Things You Must Have from Trader Joe’s Right Now

This is in no way sponsored by Trader Joe’s because they don’t love me with the intensity I love them, but I’m used to unrequited love so here goes nothing.

Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s Ice Cream

It’s like Christmas exploded in your mouth and the chocolate is not quite firm, not quite melted. It’s a peppermint sensation you can’t soon forget. Why they only offer it in 16 ounce instead of a gallon or two is beyond me.

Candy Cane Joe-Joe’s Cookies

I’m probably not supposed to mention Oreos here, but they are like – Schmoorios with a candy cane kick. Having a bad day? Ditch the spoon and scoop the ice cream with one of these suckers and you’ll be as happy as Buddy the Elf at the North Pole on Christmas Ever.

Caramelized Onion Dip

Don’t worry about kissing someone after eating this onion explosion because you can’t stop eating it and then you’ll be too full to get intimate anyway. It’s amazing on potato chips, veggies, tortilla chips, and for a special surprise pair it with Hawaiian bread.

World’s Puffiest White Cheddar Corn Puffs

I won’t say the names of the competitors I used to emotional eat the night away with a similar product, mostly because I don’t remember. Not only are these puffy pieces of pleasure yummy, it comes in a bag big enough to splurge the night away. I’m a fan with any of these products of leaving the bag open for an hour or two to get a little bit of texture to the crispy treats. But that’s just me.

Burrata, Prosciutto, and Arugula Flatbread

Once you get past the Ikea-like instructions which seem cumbersome only because you are so excited to eat this, it’s worth the 14 hours it seems to take for the oven to pre-heat. It’s a blend of everything you want in a flatbread with a little green on it to convince yourself it’s healthy. Don’t worry about leftovers. There won’t be any.

Brie en Croute

If you know me, you know I love brie. It’s hard to find a Brie I won’t eat, but this perfect blend of crispy crust and oozing cheese is just delightful. You also don’t want to worry about messing with the dough and wrapping it around just right only to find 3 inches of leftover hanging there oddly or dealing with phyllo dough that ends up getting thrown across the room (it’s not just me, right?). Someone at TJ’s has figured out how to do it and I’ll let them do the math while I Brie the day away.

Balsamic Rosemary Steak Tips

My cooking strength resides in my desires and not my ability, so I shy away from things like this normally, but the package was so pretty and I had a moment of “I can do this!” and I’m so glad I did. It’s an amazing blend of the name sake flavors with big but manageable bites of steak perfection. I think it’s like $12 and the first time I bought it I wondered why I was doing so since I could get a REAL steak for that amount, but after this fed me through 3 meals I was hooked.

Creamy Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Forget TGI anything else other than TGITJ (Thank God It’s Trader Joe’s). This dip destroys your memory of any restaurant quality dip you’ve ever had. In just 5-7 minutes you’ve heated up a hearty serving for 2 (or 1) of this creamy goodness that has veggies so it MUST be healthy too. I like to add a chunk of brie (imagine that) or more frozen spinach (when I’m “eating healthy”) or a dash of TJ’s Gruyere Cheese shredded pieces of extra oomph.

I’d be a fool to not mention the splurges of aromatic enticement like cinnamon sticks and fresh pine that permeate every aisle. I like to take the scents and “accidentally” leave them in my car for a fresh car scent that has been dancing while driving to holiday classics.

Tell me – what’s your Trader Joe’s favorite food?