“Trader Joe’s Just Salmon Skin Baked Dog Treat are made from salmon raised without antibiotics in the cold waters of Northern Scotland. The skin is simply baked with nothing else added” (from the package)
INGREDIENTS: Salmon skin
These are pieces of Salmon skin and nothing else, baked into little pieces, ending up as crispy crunchy bite size snacks. They are not stinky, just the tiniest bit fishy smelling.
I think your dog will love these.
Me, I have cats. Sure these are labeled “for dogs” but is there any law that says cat owners, like yours truly, can’t give them to our feline friends too? I mean there’s nothing that is bad for cats in these. Its just salmon skin. Fish. Period. No additives, no nothin’. So I tested these to see if my two cats would like them for treats.
Result: One of my cats loves these treats and crunches a piece into smithereens in seconds. The other, a pickier eater, will on occasion eat one but sometimes will ignore the treat, while kind of looking at me like I’m cheating him with just skin and not the FREEZE DRIED SALMON pet treats which are pieces of salmon with flesh. Which by the way is labeled “For Pets” not just “For Dogs” like this one.
Apparently way back in the 90’s Trader Joe’s used to sell a paneer cheese but they say back then it just didn’t catch on. With the now very popular items they have now like PALAAK PANEER and PANEER TIKKA MASALA, which have paneer in them, TJ decided to again put out a separate paneer cheese.
What makes paneer cheese useful to cook with is it stays firm even when cooked, so good for adding to dishes and excellent for grilling. Trader Joe’s says marinate it in your favorite spices before grilling. Or simply add it for extra cheese into for example their PALAAK PANEER entree, for more cheese. I love Palaak Paneer but they got chincy with the paneer in it (I think it used to have more? Did hey cut back for cost reasons?)
This is made in Wisconsin for Trader Joe’s by a cheese producer.
“Made for us in Wisconsin, this pasteurized cow’s milk cheese is produced by curdling the milk with acetic and lactic acids, resulting in a firm and crumbly fresh cheese with a subtle tang.”
Here’s my honest review of this new PANEER cheese. I was expecting this to be like the paneer in their entrees (made in India) like Palaak Paneer or Tikka Masala Paneer.
I think this may be way firmer. I tried to “crumble” it as they describe it as being “firm and crumbly”. I couldn’t really crumble the cheese with my fingers. It’s too solid for that. I cut the paneer into cubes and sauteed it in butter, sprinkling on some Indian masala spices. Not bad. It didn’t seem to really absorb flavor from the dal curry I later added it into. I don’t see how marinating this will help. So I expected this to be way better. I wish this was like the cubes of paneer in Palaak Paneer for example, which is a bit softer. I would really have to compare this with another version such as one sold at Whole Foods. I think this needs work Trader Joe. Perhaps with input from someone Indian?
PRO: Good for grilling; will stay firm
CON: Bit too firm. Needs better taste and a tad less firm texture
Trader Joe’s “Indian Style” PANEER CHEESE is $4.99 for a 10 oz package.
You will find these pickles in the Refrigerated case at Trader Joe’s, near the sauerkraut and kimchi and all that good pickled stuff. Wait? Trader Joe’s sells pickles in the fridge as well as the jarred kinds on the shelves?! Yup, you should check these out.
If I can buy refrigerated pickles, that’s what I will usually go for, over the shelf stable non-refrigerated ones on the shelves.
Why? Jarred shelf-stable pickles have been pasteurized so they can sit safely at room temperature for a long time. Refrigerated pickles have not been Pasteurized (with heat). I find the cold, fresh pickles in the fridge generally have better, firmer texture. Crunchier.
Pasteurizing kills bacteria, even the healthy kind we like! Pickles in the refrigerated section are unpasteurized, kept cold to slow down natural fermentation processes.
My review: Trader Joe’s refrigerated Kosher Dill pickles were very tasty, nice and fresh tasting with garlic and dill flavors with nice crunch. The ingredients include coriander garlic, mustard seed, coriander, bay leaf, dill…. all the classic kosher pickle flavors. What I would call a “full sour Kosher pickle”, dark green.
These Trader Joe’s fresh refrigerator pickles come in two shapes, Spears or Slices, as you prefer.
A sandwich with a pickle is heaven. Either are perfect for a GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH. Maybe with IVY’S RESERVE RED….
These Sausages are made with organic ground chicken, organic sweet Italian seasoning, organic basil, organic garlic, organic paprika and celery powder. The seasoning is good. These are a good thing to have on hand in the fridge to come up with an easy protein and meals.
I found these sausages quite tasty. Grilled up for example simply as I made them here with just some green peppers in olive oil with garlic. You could add lots of other things, like onions and tomatoes. Serve that with rice, or buttered pasta or what have you. Or just grill them and put them on a some toasted bread or a brioche bun.
TJ’s says “the mixture is stuffed by hand into natural casing and hung on racks, where it cooks at a low temperature for a long period of time. After cooking to perfection, the casing is removed and the sweet-smoky sausages are ready to enjoy”
Are these sweet? No, the word refers to “sweet or hot” Italian sausages. If you want spicy/hot using these, of course all you have to do is just add your favorite spicy thing. For me, these are great with TJs terrific Italian BOMBA.
FRIED / BOILED – I think they taste best using the STOVE TOP or GRILLED methods, even if just in a pan with a little oil or butter, either sliced on a diagonal or whole. Just simmering / boiling may be a little too plain, i think some browning up does add quite a bit of flavor but that’s your call.
If not using the whole package, just wrap tightly and freeze the rest for later use. They will defrost fast.
Trader Joe’s SWEET ORGANIC ITALIAN CHICKEN SAUSAGE is $5.99 (the package contains five sausages) They used to be 4 bucks (sigh)
They have no added nitrites or nitrates, One sausage is 110 calories
I would buy these again.
PS – I think these would match up great with the popular SWEET POTATO GNOCCHI dish…..
I adore key lime pie, so I was happy to see that Trader Joe’s had one. Here’s my honest review of Trader Joe’s KEY LIME PIE, sold in the frozen section.
While I thought this pie was kind of tasty and did have some of that great key lime flavor, unfortunately the level of sugar in this is through the roof! Seriously, this pie is just way, way too sweet – too much sugar. My wife tasted it and immediately made a face and complained about how overly sweet it is. She could barely eat hers. Drinking some Strong black tea with it helped to get a small piece down.
I wondered if I could try to fix the sweetness level a bit by adding a dollop of plain GREEK YOGURT on top to cut down the level of sweetness. That did actually help somewhat, with the sourness of the yogurt countering the sweet, and with this it was more edible. If you do buy this pie, be sure to get / have some plain Greek yogurt, or unsweetened whipped cream on hand. It will still be sweet of course but more tolerable.
IF they could cut down the sugar (which is a whopping 39 gram per serving) I would like this. As it is, I can just give this a MEH. B- for effort.
Key Lime Pie is not an easy pie to make and to get it right. You need lots of REAL key lime (which are costly, and should be from Florida (aka the real deal) not Mexico in the perfect ratio to sweetened condensed milk to balance out the sweetness. Real Key Lime’s are very sour. So the combo works.
Steve’s Key Lime pie is amazing, balanced perfectly and nowhere near as sweet as Trader Joe’s version. It has the citrus to sweet level correct. I’m sure it’s probably because they add more way more and real FL key limes, which are an expensive ingredient. Of course it costs a LOT more than TJ’s pie, which is only six bucks. So while this is a good price, and kind of tasty, its again simply too sweet. You can try to fix it up a bit with some yogurt, which does help make it more palatable. Maybe even a squirt of lime or lemon?
Trader Joe’s: “Tender sheets of pasta layered with creamy ricotta, tangy tomato sauce, and plenty of ground beef and pork seasoned with onion and garlic (the words “ultimate comfort food” would not be hyperbole here). Topped with an additional trifecta of cheeses—mozzarella, Romano, and Parmesan—the Lasagna is made fresh, then frozen and shipped to our stores, ready to report for ‘What’s for dinner?’ duty.”
(after baking in the oven)
RAVE
How can anyone not love lasagna? Who could not love soft sheets of slightly chewy, flat, wide noodles layered over and over with tomato sauce and not one but THREE KINDS of cheese, all topped with a cheesy bechamel sauce that gets nice and brown after baking? So yes, isn’t lasagna perhaps the Ultimate Comfort Food? It’s one of mine.
Years ago, I actually used to make it every now and then when I had company, as it was always a hit and could feed a crowd. But it is a lot of work.
If you are not going to make it yourself, I think this Trader Joe’s frozen version is a very satisfying way to satisfy a craving for lasagna whenever the urge hits. And great to have in the freezer.I had seen reviews of this online that people considered Trader Joe’s frozen lasagna quite good. I wanted to finally try it.
We got one to do a taste test for a little get together with a neighbor who wanted an “easy meal”. This TJ lasagna as our Main. Here’s my honest review. It’s true. Trader Joe’s frozen lasagna is not only pretty good, its surprisingly good. When we tasted it our reaction was that this was way better than we expected. This lived up to it’s well deserved reputation.
Trader Joe’s FAMILY STYLE MEAT LASAGNA is very tasty, very satisfying and just really yummy. TJ’s frozen lasagna actually tasted like something you could be served out at a family restaurant. All three of us tasters kept remarking at how (pleasantly) surprised at just how good this was for something made commercially. The ingredients even lists fennel seed. Now that’s Italian. The pasta, meaty sauce and cheese combined perfectly and was well seasoned with herbs and spices. The rich meaty sauce includes both beef and pork for plenty of umami. The noodles still had texture, they weren’t mushy. I liked the ratio of noodles to the layered cheese and stuff inside. For me, the best part were those dark, baked corner edges. I was sure we over-baked it but it was actually perfect. Just really nice and browned at the corners where the top of the lasagna baked up nice and chewy with browned cheesy goodness. The corner pieces were my favorite part.
All in all, this is quite a decent tasty entree , which was satisfyingly good and frankly a good deal for the price ($7.49). I think that would not buy you one portion of lasagna, anywhere, right? Let alone 4 (or 3!)
If you have this in your freezer, this can make a really easy dinner, which everyone will probably like and come in for a very affordable price…$2-3 a portion? Sweet deal for a family.
PORTION SIZE: This lasagna is 24 oz (2 lbs). While the box says “4 servings” (which would be about 8 ounces each) realistically that might be a tiny bit on the low side as far as feeding 4 adults. Maybe 4 adults if this is served with 2 sides, or with a salad and some bread.
When we ate it, there were three of us, myself, my wife and our neighbor. We served and ate about 3/4 of the lasagna to start with. But frankly this was so tasty, when we finished what we had, we all said we wanted a little more! So us three adults ending up finishing the whole thing easily, even with a salad and a side dish. So just FYI, realistically maybe think 3 adults, or 2 adults and 2 kids, especially if you want another bite or two. Kids as well I think will love this too, of course.
COOKING METHOD: Sure the box say you can nuke this but I say: “Fugedabouit! This will taste best baked, period. The box it even says baking is the “preferred method”. Browning greatly adds to the overall taste and get those nice chewy bits, which is done by baking semi-covered with the film which you later remove and bake a bit more at the end (the film is oven safe of course). Microwaving will not give the needed browning. So just plan on baking this, please.
HOW TO BAKETrader Joe’s frozen Lasagna – “Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Put the lasagna on a baking sheet. Lift up the two opposite corners of the plastic film on the top slightly so it can vent (important). Bake for 65 mins, then remove and carefully remove the film so it can brown. Put it back for about 5 minutes to finish browning. For reference, you can check my picture. It looks over baked but it was perfect IMO, with the corners being my favorite part of it. If you want less browning thats your call.
Remove and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
So yes it will take a little over and hour to cook this from frozen, baking in the oven. Perhaps, if this is defrosted maybe it would cut down on baking time to 30-45 minutes? Might be worth trying. Leave it out on the counter for a few hours to defrost….
ADDITIONS? Of course if you want to, you add things before serving this to ramp up the homemade angle. You could grate on some fresh Parmesan or Pecorino, add fresh basil if you have it, and add a drizzle of EVOO. If you want extra sauce with it you could even open a jar of your favorite one and serve a little on the side for mopping up with some good toasty bread.
Trader Joe’s FAMILY STYLE MEAT LASAGNA$7.49 (24 oz)
PRODUCT OF CANADA
Oh Canada! You made a great Trader Joe’s product. And quite a value.
I would buy this again.
(Tip: I saw they also sell a non-frozen lasagna in the refrigerated case; it’s 50 cents more, $7.99. I have not tried that yet)
“Serve at room temperature for best flavor. Great addition to a cheeseboard; enjoy with an oaky Chardonnay”
RAVE
PRODUCT OF U.K.
IVY’S RESERVE SOMERSET RED is an award winning cheese, featured by Trader Joe’s sometime back as their “Spotlight Cheese”.
Is it worth buying? Here’s my honest review.
OMG is this cheese good. Just excellent. I enjoyed tasting it so much that I had to stop myself from devouring the package. “I just need one more taste”. If you haven’t tried it already, put this cheese on your list. Especially as it’s TIME LIMITED. Meaning Trader Joe’s won’t have it always, they will have it until it runs out. Hopefully they will get more then.
This is yet one more fantastic super premium Imported cheese you can buy at Trader Joe’s for a decent price. Note that this is one of those products sold under it’s own brand, not as “Trader Joe’s”. That means they really wanted it.
IVY’S RESERVE SOMERSET RED is a mature “aged cheddar” (aged over 12 months). You can see it’s crumbly. It has a mouthwatering edge of sharpness and a lot of umami with a lovely orange red color. While in the cheddar family this is specifically “Red Leicester” which is similar too but more crumbly than cheddar.
“Crafted in the style of a Red Leicester, Ivy’s Red is a special edition among Wyke Farm’s variety of Cheddars. It definitely stands out for its burnt-orange color and nutty & fruity notes, which are delivered with a firm texture that is rich, creamy, a bit tangy”
It’s a farm cheese, produced at Wyke’s Farm in Somerset, England. The label for Ivy’s Reserve Somerset Red describes it as “nutty, mellow & moreish,” More-ish is a British term that means, “having a very pleasant taste and making you want to eat more.”
Well that’s exactly the effect it had on me. I kept wanting just one more taste. When I finished my taste test, I saw a good portion of the package somehow had magically vanished 😉
Lovely deep orange color with the taste of aged authentic British cheddar. A little earthy, a little tangy. Aged over 1 year.
MELTED? Yes please. I had to try it melted, and of course this is fantastic melted. Put it in anything you can think of. I think this might make the best melted cheese sandwich? I would try that as well as an omelet perhaps?
Trader Joe’s has a picture with a cheese board and I am sure this would be a big hit on any #cheeseboard. They picture it with some some chutney, dates, nuts and crackers. Indicating how great this could contrast with the sweet spiciness of say, their MANGO CHUTNEY.
It says “LIMITED” so don’t expect to always find it but if you see it, I highly recommend trying this. At a high end cheese shop I would not be surprised to see this imported farm cheese selling for at least $20 a pound.
Trader Joe’s sell this for $5.49 (for a 7 oz piece)
Little mini pepperoni sticks divied into 2 cute “snack packs” of about one ounce each.
I saw these on the check out line at Trader Joe’s yesterday. I could not resist this cute package so picked one up and honestly, when I got out of the store, I opened up the package and took a bite of one of these sticks. I have to say these are really tasty and brought me back to when I was a kid and bought “Slim Jims”. Probably these have way better ingredients.
They are neither hard nor soft, just the perfect texture and taste. These are a snack-sized helping of slim, perfectly chewy Pepperoni Sticks made from uncured pork. (No nitrates or nitrites are added, except those naturally occurring in sea salt and cultured Swiss chard powder). Very savory and tasty, pork-y goodness. Even could go on a #cheeseboard.
My package went pretty fast. Health food? No, of course not, these are a occasional treat but the ingredients are not mysterious and they are not very fatty. Sodium is pretty high! A whole package (both sides) contains 1050 mg sodium, or about 56% the allotted recommended daily sodium level .
However if one ate half a package at a time, as an occasional snack/treat not too terrible. Just so you keep an eye on that. Me I can eat about 4, 5 sticks and be satisfied.
Before I saw this at Trader Joe’s a few weeks ago, I’m prettu sure I’ve never even seen a coffee from PAPUA NEW GUINEA. So I had no idea what to expect. But I kind of like to check out every “Small Lot” coffee Trader Joe’s comes out with. Just in case. ‘Cuz you never know. Sometimes you may find a Gem.
Like this coffee! Which is from the “Sigri Estate in Papua New Guinea”. I really was pleasantly surprised with this latest of Trader Joe’s Small Lot coffees. I thought this one was a winner. Likely the Best of the Small Lot coffees they’ve come out with in some time for my taste.Honestly, Trader Joe’s describes it perfectly and I could not do better. So quoting them….
“Brew up a cup of this Papua New Guinean whole bean coffee and you’ll notice its distinctive profile. The light roast presents moderate acidity and body with fragrant aromas of almond, berries, and açai. You’ll taste layered sweet and fruity flavors, detecting notes of pineapple, brown sugar, and honey.”
I find this all true. It tastes pretty unique which I guess is why they describe it with “notes of pineapple and brown sugar”, the first time I have seen the word “pineapple” used to describe a flavor profile of a coffee. I find the taste hard to pinpoint but sure, “pineapple and brown sugar” works, and all I know is that I quite liked flavor of this which is pretty unique but satisfying. Smooth but Robust. Wonderful coffee aroma when you first grind it up.
TJ’s labels this a “LIGHT ROAST”. I agree this is light (not blond) and the light roast here is perfect. Trader Joe’s seems to skew towards darker? Most of their coffee seem to be roasted at least medium, which is fine by me, as I like medium to dark and even espresso, but a light one here and there is nice, so here you go. If you like Light, give this a try and see what you think.
BREWING: I brewed it 2 ways, a drip coffee with a paper filter and also in my Moka pot. Both worked equally well and produced excellent coffee. It even produced a good amount of “crema” when I brewed it in my Moka pot, which to me also seems to indicate a good coffee. I’m sure this would be good for any brewing method including true espresso machines.
A quick search on Google revealed this about coffee from there: “Papua New Guinea (PNG) coffee is highly regarded for its smooth body, gentle acidity, and complex, sweet-toned flavor profile. Grown primarily in the fertile Central Highlands, these heirloom Typica and Bourbon beans—originally descended from Jamaica Blue Mountain—offer tasting notes of tropical fruit, dark chocolate, and mild spices.”
“Trader Joe’s Papua New Guinea Small Lot Coffee was grown on the distinguished Sigri estate in the Waghi Valley of PNG. There are numerous micro-climates all around this mountainous island, and the coffee growers of the Sigri estate have intimate knowledge of their own land, which translates into premium, AA (large grade), 100% Arabica beans.”
While I previously I had no knowledge of PNG coffee, I am a now big fan of this one at least. I look forward every morning to grinding these beans up to brew up my morning cup of Joe. In fact I will go back and pick up a bag or two of this ! Run, don’t walk and grab this one. IT’S LIMITED
This one was quite fresh too, as per the “roasted on” date. I bought it only about one month later in was roasted so pretty fresh.
Sidenote thought: Can you imagine the team working for Trader Joe’s on their “Small Lot Coffee” projects?! I’ve often thought this may be the coolest job in the world. Get sent all over the world looking for unusually good coffee finds in unusual places. Exploring small producers in far flung corners of the world, on the hunt for coffee that will end up as the next “Small Lot” find. Sounds like a Dream Job?
I actually really love a good hot dog, however as someone who tries to watch what they eat, hot dogs now are something I will basically only eat once a year – on July 4th! So when I do eat a hot dog, it’s got to be really good, of course, and would prefer it be one that is at least trying to be one of the “healthier” versions. But still really tasty.
For me, Trader Joe’s Organic Uncured Grass Fed All Beef Hot Dogs fits the bill exactly. Most important, these are good and tasty hot dogs, that are made better than many others that have questionable ingredients, something hot dogs are notorious for. These have good ingredients. Made with USDA certified organic beef from grass fed cows. They don’t contain added nitrates or nitrites as preservatives (ie, “uncured”). They use natural ingredients to “cure” them, specifically celery and sea salt. The ingredients are not mysterious. The rest of the ingredients are all organic seasonings, things like garlic puree, minced onion, paprika, and red pepper flakes. “No fillers. No kidding”.
We got these for a July 4th get together this year and these dogs were a big hit. Everyone commented on how good the hot dogs were. Nice and tasty, well seasoned the way I like my dogs with: “Organic black pepper, organic ginger, organic nutmeg, organic red pepper, organic paprika, organic garlic powder, organic onion powder, organic coriander, organic celery powder, organic garlic puree….”
These were so yummy on those good buns with good sauerkraut. I can’t wait for July 4th to roll around year again! You and your kids however may eat them anytime you are in the mood for hot dogs and want them to be as good as possible.
110 calories per hot dog
$5.99 (10 oz package, which has 6 hot dogs)
I would buy these again.
“NO PRESERVATIVES; KEEP REFRIGERATED BELOW 40 F AT ALL TIMES”
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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