So...this might be the third time Sonia has ever made enchiladas in our 15 years of marriage. She works a full-time job, so it's not like I expect her to cook every day. And enchiladas aren't one of her specialty dishes. Sonia's mom only made them once in a blue moon back when Sonia was a young girl. But shoot, it's nice when she does whip up a batch. I'm tempted to try my hand at it myself, but I'm pretty sure it would be disappointing by comparison.
Having a pre-made sauce helps the process go quickly and smoothly. Trader Joe's offering is reasonably-priced, and it has a nice consistency and flavor. There's a bit more of a kick than I was expecting, to be honest. Fortunately, we both enjoy spicy foods. Sonia and I would put the heat level around a 6 on our spice-o-meters. A quick glance at the ingredients reveals that the product not only contains red jalapeño pepper puree but also ground red chile pepper and chipotle pepper powder.
It's not too thin and not too thick. It coats fairly easily and it's smooth and a nice dark shade of deep red. Our enchiladas had beans and shredded chicken wrapped in flour tortillas and topped with a Mexican cheese blend and Trader Joe's Enchilada Sauce. After baking for 20 minutes, the resulting entree was flavorful, filling, and satisfying.
What else can you do with this sauce? Chilaquiles are mentioned on traderjoes.com. If we try that, we'll report back with the results in the comments section. What have you made with this product? Let us know.
$4.49 for the 24 oz jar. Kosher. Would buy again. Eight out of ten stars a piece from both Sonia and me for Trader Joe's Enchilada Sauce.
I admit I complain a lot about certain Trader Joe's foods being too hard. It seems like other TJ's customers must have adamantium jaws, because I don't hear a lot of other folks making that same observation. Products like English Toffee, Mango Sticky Rice Crisps, and more than one of their sweet cracker "crisps" come to mind. When I eat those delicious yet overly rigid products, I feel like Trader Joe's has made some kind of sinister deal with the American Dental Association to help them drum up demand for extra crowns and fillings.
These almonds feel like they're coated in glass. Fortunately, it's a delicate sugary glass that melts in your mouth if you suck on it long enough. The candy is an interesting, sweet, vanilla-esque flavor. The almonds are flat and long, apparently by virtue of their status as Avola almonds, a species that's indigenous to Sicily, Italy. "Confetti almonds" are apparently a popular favor given out at Italian weddings.
Sonia loves the candy coating even though she, too, agrees that it's excessively hard. We both agree the flavor of the almonds themselves is very good. I think I'd have preferred to try the Avola almonds without the candy since I'm not familiar with them. The shell is okay in my book, but it detracts from the almonds in both taste and texture in the end. And just in case you're wondering, this product was still many months before its best by date when we consumed it.
$4.49 for the 6 oz resealable bag. Imported from Italy. Kosher. Sonia will give Trader Joe's Italian Confetti Almonds 7.5 out of 10 stars because she loves the flavor. I think the taste is nice, but it's not enough to make me ever want to buy these again in their current format. Unfortunately, comparable bags of plain Avola almonds will run you upwards of twelve bucks. Guess I'll wait until TJ's offers Avolas without the armor. Five out of ten stars from me.
