Trader Joe's Pantry Staples

     We love Trader Joe's at our house, for the price, quality, and taste. Over the past few years that we have frequently shopped there, we've come up with a list of "staples" that we like to have in our pantry. Here are a few of our favorites. We have several more that I will share some other time. 

1. Trader Joe's Carolina Gold Barbeque Sauce - Delicious on anything that we have grilled. A little on the sweet side. I recently had great success with Crockpot BBQ Chicken using this sauce. All I did was put some frozen chicken into the crockpot as well as 1/3 of the bottle of sauce and cooked it on low for 4-5 hours (until the chicken was done.) Then I pulled the chicken out and shredded it, leaving the sauce in the crockpot because it was pretty watery. Then we ate the chicken on sandwiches topped with a little of the sauce from the bottle. The meat was very moist and tender and delicious, not dry like some crockpot chicken can be.
2. Trader Joe's Crushed Garlic -  I think that this is a great buy for the price. It can tend to stink up your fridge if you don't close the jar tightly. 
3. Trader Giotto's Pesto Alla Genovese - My husband is pretty picky with pesto, it has to be good or he won't eat it. This is one pesto that he really enjoys. I use it on everything such as pizza, chicken, or sandwiches.
4. Trader Jose's Salsa Authentica - Pretty tasty for a canned salsa (although in my opinion nothing beats homemade salsa.) Reminds me of Pace Picante, but less chunky. 
5. Trader Giotto's Pizza Sauce - Love this stuff, not chunky at all which is a major requirement for me when it comes to pizza sauce. It can go moldy pretty quickly if you don't use it fast enough. 
6. Trader Joe's Garlic and Herb Pizza Dough - It is only $1.19 and allows me to make pizza spur of the moment, which is great in a house with two kids that love pizza.
7. Trader Joe's Double Creme Brie - Pictured below is the Canadian version of their Brie, they also have a French version. This was my first time buying the Canadian version (the clerk described it as a little less moist.) It was good but I much prefer the French version. Such a yummy treat, I have a hard time sharing. 
8. British Style Crumpets - A family favorite in our household, toasted with warm butter on top. We originally purchased these because my sister was having a "tea party" with the nieces in our family and I had always wondered what a crumpet tasted like. They are better than "English" muffins, and are quite delicious. It is hard to describe the taste, so the best thing that I can do is recommend that you try them.