every excuse to have a salad. I've also mixed a little bit into pasta sauce (per TJ's suggestion) and its amazing. Also good on sandwiches or as a dip.

-Sauce section: Red Curry sauce, Punjab sauce (both are great with a bag of their frozen veggies served over brown rice)

-Prepared Foods/Deli/Cheese section: Potroast, Pork Carnitas, Any of their pizza doughs, Chimichurri Sauce

-Frozen foods: Mandarin Chicken (chicken pieces with yummy chinese orange sauce), Balsamic Vegetables

-Bread section: Flat bread, whole wheat tortillas, focaccia buns

Anyway, I'll post some of my recipes soon!

here i am

Hi, I'm a stay at home mom. I love food and cooking. I love to eat and cook and shop at Trader Joe's and dream up yummy dinners that don't take a lot of work or time. Today, though, on this special day of my first blog posting, I reached an all time low of scary lunches. Started with pita and hummus (so far so good), then some spagghettio-s (leftovers, needed to be eaten or thrown out, and somebody had to do it), a diet coke, and 3 handfuls of m&m's. Aaaah, yes, I am soo gourmet! More riveting tales of great meals to follow...