by Furnishly | Mar 3, 2023 | Design Inspiration, Style
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It’s time to clear the holiday clutter from the entire house, and that includes the kitchen. I love the thrill of discovering new products, but right now I am focused on restocking my pantry with dinnertime staples for every night of the week.
As an avid Aldi shopper, I know I can count on the discount market to have high-quality groceries under its many private-label brands and a few big name brands too. The best part is that I know when I slide that quarter into the cart, my pantry (and fridge! And freezer!) will be full without bursting my budget. These are the 10 dinner items I’m adding to my shopping list.
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1. Kirkwood Breaded Chicken Breast Fillets, $7.99 for 24 ounces
2. Earth Grown Extra Firm Organic Tofu, $1.69 for 14 ounces
3. Pueblo Lindo Queso Fresco, $2.39 for 10 ounces
No list of dinner staples is complete without cheese. Queso fresco is what my homemade tacos, tostadas, and corn on the cob have been missing. In lieu of adding mild and melty Mexican-blend cheese, queso fresco has a crumbly texture and salty, tangy flavor.
4. Simply Nature Organic Chicken Broth or Less-Sodium Chicken Broth, $1.75 for 32 ounces
I usually have a stash of homemade chicken stock in the freezer. But when I need a splash of flavorful liquid for soups and sauces, a good-quality broth is indispensable. A box of broth also makes quick work of dinner — especially when one of my family’s favorite one-pot pastas is on the menu.
5. Specially Selected Italian Bread, $3.49 for 16 ounces
Much of Aldi’s fanfare focuses on the store’s limited-edition Aldi Finds. Mine is on the bread aisle. I will not pass by without adding a loaf (or two!) of the crusty Italian bread to my cart. I use it through the week for sandwiches and French toast, and as a garlicky side for soups
6. Burman’s Hot Sauce, $2.05 for 12 ounces
7. Priano Bronze Cut Pasta, $1.99 for 16 ounces
8. Simply Nature Organic 100% Grass-Fed Ground Beef, $5.29 for 16 ounces
Buying good-quality beef is important to me, so I stock up on these one-pound packages from Aldi. The beef is in recipe-ready portions, plus it’s organic and 100% grass-fed. Pick up one pack for this week, and stash another in the freezer to keep on hand.
9. Tuscan Garden Ranch Salad Dressing Mix, 50 cents for 1 ounce
10. Priano Herb Chicken or Three Cheese Tortellini, $6.29 for 20 ounces
When a 30-minute meal is more time than I have to put dinner on the table, I reach for refrigerated tortellini. These fresh, filled pastas require a short swim in boiling water before they are ready to serve. Toss them with steamed frozen veggies and a shower of salty cheese, serve them in a soup, or tossed with a creamy sauce.
What are your favorite dinner staples to buy at Aldi? Tell us in the comments below!
by Furnishly | Feb 18, 2023 | Design Inspiration, Style
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
I have this theory that part of the appeal of Trader Joe’s is that blink-and-you-miss-it experience with new products. Come on a Tuesday afternoon and the shelves might have sprouted with Valentine’s Day chocolate, fresh bags of ground coffee, and new dog treats. Two days later? Gone! But then you spot a new hummus, a cheeky little tulip bulb, and can’t forget to pick up the cookie butter …
Shopping at Trader Joe’s is definitely all about that IYKYK (if you know you know) feeling. Which is why we make it a weekly routine to scour the shelves for all the new items that have hit stores before they become a thing of the past. So what is new this week? I spied with my little eyes a new salad topper, a couple of snack options, as well as my dinner tonight, and I think you’ll definitely want to check them all out this week.
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1. Sweet Picanté Peppers, $4.99 for 10.75 ounces
When I can’t manage a transatlantic vacation, dinnertime is where I engage most of my wanderlust. And serving up these Sweet Picanté Peppers makes me feel like it’s tapas hour in Spain.
Also known as peppadew peppers, these Picanté peppers are delightfully crisp and perfectly briny, with a subtle burn of heat. The creamy cheese cuts through the sweet heat of the peppers, and has me daydreaming about loading these onto my next pizza or even skewering them onto my next cocktail.
2. Apple Chip Duo, $2.49 for 2 ounces
Have you ever noticed that some of the best-kept secrets at Trader Joe’s are hidden in the dried fruit and nut section? It’s often my first stop on my weekly shops, so I was beyond jazzed to find a new addition to the shelves: the Apple Chip Duo. Containing crinkle cuts of both red and green apples, the Apple Chip Duo has a surprise in each sweet (or tart!) bite.
While I’ve loved dipping these into Trader Joe’s cannoli dip and fleur de sel caramel sauce, I have some savory ideas in store for my bag of apple chips, too. Don’t you think they’d be pretty damn good pressed into a melty turkey-Brie sandwich, too? These apple chips just might be the ticket for my long-standing quest of recreating the Fuji Apple Chicken Salad from Panera Bread, so wish me luck!
3. Squiggly Knife Cut Style Noodles, 4.99 for 13.4 ounces
This box had me at the words “squiggly” and “noodles.” Say no more! In the cart you go, squiggly noodles! When my weekly meals start feeling a bit stale, the first thing I do is introduce a new noodle shape into my rotation, and these squiggly noodles are quite the day-brightener.
Supremely ruffly and air-fried, these noodles are chewy and hefty, and even come with their own little pack of soy and sesame sauce for tossing with your favorite toppings (I like a jammy soy-sauce egg, edamame, and plenty of green onions). These squiggly dinnertime heroes are also ideal for riffing, too. Tonight will find me dressing up these noodles carbonara-style, topped with a fried egg.
4. Hot Cocoa Heart Melts, $3.99 for 5.64 ounces
I’m a sucker for anything heart-shaped. Heart-shaped panettone? It’s a need, not a want. Heart-shaped donuts? I’ll take a baker’s dozen. So you know I’m going to be vehemently slam-dunking a bag of these heart-shaped hot cocoa melts in my hand basket on my next run. One of the newest Valentine’s Day products to hit TJ’s shelves this year, these Hot Cocoa Heart Melts are studded with mini marshmallows, and have a caramel cream center that’s enrobed in milk chocolate.
Full disclosure: I have yet to track them down at my local store, but how can you go wrong with that combo? I see many, many mocha coffees and hot chocolates in my near future (or just many handfuls eaten straight from the bag). And apparently it just takes three melts per hot drink to do the trick (and will likely make your heart grow a few sizes bigger).
Spot anything you’re excited about at Trader Joe’s recently? Tell us in the comments below!
by Furnishly | Dec 19, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
When throwing a dinner party, it’s easy to get swept up in the multicourse-ness of it all. And when it comes to dinner parties, the holiday season is arguably the most popular time of the year to host — and it’s all about the food.
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If you happen to be one of those ethereal, sparkling hosting wizards, you probably already know that hosting is hard work (especially if you’re making it look easy!). When I was reading a hostess guide book from 1952, for example (there are so many!), I learned that to be a good hostess, everything has to be homemade, everything has to be perfect, and your dress has to have an a-line silhouette. Luckily today’s standards have changed: Wearing pants is now an option, and hosting doesn’t mean making everything from scratch. In fact, smart hosts know when to take clever shortcuts so they can spend quality time with their guests.
As every good host knows, you never know when or where inspiration will strike. For me it was in the aisles of Costco that I stumbled upon a clever shortcut — in the freezer, betwixt boxes of 72-count toaster waffles and giant six-pound sacks of Italian meatballs. Cuisine Adventures French Onion Soup immediately caught my attention, for two main reasons.
What’s So Great About Cuisine Adventures French Onion Soup?
First, French onion soup calls for a ton of onions. While onions aren’t expensive, there’s a lot of labor involved in halving, peeling, and slicing 10, 12, 50, or one billion onions (I don’t know how much soup you make). Second, a good French onion soup takes time: Letting broth, a bit of wine, some herbs, and all of those onions become friends in the pot can take at least a few hours. At only $10.99 for six portions, this Costco version is nearly cheaper (in some cases, literally cheaper!) than buying all the ingredients to make it yourself.
I don’t know about you, but I prefer hanging out with people over onions. So I imagine for Thanksgiving, or your birthday, or any celebration where you’re having people over, this frozen French onion soup would make the perfect hands-off first course. I was delighted to find that this soup came packaged in individual, vacuum-sealed cylindrical portions, perfect for placing in a bowl and microwaving, which is one of the preparation methods listed on the box.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the flavor of the soup — hearty and savory, with slight sweetness from the onions. Unsurprisingly, however, the croutons placed on top didn’t really get crispy in the microwave (perhaps they would if you prepared this in the oven), but that was nothing some supplementary toast couldn’t fix.
If You’re Going to Make Cuisine Adventures French Onion Soup, a Few Tips
What holiday shortcuts are you buying at Costco this year? Tell us in the comments.
by Furnishly | Oct 27, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
Tai Saint-Louis
Tai Saint-Louis is a Haitian-born, Atlanta-based journalist & content development consultant. Over the course of her 20 year career she has contributed to Mass Appeal, Ebony.com, WatchLoud.com, Bossip.com, Creative Loafing, Scratch, XXL, The Source, Upscale Magazine and AllHipHop.com, and worked with brands including the Combat Jack Show and the A3C Festival. She is also the co-author of The Art Behind The Tape, the first coffee table book about the history of mixtape culture.
by Furnishly | Oct 26, 2022 | Design Inspiration, Style
Stephanie Ganz
Once a professional chef (in the lifetime before kids), Stephanie Ganz has written for Bon Appetit, Eater, BUST, and Virginia Living and is a regular contributor to Richmond Magazine. She lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband, two girls, and one excellent cat. Follow her online: @salganz (Instagram) and @onioncloute (Twitter).
