- 4 months ago
Looking for quick, flavorful dinners that come together with just a few ingredients? In this video, Nicole takes on the Trader Joe’s freezer aisle and whips up 7 easy dinners made with 4 ingredients or less. From shrimp stir fry to birria tacos, these meals prove that freezer staples can be the secret to weeknight success. We kick things off with a light and colorful Shrimp & Veggie Stir Fry, then toss together a hearty Grilled Chicken Pasta that’s perfect for busy nights. Next, Nicole serves up cheesy Chiles Rellenos followed by zesty Grilled Chimichurri Chicken Skewers that taste like they came straight off the grill. For pasta night, she makes a buttery Shrimp Scampi, then heads into takeout-fakeout territory with classic Beef & Broccoli.
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00:00Inside these two bags, I have dinner for every night of the week.
00:03Seven Trader Joe's dinners straight from the freezer section.
00:06Most of these I've never tried before, so we're doing this together.
00:09I probably should have mentioned that all these dinners are four ingredients or less.
00:14Meal one is shrimp and veggie stir-fry with jasmine rice.
00:18I love, like, frozen rice.
00:20I do this at home whenever I make rice.
00:22I make extra and freeze it because rice just freezes very well and it reheats very well.
00:26So we'll serve it over this, but I found these Argentinian red shrimp,
00:31and I've had these before in the pasta dish we did,
00:34but these, like, kind of have that, like, sweet, almost like a lobster taste and texture,
00:39and they already come marinated with ginger, garlic, butter, and togarashi seasoning.
00:44The shrimp's thawing under cool water.
00:46Rice comes in these little pouches.
00:48There's three of these in the pack, and you just pop them in the microwave for three minutes.
00:51For the veggies, heat a nonstick skillet with a little bit of oil.
00:55Take the veggies out.
00:57It comes with the sauce.
00:58It says to put the sauce in warm water.
01:00Then you just dump the veggies in.
01:04I want your skillet to be really hot.
01:07Is this in my life?
01:10You want your skillet really hot because you want this to stir-fry, not just steam.
01:14So just let it hang out here for about five minutes.
01:17With all these, you can always, you know, go to any pantry staples you have on hand.
01:20My gut is telling me to add some, like, onion in here because I just like that in my stir-fry.
01:26Plus, things like this, I mean, they cost, like, hardly any money, like, less than a dollar, and they can really bulk the meal up, too.
01:33All right, shrimp is thawed.
01:34I'm just scooting the veggies to the side, and then the skillet's really hot, so I'm going to go ahead and cook the shrimp on this side and then add it all together with the sauce.
01:41It has the marinade in here, and I'm going to use that, but I didn't want, like, the shrimp to steam in here, so I'm just going to let it develop a little color, and then I'll go ahead and pour this in here, too, because I think a lot of the flavor is in this sauce.
01:53So the shrimp have gotten some color.
01:55Now I'll go in with all of the marinade, cook that up, and now I'm going to bring the two things together.
02:01I'm going to add in, like, a splash of water.
02:04How long did this dinner take?
02:05Ten minutes.
02:06And look how good it looks.
02:08It's colorful.
02:09It looks flavorful because of the color of the liquid.
02:12You know, it's like color equals flavor.
02:14That was fast.
02:15Let's serve it up.
02:16Hot rice, hot shrimp, stir fry.
02:19I think it's good to go.
02:20You can always reach into your condiment drawer and finish it off however you want.
02:24Look at that perfect bite.
02:27Mmm.
02:28That's perfection.
02:29I like how the vegetables are still, like, crisp, tender.
02:31That sauce is really flavorful, and it's soaked into, like, those little pieces of broccoli and now the rice.
02:36It's a great meal.
02:38Three ingredients for the next dinner.
02:40I'm going to call this grilled chicken pasta.
02:42First up are these grilled chicken strips, just seasoned white chicken meat.
02:48I also have these grilled peppers and onions, so this is going to mimic that grilled flavor.
02:52So I'll be able to cook these two things together in the skillet and then combine it with one of my favorite things, cacio e pepe.
02:59The sauce is frozen in cubes, so it'll all come together.
03:04Oh, yeah, that's going to be good.
03:06These can totally be cooked together, the chicken and the veggies.
03:08They both cook in a nonstick skillet.
03:10We can figure this out.
03:11This one bag has five servings, and each serving has 20 grams of protein.
03:15There's 100 grams of protein in this one bag.
03:17Just going down with the chicken from frozen, and it says to add in about two tablespoons of water and cover it so that it steams.
03:24This takes about six minutes to heat through, and I'm going to stop at about four and add in the veggies.
03:28Our water's evaporated out, and it's starting to get some color down there.
03:32These are still partially frozen, so they're going to steam, and they're going to lift up the flavor that started to create on the bottom down there.
03:38This will cook for a few minutes, and then we'll just combine it with the pasta.
03:40Oh, my God, look how creamy.
03:43These little nests of spaghetti will start to unwind that pasta.
03:50Surprisingly, like, perfectly al dente.
03:52Weird.
03:53Now I'm going to rinse out this little bowl just to be sure I get every bit of sauce.
03:58This one is impressive, you've got to admit.
04:01I brought out my spices thinking I was going to have to zhuzh it up, but you don't need to even bring out the salt and pepper.
04:06Now, it's really perfectly fine just like this.
04:09If you want to reach into your pantry or fridge and do a little more parm, you could.
04:13Perfect bites.
04:15Look how much sauce is in there.
04:19It's going to be a hard one to beat.
04:20I can't get over how perfect the pasta is cooked.
04:22The chicken tastes like real chicken, and those veggies really do, like, have real grill flavor.
04:28This meal, three ingredients, is a solid 10 out of 10.
04:33I was influenced for this next dinner.
04:35I have seen these chili rellenos when I was doing my research.
04:40These seem to be, like, a cult favorite.
04:42So I've never tried them, so we're going to do this together.
04:44But they come with cheese in a Mexican-style tomato sauce.
04:49There's two per package, so I got two packs.
04:51And I thought that would be delicious over some Spanish rice.
04:55This is four servings.
04:56This could be a two-ingredient dinner.
04:58But I picked up a salad because you know all this together is going to be amazing.
05:03Wait till the end when I tell you how much this whole week's worth of meals cost.
05:07You won't believe it.
05:08Simply put them on a baking sheet, 420 to 25 degrees, or until they are crisp and heated through.
05:14Sauce you can do in the microwave or stovetop.
05:18Pop that right on low.
05:20Our main dish is all set.
05:22Heating these up.
05:23Same as the other rice.
05:24Oh, these made their own oil to fry in.
05:29Look at that.
05:30How did that work?
05:33I mean, to get that crispy in the oven, that's impressive.
05:37This is a super minimal effort dinner.
05:41Fun way to twist up Taco Tuesday.
05:42I want to see if these chili rayanos are all they're cracked up to be.
05:48The breading is good, but the flavor of just that pepper with cheese is like all I really need.
05:55It has like a fried taste.
05:56Almost like you can taste the oil that it cooked in a little too much.
06:00I kind of don't love that part, but if it's soaked up the sauce, then that covers it.
06:05Taste the sauce with the rice.
06:09Good and simple.
06:10And then a little bite of freshness.
06:13There's nothing wrong with this dinner.
06:15I think the pepper needs the sauce to cover up that like fried oil taste.
06:20But this is a good dinner.
06:21Lots of perfect bites.
06:24This is another three-ingredient dinner inspired by these grilled chimichurri chicken thigh skewers.
06:30These just looked so delicious to me.
06:33I said this is going to be my main dish, but to make it a complete meal, you got to have a veggie and a starch.
06:38That's what my dad taught me ever since I was born, so that's what I do.
06:41And that's how I build my dinners.
06:42And they're already cooked, so you're just like heating them and serving them.
06:46Straight out of the package, you can smell the grill flavor.
06:49I mean, you know these are like truly grilled.
06:51Even the skewers are burned a little bit.
06:53These just go 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.
06:56And then I got roasted potatoes.
06:59So these have already been roasted.
07:01They have peppers and onions with them, so we're just reheating them.
07:04I'm also just going to add the broccoli to that, so it just kind of tastes like roasted broccoli and potatoes.
07:09So I'm going to start with these.
07:10Since they're completely frozen, I'm just going to let them kind of like defrost and steam a little bit.
07:15All right, the broccoli is heated up.
07:17For the potatoes, it doesn't say to add any kind of oil or anything.
07:20Because they've already been roasted, they have been tossed in olive oil, so hopefully we don't even have to add flavor or anything to this.
07:26And we want these to get a little crispy, so I'm going to crank the heat up.
07:29The broccoli is going to absorb some of the seasoning from the potatoes with peppers and onions.
07:34I'm just going to add some salt, mainly on the broccoli, and a little garlic powder, and a little pepper.
07:39This is going to be cheaper and healthier than drive-thru.
07:44Not only do these look good, but they smell even better.
07:48If you want to buy an optional fourth ingredient, they have this delicious chimichurri sauce.
07:53Not that it needs it.
07:56Mmm.
07:57I knew those would be good.
07:59Your veggies.
08:01This whole thing tastes like you made it at home.
08:04You could totally trick people.
08:05No one has to know it came from the freezer section.
08:06Mm-hmm.
08:10It's another home run.
08:12Let's say it's Friday night now and you want a restaurant-quality meal, but you don't want to go out.
08:18I've never had this, but I feel like I'm about to achieve that with this two-ingredient dinner.
08:23Shrimp scampi tossed with this pasta.
08:27And the pasta has asparagus and peas in it, so you've already got your veggie.
08:31It's like a two-for-one special.
08:33But they both cook in a skillet.
08:35I'm going to keep them separate and then toss them together.
08:39Oh.
08:41These shrimps are just, like, coated in butter and then frozen.
08:46That's what that is.
08:48Add two tablespoons of water, cover, and cook for eight minutes.
08:51This is like the, um, cacio e pepe, where the sauce is just little frozen cubes.
08:57Same thing.
08:58This plus a little water.
09:00Oh.
09:00Oh, that smells so good.
09:03I underestimated the deliciousness that's extra sauce in both of these choices.
09:08So, you could either just choose a pasta that is less saucy, or if you like sauce, grab some bread, because we're going to have extra.
09:18Okay.
09:19I need to taste this to see if it needs any seasoning.
09:22I do feel like it needs a little salt and pep.
09:26I'm going to serve this.
09:27I'm still going to serve the shrimp on top.
09:29Instead of combining the two, I think I'll let that buttery scampi sauce drip over this, too.
09:34Some crusty bread.
09:36It's my kind of dinner.
09:38I need a glass of wine with this one.
09:39It does work.
09:43I'm going to try the shrimp by itself.
09:46I do love this, because it feels really, like, comforting and indulgent, but honestly, you could totally do just a plain pasta here.
09:53Because our pasta's a dollar.
09:55Now, when those sauces mix together like that, with this, that's a perfect bite.
09:59It's another winner.
10:01I'm ready.
10:01I've got to find the wine.
10:03I'm doing the mildly sweet and spicy beef and broccoli.
10:06I feel like everybody knows about these, but I'm doing it anyway.
10:09Two ingredient dinners, because Trader Joe's has a plethora of stir-fry options.
10:15And their ever-so-famous fried rice.
10:18All these dinners are all under 20 minutes.
10:21Place the beef packet and the sauce packet on the countertop until it's called for.
10:26Done.
10:27I don't really need to read directions.
10:28This is going to come together like we did the potatoes and the broccoli earlier.
10:32When you make fried rice, you want that heat up, because you want it to kind of get crusty on the bottom.
10:38The rice is perfect and literally does take five minutes.
10:42Okay, the broccoli is tenderized.
10:45The instructions state to take the broccoli out, but I think we'll be fine.
10:48I'm just going to scoot it over.
10:50Then I'm going to add in about a tablespoon of oil.
10:53I'm using avocado oil.
10:55You can use whatever you want if it's neutral in flavor.
10:57And then we add in our beef.
10:59This cooks for about five to seven minutes.
11:02And then I just go in with the sauce and bring it all together.
11:04I'm just going to stir it until everything is lightly coated.
11:08You know, my gut tells me to like just add a splash of water just to make it a tad saucier.
11:13All right, this is going over that.
11:15And it's just that easy.
11:17Any stir-fry and the fried rice is like the ultimate two-ingredient Trader Joe's dinner.
11:22It's perfect.
11:25It is exactly what it says.
11:26Mildly sweet and spicy.
11:28Perfect bite.
11:29Perfect dinner.
11:30It's just easy.
11:31And it's delicious.
11:32One single ingredient from the freezer section inspires the final dinner for the week.
11:37The beef bittier.
11:40I can never pass this up when I see it on a menu or in the store.
11:43I just love it so much.
11:45This is just slow-cooked beef and it has the most delicious sauce.
11:48My favorite way to serve it up is like taco style.
11:52And another little bag salad to serve alongside or inside.
11:57This could be the easiest one of the day.
11:59You know what?
12:01Let's do a microwave.
12:02I think you've seen me at the stovetop enough.
12:04Carefully puncture the film.
12:07Heat on high two and a half minutes.
12:08Remove the film.
12:09Stir it and go another two and a half minutes.
12:11Because I like to serve these taco style, you can just simply toast your tortillas or pop them in the oven.
12:17Or you can do like the quesabiria, which is almost like a quesadilla pizza taco.
12:22Disclaimer, this is not the authentic way.
12:24However, for ease purposes, this is totally worth the stovetop.
12:29This does smell delicious.
12:32You kind of want to break it up a little bit.
12:34Let me just taste this by itself.
12:39Mmm.
12:39That does have good flavor.
12:41Because this is really a one-ingredient dinner, you could pick however you want to finish this off.
12:45And you're still going to be under five ingredients.
12:47You could do a little cilantro, some onion, and call it a day.
12:51Or, I made these little quesadillas.
12:55Now we're talking.
12:56Close it back up.
12:58Regardless, if you make your taco like this or this, you've got to have a dipping bowl for all this juice.
13:05Because this is what it's all about.
13:08Mmm.
13:08That is good.
13:12I love the seasoning.
13:14I mean, I don't know if this is authentic or not, but Trader Joe's did a good job with this one.
13:19We didn't even get into the side dish because I got so excited about the main dish.
13:23This birria is a one-and-done.
13:25As promised, the price for this entire week's worth of dinners that you can stock your freezer with, right around $120.
13:33You can't beat that.
13:34That's like the complete dinner.
13:35That's not just this, and then you've got to go buy all these sides.
13:38That's everything.
13:39The freezer really is the solution to busy nights.
13:41And if I haven't convinced you to stock yours by now, I haven't done my job.
13:44I haven't done my job.
13:45I haven't done my job.
13:46I haven't done my job.
13:47I haven't done my job.
13:48I haven't done my job.
13:49I haven't done my job.
13:50I haven't done my job.
13:51I haven't done my job.
13:52I haven't done my job.
13:53I haven't done my job.
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13:55I haven't done my job.
13:56I haven't done my job.
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13:58I haven't done my job.
13:59I haven't done my job.
14:00I haven't done my job.
14:01I haven't done my job.
14:02I haven't done my job.
14:03I haven't done my job.
14:04I haven't done my job.
14:05I haven't done my job.
14:06I haven't done my job.
14:07I haven't done my job.
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