some of my favorite things from tj's

while i still can't bring myself to do a full shop at trader joe's, i'm finding that i've been frequenting the store more and more lately. but with all their great products, their killer customer service (complete with hawaiian shirts) and dirt cheap prices - can you really blame me?

here are some of my favorites:

1. mac & cheese.
it's literally oozing with cheese. and it's real cheese - not the fake powdered stuff (although i do have a soft spot for kraft). and it's frozen which means that all you have to do is heat it up. personally i like mine with a side of chunky applesauce.

2. corn salsa.
honestly you just have to try this to believe how good it is. we honestly go through at least one jar of these per week in my house. it's that good. although i would recommend getting tostitos for your dipping - all those "healthy" tortilla chips at tj's taste like cardboard.

3. three buck chuck.
seeing as i'm about as far from a wine snob as you can get i'm completely fine with buying cheap wine as long as i like the taste of it. with five varieties from charles shaw - there's a bottle for everyone. plus, the chardonnay recently won a blind taste test out in california. and did i mention it's only $3.29/bottle?!?

4. soyaki.
true the name is completely corny (but that's part of the charm of tj's) - but you can't argue with the flavor (part soy sauce, part teriyaki - duh). it's great as a marinade or just as a sauce.

5. pita chips.
in my opinion these are the best pita chips out there. most brands are too thick but these seem just right. the plain ones are perfect for a thick dip and the cinnamon sugar ones are perfect as a sweet snack!

6. chicken burritos.
they're cheap, they're healthy and most importantly they're good! add a bit of sour cream and a side of corn salsa and you've got yourself a quick and easy meal.

7. oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
this is one of my more recent finds (they're hidden in the dairy section). they sell a carton of cookie dough (in pre-made balls) that you literally plop on a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. and they are some of the best (non-homemade) cookies i've ever had.

8. british muffins.
these are tj's version of thomas' english muffins. pretty clever, huh? they come in white, wheat and cinnamon raisin. i like the white ones the best - they taste like biscuits (and everyone knows i love biscuits).

9. pizza dough.
it's only 99 cents and it makes a really good pizza. so far i've mastered plain cheese, bbq chicken, thai chicken and pesto with sun dried tomatoes and ricotta. any other fun pizza ideas?

10. corn bread.
it comes in a box in the bakery aisle. i'm pretty sure all you add is milk, eggs and a bit of oil. and it even has little pieces of corn in it. it's only $1.99 - and while that's a whole lot more than that little box of jiffy - i'm thinking it's a whole lot better than it too. but i think we might have to have a bake off to determine that once and for all.

that's all without even looking in my cabinets. i'm sure i'm missing something. plus the fun thing about trader joe's is the stock is constantly changing. literally every time i go there they have new products on the shelves.