Trader Joe’s Curried Chicken Salad

 

One of the foods we came home with the other day at Trader Joe’s was their Curried White Chicken Deli Salad.  In my opinion it’s one of the best things that Trader Joe’s carries – I could eat it every day! 

Despite the curry, it isn’t spicy, just very flavorful.  And one of the things I like best about this salad is that you don’t taste the mayonnaise like you do in traditional chicken salads.  It is great for sandwiches, spreading on crackers, or even just eating it right out of the container.  I had it on Raisin Rosemary Crisps. 

The salad is made of chicken breast, carrots, raisins, scallions, toasted cashews, and mayonnaise.  It is spiced with curry, sugar, lime juice, ginger, turmeric, salt, and pepper.  If I didn’t have a Trader Joe’s nearby, I would try out this copycat recipe from the blog The Chronicles of Home, but having one in town, I’ll probably just stick with their pre-made version since it’s made so perfectly. 

Trader Joe’s Cheeses

We went on a grocery run to Trader Joe’s last night.  They have such an amazing selection of cheeses at a bargain, so every time we go, we buy a kind we haven’t tried before. 

So far we’ve have loved every single one we’ve tried.  The Smoked Gouda is one of our favorites (you can see it in this post).  Their Toscano cheeses are amazing (they have one coated in black pepper and one soaked in Syrah).  The Unexpected Cheddar is a crumbly cheese with bits of Parmesan mixed into the white cheddar.  Lance’s favorite is the Red Leicester with Chili and Red Bell Pepper, which is a mix of sweet and spicy.  I think my favorite so far has been the English Farmhouse Cheddar with Caramelized Onions (it was amazing in this salad, but also perfect for snacking with crackers). 

Last night we tried two new varieties – Blueberry & Vanilla Chevre Goat Cheese and Creamy Danish Havarti.  For dinner we snacked on a plate with these two cheeses, Kalamata olives, Italian salame, “More Than a Mouthful Trek Mix”, olive tapenade, Raisin Rosemary Crisps, and Fig & Olive Crisps. 

Both cheeses were fantastic – the Blueberry Chevre tasted like it should be a dessert.  And the Havarti is a nice basic cheese that would pair with anything. 

The Raisin Rosemary crisps are my go-to cracker at Trader Joe’s (I found a recipe for them in this post).  The Fig & Olive crisps were a bit chewier – still nice flavor, but I like the Raisin Rosemary better. 

The Trek Mix is a blend of dried cranberries, dark chocolate sea salt & Turbinado sugar almonds, pumpkin seeds, and Greek yogurt coated pretzels.  It was very good, but I think I’ll stick with just buying the dark chocolate almonds since they're the best part of the mix.  The sea salt & Turbinado sugar are a perfect sweet & salty combo - they are one of my favorite sweet treats. 

We buy the salame almost every time we go – the peppered kind is my favorite.  We also bought fresh garlic & herb pizza dough and Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce on this trip, so we're planning to use the rest of the salame as a pizza topping. 

I love that we can go to Trader Joe’s and make several impulse buys, and yet the total bill always ends up being much lower than I anticipate.  It’s like getting Whole Foods or Fresh Market quality foods for Publix prices.  So happy we have a Tampa location now! They’ve been spreading quickly, with 15 open or soon-to-open Florida locations. 

Trader Joe’s Tampa is located at 3808 W Swann Ave, Tampa, FL 33609 and is open 8am – 9pm every day. 

Raisin Rosemary Crisps with Fig Butter

I’ve been a big fan of Trader Joe’s for a while now – so of course I was very excited when they finally opened in Tampa in March!  I love all the fancy gourmet cheeses and inexpensive wine (as you can see in the photo below after one of our Trader Joe’s shopping sprees):

One of my favorite things they carry are Raisin Rosemary Crisps.  These crackers are addicting and you’ll want to eat the whole box – they are perfect for eating on their own, but they go really well with cheese too.  Today I’m snacking on them with fig butter (also from Trader Joe’s).  It tastes like such a gourmet snack but it takes no effort at all to make!  

I did find a recipe for the Raisin Rosemary Crisps on the blog Flour Arrangements, but by the time I purchase all the ingredients I don’t think it would be worth the money or effort.  But if you don’t have a Trader Joe’s nearby you, give this a try!  I haven’t actually tried this recipe out, but from the photo they look very similar to the ones I’m eating.

Raisin Rosemary Crisps

Ingredients:

·        1 cup flour

·        1 teaspoon baking soda

·        1/2 teaspoon salt

·        1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

·        2 tablespoons brown sugar

·        1 cup buttermilk

·        2 tablespoons maple syrup

·        1/2 cup raisins

·        1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

·        2 tablespoons millet

·        2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

·        2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Generously butter four 2 1/2-by-5 inch loaf pans.

2. In a small bowl, combine raisins with very hot water.  Let sit for five minutes and then drain well.

3. Meanwhile, stir pumpkin seeds over medium-high heat in a small skillet until they start to crackle and turn just barely brown.  Set aside to cool.  Add millet to the skillet and stir until they begin to make popping sounds.  Add millet to the pumpkin seeds.  Add sesame seeds to the bowl and mix to combine.

4. Mix flour, baking soda, salt, pepper, and brown sugar in a medium-sized bowl.  Add cooled seeds, along with the rosemary, and stir to combine.   Add the buttermilk, maple syrup, and raisins; stir until just blended.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch.  Immediately turn out the small loaves and cool on a wire rack.

6. After the loaves cool completely, wrap them in plastic and freeze them for about an hour (the frozen loaves are easier to slice thinly).  Slice loaves as thinly as possible and place the slices in a single layer on parchment-lined baking sheets.

7. Bake at 300° F for 15 minutes.  Flip the slices and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes more, until crisp and golden.  Remove from oven and cool on baking sheets.  Once cool, store in an airtight container.