Tasty Tuesday: Freezer Favorites

Sometimes, I just don't feel like cooking a whole meal from scratch.  I would love to, at every opportunity, but sometimes, I'm just tired, or crabby, or too darn hungry to go through all of the prep and cooking when I can just grab something out of the freezer.

Lately, a lot of those something's have been from Trader Joe's.  Their frozen meals are not so bad, in fact, some are quite good.  (I've heard recently about a recall on Butter Chicken with Basmati Rice, so maybe pass on that one, yeah?)  However, a lot of their frozen pasta dishes are pretty tasty.

Confession:  I get crabby when I'm too hungry.  Like, seriously crabby.  This usually results in me yelling or getting cranky with someone (mom, boyfriend, sister, cat...) or crying.  It also inhibits my ability to find food to eat.  I can be standing in front of a  stocked fridge and find absolutely nothing.

This was my conundrum last week.  I wanted to make linguine with clam sauce (which I'll do a recipe for another day, because it's super easy and super delicious,) but my mom said the clams in the house were off limits.  *Sad trombone*  So, I started hunting in the fridge and freezer.  After about three trips back and forth, I settled on a bag of Trader Joe's fettuccine with mushrooms.  At 150 calories a serving, I didn't feel bad eating more than one serving (there are 3 in the bag.)  This frozen delight takes six minutes total, with one stir halfway through.

Trader Joe's Fettuccine with Mushrooms

I tend to find that sometimes, (okay, most times) frozen or prepared meals are over-salted.  The bag suggests garnishing with grated parmesan cheese.  After a quick taste, I decided that no extra salt was needed, but did give the bowl a healthy grind of fresh cracked black pepper.  I also tossed in two large handfuls of fresh baby spinach.  The baby spinach wilted down to almost nothing, but gave the dish a fresh-not-frozen taste, as well as some color.

While it wasn't something fresh and homemade, it stopped the crabbies.  What are your favorite Trader Joe's or frozen meals?

Word.