Category: Trader Joe’s Hacks

Mexican, snacks, Trader Joe's Hacks, Turkey

Trader Joe’s Mexican Style Roasted Corn Turkey Burrito Bowls

by aspoonfulofsimpleblogLeave a Comment on Trader Joe’s Mexican Style Roasted Corn Turkey Burrito Bowls

Something I have come to really love in quarantine is creating meals from what I already have in my freezer. I kind of feel like I’m on an episode of Chopped in my own kitchen. I found this bag of Mexican Style Roasted with Cotija Cheese in my freezer and created this with what i had on hand. It was a huge hit, and it took less than 30 minutes to make!

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey breast

6 flour tortillas

1 package Trader Joe’s Mexican Style Roasted Corn with Cotija Cheese

1 packet taco seasoning

1 medium yellow onion

1 tbsp olive oil

Oil spray (olive oil or canola oil)

1 package ready brown rice

Guacamole or other toppings of choice (optional)

Plus onion and flour tortillas!

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. On the bottom part of a muffin tin, spray with canola or olive oil, then place flour tortillas in the crevices to make mini bowls. Spray tortillas with oil.
  3. Place in the oven for 18-20 minutes, or until tortillas are firm and crisped.
  4. Place a small saucepan over medium heat and heat the Trader Joe’s Mexican Style Roasted Corn according to package directions.
  5. In a separate skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat, Then add diced onion until translucent.
  6. Add in ground turkey breast and fully brown the meat.
  7. Once fully browned, add in 1 cup of water and taco seasoning. Mix with turkey until fully combined.
  8. Cook rice (I use microwaveable rice, so cook according to package directions).
  9. Once all components are finished cooking, take out the taco shells, place in a layer of rice, a layer of ground turkey, a layer of the Mexican Style Roasted Corn mixture, some guacamole, and cotija cheese (that comes with the Trader Joe’s package).
  10. Serve and enjoy!
Spray with canola oil and bake for 18-20 minutes.
One of my favorite Trader Joe’s treats!
Brown the turkey and onions before adding the seasoning!
Tortillas nice and crispy!
Layer the rice, ground turkey, Mexican style roasted corn, guacamole, and cotija cheese. Serve and enjoy!!
Dinner, Greek, Lunch, Sandwich, Trader Joe's Hacks, Under 10 WW SmartPoints

Trader Joe’s Hack: 5-Minute Gyros

by aspoonfulofsimpleblogLeave a Comment on Trader Joe’s Hack: 5-Minute Gyros

Ingredients

Trader Joe’s fully cook gyro slices

Trader Joe’s cauliflower tabbouleh

Trader Joe’s tzatziki sauce

Pita bread

Hummus of choice ( I just used what I had, but TJ’s has a bunch of great options!)

Directions

  1. Heat the gyro slices and the pitas in the microwave for 30 seconds.
  2. Spread the hummus on the heated pita.
  3. Place the gyro slices on the pita.
  4. Spoon some cauliflower tabbouleh over the top.
  5. Top with tzatziki sauce.
  6. Serve! So simple and delicious.
Spread the hummus of choice
Place the heated gyro slices on the pita
Spoon on the tabbouleh
Top with tzatziki

Weight Watchers Freestyle SP: 10 points per pita with fixings. This recipe makes 4 servings total (I ended up using more meat than the serving size, oops!). Points were calculated using the Recipe Builder on the WW app.

Print a copy for your recipe binder!

**See packages for nutritional information and calorie counts.**

Chicken, Grilled, Trader Joe's Hacks, Under 10 WW SmartPoints

Trader Joe’s Pollo Asado Salsa Verde Bowls

by aspoonfulofsimpleblogLeave a Comment on Trader Joe’s Pollo Asado Salsa Verde Bowls

Due to the craziness of moving over the last two weeks, cooking has been tricky. I have limited pots, pans, and counter space because of the myriad of boxes that currently fill my home. One Trader Joe’s trip later, and I’ve been set with simple meals to get me through the week. For this recipe, I combined a few things that required no preparation on my part (which is amazing). So, let’s call this a “semi-homemade meal.” It’s super easy and very delicious! No chopping, marinating, or prepping required!

Ingredients

1 package Trader Joe’s Pollo Asado chicken

1 package Trader Joe’s Mexican Style Roasted Corn with Cotija Cheese

1 package Uncle Ben’s (or brand of choice) whole grain rice

1/4 cup Herdez Salsa Verde

The BEST salsa verde!

Directions

  1. Get a grill pan heating up over medium heat. Spray lightly with olive oil.
  2. Place the chicken in a single layer on the grill pan. Let it grill on each side for 5 to 7 minutes, until fully cooked through (when reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F).
Check out those beautiful grill marks.

3. As the chicken is cooking, pour 2 tbsp of olive oil into a skillet over medium heat. Take the cheese packet out of the Trader Joe’s Mexican Corn bag, and dump the frozen corn and sauce blocks into the hot skillet. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until sauce is all melted and covering corn.

4. Once everything is done, heat up the rice (if using the instant rice like I did).

5. Layer your bowl with some rice, corn, diced grilled pollo asado chicken, and cotija cheese. Then pour some Herdez salsa verde over the top and combine flavors together.

That’s it! So easy and so delicious!

Weight Watchers Freestyle SP: 7 points for one serving (about 4 servings total). Points were calculated using the Recipe Builder on the WW app.

Trader Joe's Pollo Asado Salsa Verde Bowls

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

Ingredients:

1 package Trader Joe’s Pollo Asado chicken
1 package Trader Joe’s Mexican Style Roasted Corn with Cotija Cheese
1 package Uncle Ben’s (or brand of choice) whole grain rice
1/4 cup Herdez Salsa Verde

Directions:

1. Get a grill pan heating up over medium heat. Spray lightly with olive oil.

2. Place the chicken in a single layer on the grill pan. Let it grill on each side for 5 to 7 minutes, until fully cooked through (when reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F).

3.As the chicken is cooking, pour 2 tbsp of olive oil into a skillet over medium heat. Take the cheese packet out of the Trader Joe’s Mexican Corn bag, and dump the frozen corn and sauce blocks into the hot skillet. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until sauce is all melted and covering corn.

4. Once everything is done, heat up the rice (if using the instant rice like I did).

5. Layer your bowl with some rice, corn, diced grilled pollo asado chicken, and cotija cheese. Then pour some Herdez salsa verde over the top and combine flavors together.

**See packages for nutritional label and information.**

Chicken, Dinner, Lunch, Pasta, Trader Joe's Hacks

Trader Joe’s Pesto Genovese Chicken with Pasta

by aspoonfulofsimpleblogLeave a Comment on Trader Joe’s Pesto Genovese Chicken with Pasta

I’m currently in the process of moving to a new apartment, and with that comes the stresses of trying to avoid the takeout temptation every single night. The problem is, however, that I have absolutely no idea where half of my stuff is boxed. While this could be an easy excuse for me to get that personal pizza down the road, I’m fighting the urge (with a little help from my friend Trader Joe). Here’s a simple take on Trader Joe’s Pesto Genovese Chicken over pasta with more pesto sauce (can never get enough).

Ingredients

1 package Pesto Genovese Chicken Breast from Trader Joe’s

1 box whole grain rotini

2 packages Knorr Pesto sauce mix

Olive oil

Directions

  1. Get the water boiling for the pasta and sprinkle the water with some salt.
  2. In a separate small saucepan, dump in the two pesto sauce mixes with 1/2 cup olive oil and 1 1/2 cups water. Whisk together well and heat over medium heat, whisking frequently, until boiling. Once sauce starts to boil, lower heat to simmer for 5 or so minutes.
  3. In a separate frying pan (I know, super chef on three burners!), pour a little bit of olive oil over medium-high heat. Place the Pesto Genovese Chicken evenly in one layer in the pan. Cook on each side for 3-4 minutes or until cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
  4. Once water is boiling, cook the pasta to package directions.
  5. Once everything is done, pour the saucepan of pesto sauce over the pasta and stir well until all combined. Then, place a piece of chicken over the pasta.
  6. Voila! Easy, delicious dinner! (Thanks TJ!)

Once you put it all together, here is the finished product! Delicious and it was a hit!

Trader Joe's Pesto Genovese Chicken with Pasta

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

Ingredients:

1 package Pesto Genovese Chicken Breast from Trader Joe’s
1 box whole grain rotini
2 packages Knorr Pesto sauce mix
Olive oil

Directions:
1. Get the water boiling for the pasta and sprinkle the water with some salt.

2. In a separate small saucepan, dump in the two pesto sauce mixes with 1/2 cup olive oil and 1 1/2 cups water. Whisk together well and heat over medium heat, whisking frequently, until boiling. Once sauce starts to boil, lower heat to simmer for 5 or so minutes.

3. In a separate frying pan (I know, super chef on three burners!), pour a little bit of olive oil over medium-high heat. Place the Pesto Genovese Chicken evenly in one layer in the pan. Cook on each side for 3-4 minutes or until cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

4. Once water is boiling, cook the pasta to package directions.

5. Once everything is done, pour the saucepan of pesto sauce over the pasta and stir well until all combined. Then, place a piece of chicken over the pasta.

Weight Watchers Freestyle SP: 14 points for one serving (this recipe makes about 6 servings). Points were calculated using the Recipe Builder on the WW app.

Note: Nutrition information may not be exact. Ingredients were estimated and entered using verywellfit.com’s Nutrition Calculator.