Trader Joe's

[Gutmutter]

Chef daughter is home for Christmas break and we hit Trader Joe's yesterday on our way home from shopping. In addition to many yummy things for later we bought items to lunch on during the drive home. Big, juicy oranges, the curried chicken salad in the refrigerated section - OMG!!!!!- with crispy whole grain crackers, green drinks, and the dark chocolate caramels they sell in tiny packs by the check-out. I had a huge "happiness moment" all the way home.

[Poppy Fields]

We bought our kids major gift cards from Trader Joe's this year. We received some gifts in return when they cashed them in. My favorite is Trader Joe's Giant Cupcake in Chocolate Peppermint - chocolate cake infused with peppermint and whipped whie icing with fine qaulity peppermint oil. Trust me when I tell you that you'll experience a minty, cooling sensation all the way down along your alimentary canal. I think I'm becoming addicted to it.

Plus that giant cupcake is so damn cute!

[Ellen]

The parents of one of my "tutees" tucked a Trader Joe's gift card into the Christmas card -- really, one of the best gifts ever!

(My very favorite holiday gifts are the handwritten notes and/or home-made cards from the tutees themselves -- and hubby gets a big kick out of them since the kids' first language isn't English, so the wording is outrageously cute!)

[Gutmutter]

We went yesterday and found several things back in stock that we weren't able to find during the holidays - the gorgonzola cheese spread, the sesame seed covered almonds. We got two more tubs of the curried chicken salad and two wedges of Cambozola cheese. My daughter goes back to school in two weeks and then it's back to beans and greens for me! In the meanwhile - yummmmmmm!

[Little Sew&Sew]

We plan on ringing in the new year with a couple bottles of LAMBRUSCO DELL 'EMILIA BIANCO that we purchased at Trader Joes. They had free tastings and it was very agreeable. Hope everyone has a safe and happy end of 2011. Here's to a great 2012.

[football_chick]

This may not be a new product but it was new for me - the Chicken Santa Fe Flatbread. It's a fresh sandwich, not frozen, with chicken, black beans, peppers, corn, pepper jack cheese and a side of tomatillo sauce. I put it in the microwave to melt the cheese a bit - yummy!

Also the Peppermint Hot Chocolate with chocolate shavings - double yum.

Finally, I've been snacking all day on the peanut butter filled pretzels. I wish I had a TJ's near me!

[Ellen]

...I wish I had a TJ's near me!

Hey, PM me if you need a "fix" of anything that can be shipped in a USPS flat-rate box. I'm in San Diego, and live in less than 20 minutes' driving distance of at least THREE TJ's I can think of offhand. We go to TJ's every weekend, as it's our main grocery store.

[Cootie]

I just found a box of Peppermint JoeJoes in my cupboard that we forgot about. Can you imagine that? I was so excited. All our home made Christmas cookies are long gone and these fit my needs perfectly! And I don't even need to share as Mr. C has gone surfing for a few weeks and all my family members have gone home. My "local" TJ's is 70 miles away so this is a real find!

Ellen, your offer is a nice one and a good idea. A flat rate box is much cheaper than a tank of gas! We should come up with a list of must haves that could be mailed in those boxes...

[football_chick]

Hey, PM me if you need a "fix" of anything that can be shipped in a USPS flat-rate box. I'm in San Diego, and live in less than 20 minutes' driving distance of at least THREE TJ's I can think of offhand. We go to TJ's every weekend, as it's our main grocery store.

Thanks so much for the offer Ellen! Even though I am in Southwestern Ontario I can simply cross the border into Michigan and visit one about 15 minutes away. My wish for one closer was so that I could buy a lot of the fresh stuff. Right now we go once a month. I am going to start going every 2 weeks

So jealous you live in close proximity to at least 3!

[Jamie5632]

I'M FINALLY GETTING A TRADER JOE'S!! Other newsworthy things may have happened in Colorado the last 24 hours but all anyone can talk about is that it is finally coming. No more 5 hour one way road trips with tons of coolers, or shamelessly begging friends and family for the things I see here in between trips!! The unconfirmed rumor is that it will be three miles from the office. I'd settle for anywhere in a three hour radius!