favorite trader joe's items

To balance the negativity of the last post, I thought I'd tell you about some things that I love! Inspired by this Yelp talk thread, I want to share my favorite items at my absolute favorite grocery store of all time: Trader Joe's. I only started shopping there a few years ago, and now I don't know how I'll ever live without it! The prospect of living in New York scares me, mostly because I hear there's only one Trader Joe's in Manhattan. o_O

So here's what you'll usually find in my shopping cart when I'm at TJ's.

(Wish I had some pictures.)

Portobello mushroom ravioli. This is always a treat for us because it's so easy to make, and the filling is the perfect amount of creamy (from the provolone, I think). One package is exactly enough for Cyrus and Ina (3/5 of the package go to Cyrus, 2/5 to Ina). Perfect drizzled with olive oil and topped with some Parmesan. No sauce necessary!

Frozen hash browns. This stuff is amazing. I used to stick it in the toaster oven to cook it, but once I put it on the frying pan, I've never gone back. These hash browns are better than even your best memory of a McDonald's hash brown. We usually complement our meager cereal breakfasts with this little delight.

Mushroom risotto (frozen and dry). I only saw the frozen package at first, and it's super easy to make, and it's ready in 5-10 minutes, but there are only two (real) servings. Then I found an almost identical product in the dry pasta section. The rice here comes raw (?) and completely uncooked. So you have to do the whole sauteeing of the rice and wait for it to plump up when you add broth, but the dry risotto is cheaper than the frozen and has more servings. Yum!

"Rich and creamy" vanilla and blueberry yogurt cups. I don't really like regular Yoplait that much, and Greek yogurt makes me dry heave. So I've found the richness and creaminess of these cute little yogurt cups just perfect.

Gala apple juice. This is 64 oz. of unfiltered apple juice. What are the ingredients? "Unfiltered apple juice." Period.

Frozen chicken tikka masala. I only recently discovered this. Pretty darn good. I don't know a lot about Indian food, but I've had this dish a lot. Once it's heated up, it's actually pretty hard to tell if it's different from what you might find at a decent Indian buffet.

Do I have any readers already? If so, do you guys have any favorite TJ's products you wanna share? :)