If you want a hint on how to find the really high quality stuff at Trader Joe’s, look for “Made in France” or “Made in Italy” or “Made in Thailand” and so on… For some reason, many of the frozen meals that are Made in the USA just don’t have it compared to the foods that come out of Europe. I remember reading an article somewhere a couple of years back that eventually nobody was going to cook because prepared meals, either frozen or in the fridge section, were going to be so good that it would be “Why Bother?”. Things are getting that good! We all know that Trader Joe’s doesn’t put anything but whole ingredients in their food. When you look at this dish it’s nothing but whole ingredients. Nothing funny and it shows. This was easy to prepare but had that flavor that said I slaved over this but all I really did was cut open a bag and put it in the pan and cook it up!
The pasta was al dente not too mushy. Lots of big chunks of eggplant and tomatoes. It was easy to prepare in a skillet. My wife and I had it with a side salad (all Trader Joe’s ingredients!). Makes for a nice vegetarian meal if you are so inclined. It was just plain good. I would have a hard time making a pasta dish this good myself without a lot of prep work. This is what I mean by these packaged meals getting better and better all the time.
One minor issue, I used a stainless steel saute pan. The mozzarella stuck to the pan and to my silicon spatula. I would use a non-stick pan to prepare it next time. Also we felt it needed a little bit of help at the very end, so we drizzled extra virgin olive oil on top. Sprinkled some Trader Joe’s shaved Parmesan cheese on top and a little parsley and it was great!
Would I buy it again. Yes! Already have! We gave it a score of 8 bells!
