Cooking Catchup: TJ's Turkey Pot Pie & Kung Pao Chicken, Homemade Frittata Muffins

[tuftears]

Not all in the same meal, of course. This is me trying Trader Joe's foods so you don't have to! Also me catching up on photos I haven't blogged yet.



Post-Thanksgiving, since I hadn't actually had any turkey-- we went out for Chinese food at some restaurant-- I decided to try Trader Joe's turkey pot pie. I paired it with their brussel sprouts to ensure my vegetables quotient was met.



Verdict: Bleh. The cranberries do NOT go well inside a turkey pot pie. The sprouts were okay but also not my favorite; I could taste the bitterness, which is always a concern when dealing with brussel sprouts.

Next we have Trader Joe's Kung Pao chicken. I wanted to see how it compared with the sort of kung pao I make for myself. Here's how it looks in the pan...



(I actually added the pineapple to give it a bit of sweet'n'tart)

It's not actually 'unpack and bake in the oven'. Given the amount of work I did to cook this-- sautee the chicken, then heat the veggies, then mix in the sauce and such-- I would say it's probably better to just make my own in the future.

Verdict: Okay flavor, but not exceptional. It does taste similar to restaurant kung pao.

Finally, we have homemade frittata muffins!



These came out pretty decently. They're made with frozen spinach and bits of spicy sausage. However, there's really not that much substance to them, three plus some English muffins are needed to make a meal, and since I only made 6, that wasn't really a great use of time.

Also, I need to keep in mind however convenient and cheap Trader Joe's frozen spinach is, it just doesn't taste as good as real baby spinach. :( My older brother's philosophy, which I see as increasingly wise, is to get the most expensive version of any given thing, to be assured of getting good results.

Comments

[jordangreywolf.livejournal.com]

Is it just my imagination, or are Brussels sprouts becoming more fashionable? I seem to see them popping up a lot more often in catering, restaurant sides, and in the grocery store (I mean, aside from your typical choice of just fresh or frozen plain ol' sprouts).

This is just fine with me, since I rather like them -- if properly prepared. =9

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I have no idea. I know they used to be the joke gross vegetables, but I gave them a try in the cafeteria-- free food makes a way to lower entry barriers to trying new things-- and they were okay there so I'm giving them more of a chance than I would have otherwise.

[rowyn]

The frittatta muffins look good! If rather more trouble to make than I'd take. :)

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Dunno, baking frittata in a pie pan versus muffin, only real difference is the shape... You don't have a crust to deal with so it hardly matters. Pie crusts really up the annoyance factor since you have to blind-bake them before filling.

All you really have to do is cook some sausage bits in a wok so it's got crispy bits, turn the heat down a bit and put in some chikkin broth and spinach and steam that, then once the spinach is wilted, put that into a pre-oiled pan or muffin tray and mix in Eggbeaters and whatever spices you want, sprinkle cheddar cheese on top and bake it. I rely on the sausages to supply most of the savory flavoring.

Arguably you could just make scrambled eggs and skip the baking step. It's not quite the same texture though.