There's really no sense in posting dozens of tiny updates about the new products I've loved and loathed over the last couple of months, so I'm going to try to compile them all for you.  A lot of them are things we've come to rely on after realizing that creating every side dish (or main course) from scratch becomes a thing of the past when your growing baby wants to be entertained all the time.

Trader Joe's Butternut Squash Risotto - Smelled terrible.  Y'know how sometimes squash can smell like BO when it cooks with a lot of pepper?  Yeah, that.  On the bright side, it was delicious!

Trader Joe's Polenta Provencale - Boom.  Our new favorite ready-made side dish.  Little nuggets of polenta with frozen-yet-fresh-tasting veggies in a wonderful spicy cream sauce.

Kellogg's Krave Cereal (chocolate) - Tastes like the marshmallows from Count Chocula, but surprisingly not-hateful nutrition facts.  120 cals, 24 carbs and 3 grams of fiber. For being fairly low in sugars, the chocolate is very sweet, so I'm not sure I'd be interested in trying the double chocolate.

Barber's Stuffed Chicken - Available in Broccoli Cheese, Cordon Bleu, Brie & Apple, Chicken Kiev.  So far, we've tried all but the Kiev and they've all been very tasty.  Only drawback is that it's not truly a "stuffed breast."  It IS all white meat, but rib meat is also used.  I'm normally very picky about frozen chicken items, and these don't bug me out.  Especially with the convenience factor and fairly friendly nutrition facts, these are a weekly staple for us.  We've also tried the Koch Oven Cravers - which are the same idea, only not breaded.  All of those have been good as well.

Trader Joe's Better'n Peanut Butter - Well, it probably would have been great.  I remember it being too sweet for sandwiches, but it may have been great for baking.  Why am I speaking hypothetically, you might ask?  Because it was supposed to be shelf stable for 2-3 months, according to the expiration date, and the shit molded less than one week after I opened it, and the jar was sealed tight.  This is one of maybe ten times in the last year that I have either bought spoiled food from TJ's or it has spoiled within a day or two.  Boooooooo.

A week or so ago, the Mister and I headed to Trader Joe's, specifically for their wheat pizza dough. We ended up grabbing a few other things, too, and I know you're dying to know what I thought of them.


Peanut Satay Sauce - Meh. It's not exactly what I was looking for - too salty or too much soy sauce. But, I did use a few tablespoons to perfect the already great peanut sauce recipe I've been making.

Trader Giotto's Classic Marinara - Fantastic. Only about $2 per jar, and aperfect accompaniment for things like calzones, stromboli and bread sticks. A little Italian place in Kettering has some of the best red sauce I've ever had, and this is pretty comparable.

Chicken Mai Shu - EW. Just, ew. I fixed up half the box, by the box's microwave-only instructions. The flavor was so-so, but the texture was gnarly. I'm going to try the microwave steam again then toss them in a pan to crisp up and see if the other half turns out better that way.

Pepperoni - I don't remember the brand name, but it was the best pre-packages pepperoni I've tasted. Lean, not greasy, and great flavor.

Wheat Pizza Dough - At only 99 cents a bag, I'm going to go back and clean them out of this stuff. Some wheat dough tends to be too sweet for it's own good, but this was as close to perfect as it's going to get without making it yourself.

Sunday meals are a thing of decadence and gluttony in my family, and this didn't change once I built my own little nest. There's none of that popcorn for dinner or eat-whatever's-around mess. It's a big to do - even if you go out for a meal on a Sunday, it has to measure up. Yesterday we celebrated our anniversary, yet again, with food. I picked up some great looking pepperoni and whole wheat pizza dough at Trader Joe's (more to come on that tip later) and already had the rest of the set-up. Here's what you'll need for making two strombolis the size of your arm, or four reasonably-sized portions.

Pizza Dough*
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 pkg pepperoni, about a cup
2-3 Italian sausage links, cooked and cut into coins
1/2 C fresh baby spinach
2 cloves minced garlic
olive oil
red pepper flakes

*Trader Joe's pizza dough is a hell of a deal for 99 cents per bag, and it freezes well, too.

Preheat the oven to 350 and get all of your fillings ready to go before you start with the dough. Also, make sure you let the dough sit at room temp for about 20 minutes first. This makes it a lot easier to work with.
Once it's closer to room temp, flour either a cutting board or a clean counter top very well. Stretch the dough first with your hands by using a method I call the steering wheel, where you work the dough with both hands on a circular motion like you're making a sharp turn. You don't have to literally stretch it, it will just start to stretch itself. Once you have it thinned out a bit, use a floured rolling pin and roll it out on the cutting board to get it as thin as you'd like. Once you're there, cut it into as many rectangles as you'll need for the size you're making.

I found it's best to start with smaller ingredients, then go bigger towards the top. So, first put down a little olive oil, red pepper flakes and garlic, then pile on the spinach, pepperoni, Italian sausage and cheese - all close to one side. Take the blank side of dough and fold it over the stuffing, making a seam on the other side. If you're not convinced it won't fall apart, press the edges with a fork like you would a turnover or pocket pie to seal it. Cut a 1" slit in the top of the dough about every 2" so it doesn't essplode in the oven. Brush the top with a little olive oil (or egg wash, if you're going more for looks than flavor) and season it with some garlic powder and rosemary. If you've got cornmeal on hand, you can also dust the bottom of the stromboli with that to add texture - a lot of pizza joints do that.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until the crust doesn't give when you tap it. I felt it was missing something, so I made some herbed garlic butter to drizzle over the tops before serving.
Needless to say, this was the kind of meal that reassured Mr. FvF that he's marrying up.