Quick dinner ideas from Costco or Trader Joe's

[Anonymous]

I like the frozen meatballs for quick meals. Also the rack of lamb (not the preseasoned one) is great. Roast it in the oven for 25 minutes with some olive oil, salt, and pepper.

[Anonymous]

I agree, surprised so many are suggesting prepackaged crap. You don't need to go to TJs for most of it. These kinds of foods are readily available in most frozen food aisles.

You'd think so, right? But I swear, a lot of the prepackaged TJ stuff tastes like restaurant quality, or sometimes homemade. I'm a convert. I made the mistake once of picking up similar items at the Giant and I was sorely disappointed. Most of it wound up in the trash--no one would eat it!

At TJs, we like:
frozen pastas (penne and gnocchi); buy 2 bags and serve with bagged salad and bread
frozen turkey meatballs (put frozen in a pot of sauce; they thaw as the sauce heats)
for bread, get the par baked ficelle loaves and freeze; pop in the oven frozen to that/finish baking
frozen chicken tenders (serve with brown rice and a frozen veggie)
frozen orange chicken (not the healthiest, but tasty; serve with brown rice)
refrigerated pesto served over pasta with some thawed cooked shrimp tossed in to warm through
refrigerated carne asada warmed up & served in tortillas (their flour tortillas are the bomb!)
pizza--dough is in the refrigeration case, their mozzarella & pizza sauces are good & cheap. Toss on some pre cut veggies.
there is also a frozen side I love--maybe "rustic potatoes"? Sliced potatoes with garlic, mushrooms, and green beans. Totally yummy.

[Anonymous]

Costco Favorites:

Fry up three frozen salmon burgers, chop down to bite size in the pan with the spatula, toss with cooked farfalle and however much Costco pesto you like. My kids love this.

Put a Costco pork shoulder (two to a pack- you can freeze the other one) into a slow cooker with some Kirkland Dried Minced Onion, and a little apple juice if you have It. Do this in the morning and at dinnertime you can shred it with a fork and dump some Anna Mae Smoky barbecue sauce on it.

The chicken tikka in the refrigerated section is really good served with the naan bread from the bread tables. Roast frozen green beans with butter and garlic powder to go on the side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not the healthiest meal, but once in awhile we make the frozen Gyoza pot stickers from TJ's. Stir fry in olive oil with a large amount of broccoli. Mix with some soyaki sauce (or just use the sauce for dipping). Serve with brown rice if you need to make it stretch for a bigger family.

seems healthy enough for me

[Anonymous]

The frozen stuffed salmon from. Costco do I need to defrost or can I bake it frozen, if so at what temp Nd for how long.

[Anonymous]

Let's not forget that all TJ's food is GMO free. Cannot say that about most other supermarket packaged foods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This will probably get flamed, but I love the Costco pot roast. It's in the refrigerated section and comes in a box. It lasts for about a month, so it's great to have on hand. You cook it in the microwave for 20 minutes and it's ready. I usually make green beans and mashed potatoes with it.
It's the only thing I use my microwave for.

Love it, too!

Oh this is great to know, thanks.

[Anonymous]

I like the kale/cabbage salad bag mix (cranberries and poppy seed dressing) and put rotisserie chicken on top. This is good for lunch too.

If the salad is starting to wilt, I will stir fry it. For a meal, I'll add two eggs, cooked over medium, put some sirracha and sesame oil on top. I'll eat this for breakfast or dinner.

[Anonymous]

I've been making a currently nameless spicy veggie salad, all ingredients from TJs.

Make a sauce from:
- low sodium soy sauce
- sriracha
- sesame oil
- little bit of brown sugar
- crushed red pepper flakes
- dried ground ginger
- bit of peanut butter

- toss veggies in a hot pan (I choose corn, zucchini, thinly sliced carrots, green onions)
- toss with the sauce blend for a minute
- boil tri-color pasta (or whole wheat pasta)
- chop a bunch of romaine
- mix with pasta, and stir-fried veggie mix

eat semi-warm when cooked, but makes for a great cool-summer spicy pasta salad, no re-heating necessary for leftovers. Just chop some fresh romaine, and mix with the pasta/veggie blend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like TJ's precooked lentils and beets, both in the veg section. Dump those on a bed of lettuce with any other chopped up veggies you like, add feta or goat cheese crumbles, and top with olive oil/vinegar or whatever salad dressing you like. I eat this for dinner and lunch when DH is traveling. I also like TJs fish nuggets. If your oven preheats quickly, you can have dinner on the table in 20 minutes. Get a back of the broccoli slaw, a pack of corn tortillas, and the cilantro dressing (veg section), and you have some tasty fish tacos. I also think the BBQ pulled chicken in the refrigerated section is really good (a little spicy). That plus the broccoli slaw on rolls is dinner sometimes.

I like the lentils on salad idea!

[Anonymous]

The refrigerated pre-cooked lemon chicken breasts
grilled or sauteed crunchy asparagus
mini red potatoes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I should add I was at the TJ in Bethesda on Wisconsin. Small, dirty, overcrowded and simply annoying. Are there better TJs out there ? OP, just realized I may have offended ou. Sorry, just had to vent. Why do people like TJs so much?

I would have to see pics before I believe this. Trader Joe's is always sparkling clean.

NP here: Nope, not the Bethesda one. I swore to never go again.

Agree that the Bethesda one is a cesspool. I've seen roaches there and there always seems to be rotten food/produce out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's not forget that all TJ's food is GMO free. Cannot say that about most other supermarket packaged foods.

No, it's not. TJ's claims their own label is GMO free but not other labels sold in their store. TJs also sells meat with antibiotics and will continue to do so.

I have lost all respect for this store. They give the illusion that they are healthy and organic but except for a few non-processed items, the stuff they sell is basically junk. And since they refuse to disclose the names of their suppliers or any supplier provided verification that the stuff they sell is organic, gmo and/or antibiotic free, no one can verify their claims.

I love their coffee and cheese but don't buy a whole lot of other things from there.

The fact that they are owned by Aldi makes me distrust them even more,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been making a currently nameless spicy veggie salad, all ingredients from TJs.

Make a sauce from:
- low sodium soy sauce
- sriracha
- sesame oil
- little bit of brown sugar
- crushed red pepper flakes
- dried ground ginger
- bit of peanut butter

- toss veggies in a hot pan (I choose corn, zucchini, thinly sliced carrots, green onions)
- toss with the sauce blend for a minute
- boil tri-color pasta (or whole wheat pasta)
- chop a bunch of romaine
- mix with pasta, and stir-fried veggie mix

eat semi-warm when cooked, but makes for a great cool-summer spicy pasta salad, no re-heating necessary for leftovers. Just chop some fresh romaine, and mix with the pasta/veggie blend.

Sounds good, thanks for posting this.

[Anonymous]

Costco sells roast duck in the refrigerated section that you reheat in the oven for 20 minutes and eat. Certainly not healthy food, but quick and oh so good.
Love, love, love the TJ simmer sauces, especially green curry, I try to have always some on hand to use with leftover chicken. Serve with white or brown rice or rice noodles. No reason why it wouldn't work with quinoa, but personally I haven't tried.

Regarding all the sodium in prepared food - it does not even come close to restaurant food. Yesterday DH and I went to a French restaurant for a date night, and while the food was delicious, we were both very aware how much butter and salt went into that taste.