When I discovered Trader Joe’s had langostino tails (little, sweet lobsters) for only $9 a bag I about lost my mind. There’s little I love more than seafood alfredo, and now I would be able to make my own!!

It was really quite simple to do. I thawed and rinsed the langostinos before sautéeing them in olive oil with a generous amount of finely chopped garlic until they were cooked through. To the olive oil, garlic and langostinos I added a jar of Five Brothers Garlic Alfredo Sauce, a bottle of which is always, always in my pantry. I let this simmer just long enough to combine the flavors. This time I added some Trader Joe’s Roasted Corn for some sweetness.

It’s easily one of my favorite meals and tastes like $20-a-plate pasta. Absolutely sensational. I’ll be looking for more exciting ways to cook langostinos in the future. YUMMMMM.

Tonight’s dinner was the product of a fridge full of mustgo. A pound of ground beef, some multicolored cauliflower from the farmer’s market and some leftover curry paste. I’d never thought about making curried ground beef, so I was shocked when I found that ground meat actually had a name.

I kind of wished I could have cooked the cauliflower in a dish that showed off it’s awesome coloring, but I let it go too long and it needed to be cooked now. That said, it was delicious!

As usual with my Indian/Pakistani dishes, I served it up with Trader Joe’s Garlic Naan.

Who knew a crappy little hole-in-the-wall restaurant would have one of the best meals out I’ve had in a long time? My friends and I had dinner at Taste of Lebanon in Chicago before seeing our friend Don play Tom Cruise in a reenactment of Legend at the Neo-Futurists Theatre and were treated to a dirt cheap meal with so much flavor that it had me craving more for the better part of a week.

My falafel (made with  Near East brand falafel mix), really, can hardly hold a candle to theirs, but it was mighty tasty. I actually prefer Casbah brand for flavor and texture.

It was also my first time making Maftoul, middle eastern couscous. It’s an interesting grain that was really delicious. To the broth I cooked it in I added the remaining water from the roasted red peppers, which added a great sweetness to the dish that reminded me of the couscous from my favorite lunch place when I worked in downtown Chicago, Roti. I wish I’d had some mandarin oranges to add to the side dish like they do there, but the carrots and roasted corn were great too. I look forward to making a cold salad like Roti’s with the Maftoul for my next potluck.

This meal had a couple different inspirations. A few years ago my husband and I went to Cleveland for a long weekend and ate at a wonderful little restaurant whose name I can no longer recall. I’ll never forget my lunch, though; they served a macaroni and cheese with pulled BBQ pork that was just out of this world. They were flavors I’d never considered mingling before, but I’m telling you it’s like magic.

The second inspiration was the now-dead Nola’s Cup in Oak Park, IL. I’m sad to say I wasn’t a fan at all of the food at Nola’s. I like my cajun super spicy and flavorful and this just seemed bland. Their BBQ pork ravioli appetizer, served with a gouda cream sauce, however, was delicious.

I used a basic cream sauce recipe for this… a pint of chicken broth, a pint of whipping cream, garlic, butter and shredded gouda cheese in the place where you usually find parmesan, thickened up with a bit of  cornstarch. I then tossed it in a baking dish with some garlic herb breadcrumbs and tossed it under the broiler to help sop up some of the liquid.

On the top of each plate I served a dollop of Trader Joe’s Pulled Pork. Not bad, but I strongly prefer Lloyd’s Pulled Pork (in a tub). I had to add a ton of Sweet Baby Ray’s to get this barbecuey enough for my taste.

Mix it all up and what I thought would be plenty with leftovers was devoured entirely by us and our guests. A fantastic success, I think!