Happy New Product Wednesday, LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers!
In my continued tribute to Trader Joe's finally opening a store in South Tampa, I am dedicating yet another "New Product Wednesday" product review post to a Trader Joe's product.
In the Trader Joe's freezer section is this bag of mini meatballs - 6 meatballs for 210 calories. Now if you read my Trader Joe's turkey meatballs product review, you will know that I giggle every time I say "balls." Giggle. Yep, still happens.
You can heat up these frozen meatballs in 20 minutes in sauce on the stovetop. Or you can heat up the frozen meatballs in the microwave for four minutes. Do I need to tell you what Miss Lack of Impulse Control and Patience chose? To the MICROWAVE, people!
Now I have made these meatballs before - I nuked them in the microwave, sliced them in half and fried them in a pan with a slight glisten of red chili oil. They were very tasty. But now that I recall my previous cooking attempt, I realize I didn't microwave them for the entire four minutes because I knew I would be finishing them off in a frying pan. This fact now makes a lot of sense to me … and will to you in a few moments.
My pantry and fridge are pretty bare after being on the road for nearly three weeks. My stomach was saying "Feed me NOW" - there was no time for creative meal planning. My stomach decided it wanted mini meatballs with raspberry chipotle sauce (that I bought in New Orleans) and a generous side of steamed green beans.
I set the microwave to cook the Trader Joe's party size mini meatballs. I pushed 4 1/2 minutes instead of 4 minutes because my microwave is not always the hottest thing on the planet. I covered the meatballs with a wet paper towel to keep the tiny orbs moist.
I started boiling water for the green beans when I smelled something burning. I looked at my ceramic stovetop and figured I must have splattered some oil or food on the range and it was now burning. I switched the pan to another burner. That seemed to do the trick. I turned on all the fans in the area because I have the world's most sensitive smoke detector.
I opened the microwave and a giant cloud of smoke blew straight into my face. Evidently I had set the mini meatballs, the paper plate and paper towel that enveloped them ON FIRE. Three of the six meatballs were charred, rock hard black masses. I threw the whole thing in the sink and saturated it all in water. I have this neurotic fear that things are still on fire, smoldering and waiting to kill me!
Who knew meatballs were so combustible? That extra 30 seconds in the microwave must have pushed it all over the line! Or maybe my old microwave was on its last leg? I put another batch of mini meatballs in the microwave (after airing it out), but this time no wet paper towel. Evidently I think wet paper towels are the most flammable substance on Earth! I set the microwave for exactly four minutes.
When I pulled them out, they were on the edge of overcooked. Five seconds more and they would have been party size mini rocks. I was so confused because I had made these before and they turned out fine. Really my microwave must be dying. But then I recalled the one and only time I made these meatballs, I cooked them for less than four minutes and then fried them up. Ahhhh-ha!
So be warned - you may want to set your microwave for three minutes and then check to see if the meatballs are thoroughly heated through. Or send me money for a new microwave, because definitely one of the two things caused me to make my house smell like a fireplace!
After near death by conflagration, how were the meatballs? Not bad - like the Trader Joe's turkey meatballs, they would have tasted better in sauce. They were OK but they do not beat homemade meatballs.
If you're having a party and have a really good sauce, throw these bad boys in a crock pot with the sauce and I think you'll have happy guests. But if you're sitting at home watching "Million Dollar Listing New York" over a plate of steam greened beans and naked party size mini meatballs that have just a splash of raspberry chipotle sauce, you're probably not going to be the happiest meatball camper.
Not terrible, but not the best ever. I give the Trader Joe's Party Size Mini Meatballs a six on a ten point scale.
What's your favorite Trader Joe's product?
In my continued tribute to Trader Joe's finally opening a store in South Tampa, I am dedicating yet another "New Product Wednesday" product review post to a Trader Joe's product.
In the Trader Joe's freezer section is this bag of mini meatballs - 6 meatballs for 210 calories. Now if you read my Trader Joe's turkey meatballs product review, you will know that I giggle every time I say "balls." Giggle. Yep, still happens.
You can heat up these frozen meatballs in 20 minutes in sauce on the stovetop. Or you can heat up the frozen meatballs in the microwave for four minutes. Do I need to tell you what Miss Lack of Impulse Control and Patience chose? To the MICROWAVE, people!
Now I have made these meatballs before - I nuked them in the microwave, sliced them in half and fried them in a pan with a slight glisten of red chili oil. They were very tasty. But now that I recall my previous cooking attempt, I realize I didn't microwave them for the entire four minutes because I knew I would be finishing them off in a frying pan. This fact now makes a lot of sense to me … and will to you in a few moments.
My pantry and fridge are pretty bare after being on the road for nearly three weeks. My stomach was saying "Feed me NOW" - there was no time for creative meal planning. My stomach decided it wanted mini meatballs with raspberry chipotle sauce (that I bought in New Orleans) and a generous side of steamed green beans.
 |
| Nothing says Tabasco Brand Raspberry Chipotle Sauce like a Hello Kitty washcloth from Osaka, Japan |
I started boiling water for the green beans when I smelled something burning. I looked at my ceramic stovetop and figured I must have splattered some oil or food on the range and it was now burning. I switched the pan to another burner. That seemed to do the trick. I turned on all the fans in the area because I have the world's most sensitive smoke detector.
I opened the microwave and a giant cloud of smoke blew straight into my face. Evidently I had set the mini meatballs, the paper plate and paper towel that enveloped them ON FIRE. Three of the six meatballs were charred, rock hard black masses. I threw the whole thing in the sink and saturated it all in water. I have this neurotic fear that things are still on fire, smoldering and waiting to kill me!
Who knew meatballs were so combustible? That extra 30 seconds in the microwave must have pushed it all over the line! Or maybe my old microwave was on its last leg? I put another batch of mini meatballs in the microwave (after airing it out), but this time no wet paper towel. Evidently I think wet paper towels are the most flammable substance on Earth! I set the microwave for exactly four minutes.
When I pulled them out, they were on the edge of overcooked. Five seconds more and they would have been party size mini rocks. I was so confused because I had made these before and they turned out fine. Really my microwave must be dying. But then I recalled the one and only time I made these meatballs, I cooked them for less than four minutes and then fried them up. Ahhhh-ha!
So be warned - you may want to set your microwave for three minutes and then check to see if the meatballs are thoroughly heated through. Or send me money for a new microwave, because definitely one of the two things caused me to make my house smell like a fireplace!
After near death by conflagration, how were the meatballs? Not bad - like the Trader Joe's turkey meatballs, they would have tasted better in sauce. They were OK but they do not beat homemade meatballs.
If you're having a party and have a really good sauce, throw these bad boys in a crock pot with the sauce and I think you'll have happy guests. But if you're sitting at home watching "Million Dollar Listing New York" over a plate of steam greened beans and naked party size mini meatballs that have just a splash of raspberry chipotle sauce, you're probably not going to be the happiest meatball camper.
Not terrible, but not the best ever. I give the Trader Joe's Party Size Mini Meatballs a six on a ten point scale.
What's your favorite Trader Joe's product?
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