Trader Joe's | Best of

I have become OBSESSED with Trader Joe's! I probably do 40, if not 50% of my shopping there now. We live about 30 minutes away from one, which is a bit far, but it's right along the route to Dave's work.

The shop is tiny, and always packed! So it's a bit chaotic to shop there. But the employees are always SO SO SO friendly, their prices are incredibly cheap, and they have lots of unique items that you can't get any where else.

This list may be long, but here are my current items that I feel like I can't live without from TJs;

This stuff is amazing! And if I am remembering right, it's only $3.99. It has made my skin incredibly soft. I am so in love!

We eat this stuff everyday! A must have in the fridge. I buy two at a time. And at $2.99, much much cheaper thank any other pico I have found. Perfect for quick omelettes, and with how much Mexican food we cook up, this is the perfect topping. So good! 

They have a huge selection of cheese and sometimes $1.00 or more cheaper than I can find at other stores! The goats cheese in particular, is Dave's favorite. So good in omelettes, or spread across chicken with veggies, and I think $1.50 than what I found at Wegmans! Amazing prices. So helpful when we go through it so fast!

There nuts are also super affordable! Make sure to get some of their coconut cashews. YUM!

Another must have thing to always have in the freezer. Super quick and easy dinner! And I think they are only like $4.99! I top them with a chipotle mayo (mayo mixed with chipotle seasoning), cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and guac. Yum!

Another great, dinner in a pinch. Can't remember prices, but I know these were very cheap! And yummy! Sometimes you just need to be lazy and want something you can just throw in the microwave and shove in your face, am I right? This is it. And for a "TV dinner" it's fairly low cal, only 270 calories. No complaints there! Although it is salty, but that is no surprise. 

Another super cheap, must have item. I use this in so many ways (maybe more on that in another post), and really, is it just me or is their packaging just so cute?

This is just one of like 4 or 5 options that they have, but we are so obsessed with these juice smoothies. And they are only $2.99! Incredible price! The only one we do not like it the mango one. It's too thick, and according to the ingredients, it has cornstarch added to it. What? Ew, gross. But all the rest have pretty great ingredients. By far the cheapest yummy juices around that money can buy! 

Only $2.69! So yummy! Dave usually does not like pink lemonade but we both guzzled up this stuff! So good!

And the best for last. I am so obsessed with these! Ice cream sandwiches have always been my weakness. As a kid, I loved to get them from those ice cream freezers at the gas station, my go to item any time the ice cream truck swung into town. But these. Oh these are heaven. Truly sublime as they say! 

Pesto Zoodles

We have become rather obsessed in our house with zoodles = zucchini noodles! I considered buying a spiralizer for a long time, and finally decided to buy one off Amazon. Since I wasn't sure I would like it, I just bought a small, cheap one. But we love it so much! I certainly recommend on getting a bigger one that is a bit more heavy duty (like spiraling sweet potatoes! Next on my, to try list!).

For my first time trying out zoodles, I was really pleased at how easy and yummy they are. I have made many different dishes now using the spiralizer that I can't wait to share. I have always been pasta obsessed, but after trying pasta this way, I can honestly tell you that I would be okay never have normal noodles ever again! That really is shocking for me to say! But it's true! 

I can't say that this dish is exactly healthy, but certainly healthier than if it was just made with noodles! 

What you will need;

Zucchini (about 2 per person)
1 pint Cherry Tomatoes, roasted (or store bought sun dried tomatoes) 
Pesto (I am on the hunt for a good homemade version. Store bought will do for now!)
Chicken Breast (1 per person)
Olive Oil (about 2 tbs)
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 teaspoon Rosemary (optional)
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese (optional)


First you will need to spiralize your zucchini. The one I bought provided pretty clear directions and was quick and easy to use.

Now if you are pinched for time, or just feel lazy (I'm not judging!) you can substitute sundried tomatoes. But roasting your own tomatoes is really pretty easy, and so yummy! Just chop your cherry tomatoes in half, coat lightly in olive oil, and roast in the oven for about 15 minutes, at 400 degrees, tossing them about half way through.

Next, begin cooking your chicken breast. I like to follow TheKitchn.com's easy directions for moist and tender BSCB. 

Once your chicken is fully cooked, add the heavy cream, pesto, and rosemary to the same pan. Simmer on low for about 5 minutes while the sauce thickens up. Lastly, add the Parmesan and zoodles to the same pan with the chicken and sauce, tossing your zoodles in the sauce. Simmer on low, about another 3-5 minutes. 

Serve topped with roasted tomatoes, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Yum! 

So easy! And a big hit with everyone who I have served it to! 

Enjoy! 


adapted from Closet Cooking

Quick & Healthy Greek Chicken - 30 Minute Meal

This has become one of our favorite recipes as of late. Inspired by delicious gyros, this meal is easy to throw together, ready in 30 minutes or less, yummy and healthy, making it the perfect light summer meal. 

What you need;
(measurements for 2 people)

4-5 Chicken breasts
1 tablespoon Greek or Italian Seasoning (they have fairly similar ingredients)
1 tablespoon olive oil (enough to coat pan) 
Approx. 1/4 cup Tzatziki 
Approx. 2 tablespoons Feta Cheese (I like less, Bear likes more!)
1 Tomato
1/2 Cucumber

I love these Perdue brand chicken breasts that are all fairly thin and can be cooked without needing to be deforested. Bonus! I do really love to make this recipe with lamb as well. We are lamb obsessed! But obviously I don't always have that on hand, and it's quite a bit more expensive. 

Heat pan over medium high heat with olive oil, Once the pan is hot I add the frozen breasts and top them with the seasoning I have on hand. I allow each side to cook about 8 minutes and then turn the heat down to low, and cover, cooking for another 5 minutes until chicken is fully cooked.

While the chicken is cooking I prep my toppings. 

You can certainly make your homemade tzatziki which is really quite easy. Here is a link to a great healthy recipe. While it's not quite as healthy I do have a bottle of the stuff in the fridge. Makes the meal much easier when I am making it last minute and am feeling lazy or am crunched for time! Bear loves to use it as a dipping sauce when snacking on veggies. He can eat that stuff by the spoonful!

I then slice up my veggies.

Our chicken should be ready by this time. I like to give it a minute to rest, as I don't like it to heat up my toppings too much, but that's just my preference. 

Spread a little of the sauce, top with veggies, and finally, cheese.

Can be served with fresh pita bread or a greek salad (click here for a crazy quick and healthy greek salad recipe that pairs perfectly with this!) 

And there you have it! 

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Coconut Macarons

Dave and I have been reading Wheat Belly. I'm not 100% sold on the diet, I love bread too much! We are such foodies, it makes it so hard! But we are trying to cut most wheat out and just eat as clean as possible. If you have tried it before let me know! 

We picked up the Wheat Belly cookbook which provided lots of great info. It advised getting coconut flour and almond meal. I finally managed to find some organic coconut flour from Trader Joe's (and for crazy cheap) and found a few recipes on the back of the bag. One was for some coconut macaroons, something I had been craving! 

These were really easy to make and a huge hit at our house. They were devoured! They are a bit more on the cakey side then the macaroons I used to make, and I might tweak and repost the recipe. But for my family, the cakey texture was great as my family (besides Dave and I) don't like shredded coconut at all, so they really loved these! Really easy to whip together! They do have a lot of sugar and butter, so I might try to find a healthier substitute, but here it is for now!

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut flour
2 cups shredded sweetened coconut* 
(optional) 3 oz (6 squares) dark chocolate** 
(optional) 1 teaspoon coconut oil

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Mix together butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Stir in salt, flour and coconut until combined.
- Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out macarons onto a greased pan. 
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
- (optional) Microwave dark chocolate and coconut oil in 25 second increments until melted, stirring after each time. Drizzle over macaroons. 

You can certainly enjoy these without the chocolate, but the chocolate is a must for me! Especially when it's dark chocolate! I add the coconut oil to thin out the chocolate to make it easy to drizzle. You could also use butter or shortening if you don't have coconut oil on hand.  
Makes about 2 dozen
Adapted from Trader Joe's

*Shredded coconut is a great item for gluten free diets, but cross contamination can be possible in manufacturing, Just be sure to check the label if you are particularly sensitive.
**Some chocolate is not gluten free, again, just check the label. The dark chocolate I bought was organic, gluten free from Trader Joe's 

Enjoy!

Perfect Summer Mint Limeade

Early in the days of dating and young love, Dave and I came across delightful, made on the spot Mint Limeade at the Downtown SLC Farmer Market. Since it was a bit of a drive to the market (and now it's really quite the drive to that market) we've figured out our own recipe for the wonderfully refreshing Mint Limeade. I may have shared this recipe before, but I feel that it still needed some tweaking. Now, I am quite happy with where it's at, so here it is! It's really quite easy and the perfect summer beverage. 

What you will need;

8-10 limes, juiced
1 bunch fresh mint
3/4 sugar
2 quarts water 

What to do;

Fill up your pitcher with water, and sugar. Whisk in sugar until dissolved.

Now the most difficult part of this recipe is juicing the limes. Often times they are beasts to juice by hand. You could throw them in an electric juicer, but, at least with my juicer, I have to peel them first, so no thanks. So my trick is to first slice all the limes in half, and throw them all in the microwave for 15 seconds. Sounds weird, I know, but this will make them a bit softer and easier to juice so you can get more juice out of them. My favorite tool is a hand press juicer which you can usually get from any store for about $10. Worth it! Obviously add the lime juice to your pitcher and stir together.

If you don't have something to help with juicing and don't feel like you got much juice out by hand, just put the halved limes in with the water and all other ingredients and just let it all marinade for 2-4 hours. I often will do this at the start of dinner when I am feeling too lazy to juice the limes and then the limeade is ready once I am all wrapped up with dinner! Easy peasy! 

This part might sound like a lot of work, but really it's not! And most importantly, don't just give up and use the pre-bottled nasty lime juice. I repeat. DO NOT USE NASTY BOTTLED LIME JUICE. That goes for the syrupy frozen stuff too. Just do it fresh my friends! Otherwise we can't be friends! 

Next, tear up the mint leaves, usually just tearing each mint leaf in two, you don't need to chop them up small or anything, and add that to the pitcher and stir a bit. The flavors are usually ready in about an hour. You can leave the mint and limes in the pitcher for up to 4 hours. I usually take out the mint and limes at about the four mark as it starts to get a little too strong, and the limes can start to break down and make it too acidic. 

Some people like it more sweet, some people like it more tart, that's up to you! But I promise, it will be wonderfully refreshing for a slow rock on the porch on a hot summer day! 

Enjoy!

Birthday Weekend

This past Sunday, the 31st was my birthday! It's a little crazy to think I am 40% of the way through my twenties. Often times I still think I am in my teens! At times I can't help but wonder, what have I done in that 40%? But I have had lots of fun, been on many adventures with my Bear, and am very blessed. And I know that there are plenty more fun times that lay ahead! I am excited to see what the remaining 60% of my twenties hold. Well, and beyond that, of course, haha.

Poor Dave has a new work schedule that has him working lots of grave shifts and has been pretty rough. So sadly I didn't get too see all that much of him this weekend. Boo. We will be going out for my birthday this week once he finally has some time off. Yay!

But I did have lots of fun time with my family. On Saturday we did some shopping and had lunch at Cafe Rio. I tried their coconut shrimp tacos for the first time. Pretty yummy! Too bad they aren't always on their menu. That evening I spent as much time with Bear as I could before he had to leave for work.

Sunday I went to church just for a bit, and then came back home to spend just a few hours with Dave before he had to head off to work again. I am so blessed to have him! He works so hard for us. At least we got to enjoy breakfast together!

The rest of the day my mom and I slaved away in the kitchen! It's been awhile since I spent some serious baking time in the kitchen, so it was lots of fun for me. My mom made a strawberry pie and helped me make my first ever coconut cream pie. All entirely from scratch! Thanks to my mom for all her help! 

When we were in Florida Dave and I have the yummiest coconut cream pie ever. We have hunted high and low in VA for a good replacement but we have had no luck! So I decided to just make one myself. I was little fearful about how it would turn out. But... You guys. Oh my word... It turned out Heavenly! I can't wait to share the recipe later this week!

We had some yummy shrimp tacos for dinner! The perfect summer dish!

Then for opening presents! My family gave me a Target gift card, a HUGE donut pool inflatable that I can't wait to use, some cute tops from Target, and a gift card to my favorite local bakery and cafe. Thanks family! 

Dave and I always give each other our gifts early, hahaha. But Dave ordered my a Gorilla pod (a flexible tripod) for my iPhone. I took it with us on our Florida trip and got this shot! Yay! 

He also got me a couple Funko Pops that I am OBSESSED with. Later this week we will trek our way to the mall that has Lush and I will get to spoil myself there! I'm a lucky girl! 

Oh and here is a crazy story from the other day! 

I was driving down a rather busy road where the speed limit is 45 mph (but of course everyone goes 50 or more) and I spot this cute little doggy making her way down the road. 

I shared the short version of the story on Instagram and Facebook but when I pulled over she was having a stare down with a big truck that had stopped for her that had been a ways behind me. A line of cars started growing as she zigzagged across the lanes, clearly not fearful of the cars at all. 

I was a little scared of being bit, but I finally managed to coax her into my arms and brought her into my car. Although she was little muddy and smelly, it had just been raining, she was very sweet and friendly and sat sweetly and calmly in my lap as I called the number on her tags. 

Her owner said he had come home for lunch and usually she just stays in the yard but she must have followed his car out to the road. He said she doesn't do it very often and is usually pretty good at staying in the yard. He told me were he lived, just at the end of a gravel road near where I found her and asked I just take her back to the yard. I took her home, but she kept jumping back into my care before I could close my door! Finally I got the door closed, but she ran behind my car, all the way out, straight into the road! 

I pulled over, called her name (which I learned from her tags) and she jumped right into the car. I took her back again to her and house and this time left her on the porch. But she wouldn't sit there long, playfully skipping and hopping after me back to my car. I drove down away again but couldn't see her following. I pulled out onto the main road and luckily didn't see her following out onto the road. But I wanted to be sure. So I pulled off a little ways down the road, and sure enough after a few minutes she came running out onto the road again! I collecting her into the car a third time and called the owner. He said he wasn't far from home now and just ended up meeting me at his house to take her! 

She was such a sweet little thing! I am so glad I was able to grab her before she got hurt. I really hope she doesn't have a habit of running out onto that busy road! I will probably drive by there more regularly just to be sure I don't see her again! I will certainly be worried about her for a while.

Anyways, thanks to all those you sent me birthday wishes! I am so grateful to have such wonderful family and friends in my life. xoxo

Easy Stir Fry

We have become stuck in a bit of a routine with our go to being carb-free fajita bowls which are super quick, easy and flavorful. No joke, we probably eat that 3 times a week. But we love it!

In trying to branch out a little more I decided to give a stir fry recipe a try. Near Dave's work there is a Hibachi restaurant we are hooked on, so I tried looking for recipes similar to that. Most recipes I found online were pretty much the same, and I ended up using a mix of the ones I found. 

It wasn't quite as good as what we get at the restaurant, the sauce came out a bit thin and not quite a glaze like I wanted, but I was still very pleased with how it turned out! It was so easy to throw together, yummy, and will easily become our new go to! So now at least we have two good, easy meals we can repeat all the time!

Now this is the not the healthy version. I am going to try out some other recipes with different sauces to try and make it as healthy as possible, and will share that update later! But for a first shot and a quick, easy meal, here's what I have;

What you will need;

For chicken;

4 large chicken breasts, chopped 

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon Olive oil 
(Most stir fry recipes call for butter or veggie oil 
but I feel like those stink up the house, so I always use olive oil!) 

2 tablespoons Soy sauce

1 teaspoon Lemon juice

For veggies;
Mixed veggies 
(peppers, onions, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms...) 

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon Olive oil 

2 tablespoons Soy sauce

1 teaspoon Lemon juice

For fried rice;
1 cup cooked rice
1 tablespoon olive oil 
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1/3 cup peas
1/3 cup chopped carrots
1/2 diced onion
2 eggs 

Heat 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan or wok over medium heat. Add chicken and soy sauce and lemon. Cook until almost fully cooked, then add veggies and remaining ingredients; sesame oil, olive oil, soy sauce and lemon juice. Cook until veggies are cooked through. 

Using the same pan, add oil and onion over medium high heat. Cook until translucent. Add rice, soy sauce, sesame oil, and carrots. After about 3 minutes, over medium heat, stirring occasionally, add eggs and peas, stirring frequently to scramble eggs. 

And you're done!

We topped ours with Sriracha and store bought Yum Yum sauce, which was better than I expected. Next time I will try making my own Yum Yum sauce as it seems pretty easy! 

Obviously you could leave out the rice and extra sauces, and just do lettuce wraps instead to make it a bit healthier and quicker! We will probably do that next time. As I learned you can just about throw any veggies into a stir fry, so it's the perfect way to use up veggies that are getting a little old in the fridge! Love it!

This recipe made enough for four meals, dinner that night and then lunch for each of us the next day, which is what I do with pretty much every meal we make. Makes it so much easier when Dave needs lunch for work! 

Do you have any stir fry tips? Let me know!

Happy Saturday! 

Chocolate Coconut Macaroons

Happy Tuesday every one! 

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend and are having a lovely week so far!

Today I decided to share one of my all time favorite recipes!

We had some friends over for dinner last week and I forgot to plan something for desert (I know, so shocking, so rare!) but when I saw a bag of shredded coconut in the pantry I figured I should whip these up. These are really quick and easy to make, and not only do they look impressive, they are so yummy!

Here's what you need; 

2/3 cup and 2 tbsp flour
1 (14 ounce) bag sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tsp salt
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 and ½ tsp almond or vanilla extract
1/2 cup  semi-sweet or dark chocolate, melted
1 tablespoon shortening 

Preheat oven to 325°F

Toss together flour, coconut and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir sweetened condensed milk and extract together into the coconut mixture until fully incorporated. 

Using a small cookie scooper, scoop the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake macaroons for about 15-20 minutes or until they begin to brown.

To melt the chocolate add the shortening to the chocolate and microwave on high in increments of 20 seconds until fully melted. The shortening helps ensure the chocolate is smooth and helps thin it out just a bit to aid in drizzling.

Once macaroons are cooled, dip the bottoms in melted chocolate, drizzling the tops with chocolate, and setting them on wax paper. Serve once the chocolate is hardened.

Sine I had only about 30 minutes till our guests arrived, I put the chocolate drizzled macaroons in the freezer for about 15 minutes to harden up the chocolate in time. Works like a charm! Just don't forget to pull them out so you don't have frozen macaroons! 

I promise, even people who don't like coconut will love these! Because I don't normally like coconut!

Adapted from Kin Community

The Perfect Sugar Cookie

In the seemingly short time of a year that I have lived outside of Utah, a new trend has began taking over; soda shops. An idea that, in my mind, just oozes Utah. These shops selling unique soda concoctions and assorted baked goods. Yup, just soda and baked goods. Only in Utah, right? 

I have yet to try any of these soda concoctions, but my lovely Aunt mailed some sugar cookies from The Slurp, all the way to us in Virginia. And since a 29 hour drive is a little long for cookies, the hunt for a copycat recipe began. Luckily my mom found one that is pretty much perfection.

So here, my friends, is a step by step for these easy, delightful cookies that I promise anyone and everyone will love.

Here's what you will need;

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature

3/4 cup vegetable Oil

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 eggs at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoon water

5 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter

In a large bowl, cream the butter, oil, both sugars, eggs, water, and vanilla together. 

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cream of tarter together. 

Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Stir until thoroughly mixed. The texture should be very soft and easily scooped with a medium or small sized ice cream scoop.

Drop balls of dough onto either a stone baking pan, or a foil lined baking sheet. Roll the bottom of a cup into granulated sugar and smash each cookie a bit. 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes. These cookies do not brown, and they are done when they poof up a bit in the center.

Butter Cream Frosting

1 cup butter softened

4-5 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp half and half or milk

Beat soft butter and powdered sugar together until smooth. Blend in vanilla and then just enough half and half to create the spreadable consistency you would like. Depending on humidity, you may or may not need to add extra powdered sugar as well. Tint frosting with food coloring as desired.

Adapted from this recipe from The Recipe Critic.

Enjoy!