Thursday, February 23, 2017

Chicken Burrito Bowl

First, let me say right off, I have the flu.  It’s not the “throw up” type of flu, it is the fever, exhausted, and every inch of your body ache type of flu (it even hurt to COMB MY HAIR this morning…  Huh?)

Oh, I feel muuuuuch better than I felt yesterday, where I lie in bed ALL DAY and night long, freezing cold (with a fever) even though I was snuggled under the electric blanket.  I now have a super expensive ($117 after insurance???) prescription of TamiFlu to take (geez Louise, that works out to almost $12 per pill – I could buy 2 bottles of wine at Trader Joe’s for every pill I am taking!  Priorities, people…)

Not gonna lie...  I sat in the waiting room of the doctor's office for 45 minutes to get in to see her.  And the whole entire time I was wearing the ridiculous mask UPSIDE DOWN and INSIDE OUT.  And they never told me!  Can't they TELL I feel awful by looking at me??  When I finally got called back the nurse said, "Oh, put the PURPLE side out!  You are gonna suffocate!"  Gee, thanks.
So anyway, I am not feeling dapper.  Also, I am home alone.  David is at rehearsal for “Gogol’s Nose and Other Strange Tales From the City”, a show he is co-directing at George Mason University.  It opens March 29th and YOU should come see it if you are in the Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC area J.  Here is a link to the university performance calendar so you can check it out:  link to Gogol's Nose!

David has been at rehearsal in the evenings quite a lot lately, which has meant a change in diet for me.  No longer are we doing “team cooking” – me focusing on veggies and him doing starch or meat…  No, now it is things like, I kid you not, a dinner of Girl Scout Cookie Thin Mints for me!  Oh yeah, steppin’ it up a notch in the cuisine department. 

So, tonight I pulled a little something out of the freezer that I purchased with the intention of eating for a LUNCH – a Trader Joe’s Chicken Burrito Bowl.  Since David wasn’t here, I ate that whole sucker myself.  And here is what I thought of it:

Here you have it: dinner in a box.  Just add wine!
This is the first time I have had this item.  I was imagining MOE’S (a chain restaurant) when I bought it.  it was super easy to prepare – I microwaved it for 4.5 minutes, stirred it, let it sit a minute, and it was ready to roll.  I topped it off with the last bit of Hatch Valley Salsa I had (which I am kinda sorta addicted to and reviewed here:  Hatch Valley Salsa link  ).  (It is garbage and recycling night, and using the salsa means I can get the jar out of the fridge and recycle it!  But don’t fret, I have my back-up jar in the cupboard!)

My first bite of chicken in this burrito bowl was way too big, it was like the size of 3 bites!  That put me off a bit, but subsequent bites were better sized.  Sadly though, the chicken was really bland.  The black beans, corn, and peppers were much tastier. 

Ahhh, fancy dinner!!
This burrito bowl is listed as one serving, and that seems right if you are hungry.  It would make a good lunch.  It is nothing that is going to knock your socks off – it is NOT like going to Moe’s.  For some reason this Trader Joe’s bowl is just not all that flavorful.  It needs much more spice. 

Reasonably priced and NEW
                                                                                                                                                           
So, while I would rather have a bowl or burrito from Moe’s (which ironically is right next to our usual Trader Joe’s!), this is not a bad substitute.  It’ll do if you wanna just sit on the sofa, eat, and watch CNN.  I might buy one of these again to keep in the freezer for a lunch or solo dinner – it was filling enough anyway. 

Price:  $3.49
Rating: 3.5

Friday, February 10, 2017

Tulip Time

In 2016 I reviewed Trader Joe’s tulips bulbs in a glass vase.  I loved them.  You can see that review here:  2016 review of Tulip Bulbs in Glass Vase

Looks like last year I scored PINK tulips!
Less than 2 weeks after I reviewed them, they BLOOMED, and I posted a reminder that life is, indeed, short, and you should just buy the damn tulip bulbs while Trader Joe’s has them briefly in stock.  You can see THAT review here:  2016 tulip reminder

And boy were they gorgeous when they bloomed!!





























So, now it is 2017.

Have you figured out the pattern yet???

YES!  Trader Joe’s has once again started carrying their seasonal TULIP BULBS in a GLASS VASE!!  This is the time, friends!  This is when you need to treat yourself.  Maybe it is cold where you are (as it is right now in Washington DC where we are).  Maybe it is sunny and warm (like, if you live in Austin, Texas or something).  But whatever the weather, wherever your location, YOU DESERVE THESE TULIPS. 

I GOT YELLOW ONES THIS YEAR!!!  Picked them up at the Bailey's Crossroads, VA Trader Joe's.
Trader Joe's has not raised the price on these one penny, and they are worth the (almost) $9.00 they cost.
A sign that SPRING is on the way - the birds are checking out the backyard looking for ideal nesting spots!
Mrs. Dove is BACK!
Treat yourself.  Treat your friend.  Treat your neighbor or your lover.  GO GET SOME TULIP BULBS IN A GLASS VASE and marvel, like I am, as they come to life on your coffee table!

Price:  still $8.99
Rating:  still 4.75

Another sign that SPRING is coming - it was 70 degrees one day this week!  Look, David wore SHORT SLEEVES!
(The temperature later plummeted that same night...)

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Mini Sugar Hearts

David and I normally review Trader Joe’s stuff TOGETHER, sitting at the same table, chomping on the same food, and then reviewing it.  Today was different…  David was working (teaching), and I was working from home.  I was tempted to open a package of Mini Sugar Heart Cookies we got at Trader Joe’s last night and have some for breakfast, but I felt bad doing that without David here…  But I NEEDED a cookie…  So let’s just say - my guilt didn’t last long, and I ripped that bag open and sat down to try these puppies out!

David looked like a fan of these cookies in the store,
but when it was time to OPEN them and EAT 'em he was no where to be found!
Boy was I surprised!!  First off, these cookies are teeny tiny!  I took a photo of them on a small plate next to half a kiwi so you could see their size.

Adorable little heart cookies!
I am not sure why I expected these cookies to be bigger.  I guess it was because of the picture on the packaging showing a big ol’ cookie getting dipped into a small tea cup.  Of course, when I look at the package now that I have eaten a cookie (or two or three…) I see that the drawing is totally out of proportion and was not meant to be an accurate representation of cookie size.  My bad.

Purple!  And see the BIG cookie in the tiiiiiny yellow tea cup ?  Subconsciously tricked me!
This bag of cookies caught my eye on the Trader Joe’s “New Products” end cap last night.  It does not look like most TJ’s packages – it is PURPLE, which is a color not often used in their palette I guess, because it really stood out.  The package describes these as “sugar sprinkled cookies”.  From the packaging, I expected these cookies to taste like a French cookie called a palmier.  We lived in Paris for a while, and I learned that French desserts are almost always gorgeous, but to my palate almost always bland tasting and unsatisfying.  French desserts (in my opinion) are rarely worth the energy to eat (and even more rarely they worth the expense of buying them…).   So, I THOUGHT, from the looks of the packaging pictures, that these would be palmiers and I wouldn’t really like them. 

Flashback Photo!!!  Us on the banks of the Seine in Paris.  Hey, neither of us had any grey hair back then...
I was wrong!  They are not palmiers and I DO like them!!

They are little, rather bland (in a good way!), heart shaped cookies.  The “sugar sprinkled” claim does not seem all that accurate to me, as they are not very sweet.  But not being sweet doesn’t mean not good!  The package emphasizes over and over that you want to eat these cookies with coffee or tea (I had mine with a double cappuccino).  As TJ’s puts it, “If coffee and tea could fall in love with a cookie, the romance would be with Trader Joe’s Mini Sugar Hearts”.   I think that is a good recommendation – these pair well with a hot beverage.  I didn’t dunk mine, but that would be a good thing to try with these.

A serving size is listed as 14 cookies!!!  I admit, had I read THAT in the store I would have KNOWN that these were going to be baby sized cookies!!  I am in favor of the size – to me they are one bite cookies.  I like these!  They are simple and plain.  I think BISCUIT is a better name for these than COOKIE, as they are not sweet. But they are good biscuits!  They would be nice any time of day: with an afternoon cup of tea or your morning coffee.

Very affordable Valentine's treat.
These are CUTE.  They are little hearts, which make them nice for upcoming Valentine’s Day.  I think you should give them a shot.  Heck, you should get some for your Valentine and surprise her/him.  They are more creative than your run-of-the-mill box of chocolate and will be more appreciated than one of those silly life sized stuffed bears that you see advertised this time of year.  (Note to men – just don’t on the expensive life sized teddy bears, ok?)  But hey – if you take me up on my suggestion to get your sweetie these cookies, get her/him a little somethin’ else to go along with them, ok?  Cuz they are only a buck 99….  And she/he is worth WAY more than that.

Price: $1.99

Rating: 4.25

Bonus flashback photo.  Ahhhh, memories.  This is a gentleman who we often smiled at in Gare du Nord train station in Paris.  He couldn't talk. and he lived in the station.  He had his knees wrapped with heavy cloth, then covered by RUBBER.  Hence, I am a bit embarrased to admit, our name for him was "Kneesie".  One time we talked to a homeless lady who was sitting by him and she told us his real name was Marcel.  He was VERY SWEET.  We sometimes brought him food.  Often he was asleep/passed out in this exact spot where he is sitting now, so we would just leave the food by him.  Things I love about this photo:  Kneesie's smile, the little Camembert cheese box next to him (typical!), his wheelchair covered in stuff, the fact that his fly is not all the way closed (also typical), and the fact that I held his hand.  His hands were not, how shall I say, clean...  He couldn't walk, so would pee in a water bottle and dump it RIGHT BEHIND HIM (which in this photo is right behind US...) in a little groove.  Kneesie's section of the train station was a bit smelly...
 But oh he was sweet!!