My New Favorite Place to Shop!

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Eggplant and Bok Choy Tikka Masala Simmer

I live on Long Island and am not sure where most of this chain's stores are located, but if you are near one do yourself a favor and try shopping at ALDI. The first time I stepped into one of these stores was a few days ago and I can"t say enough good things. First, the prices are great, the selection is wonderful and they are "green". No bags, so bring your own. I found unique items at fantastic prices, My cart was full when I left the store but I still had money in my pocket.

This store has a German history and still goes by the same principles that it had when the business
was started in 1913. They believe that great quality shouldn't come at a high price, rather, great quality should come with everyday low prices. The no-frills shopping experience focuses on delivering high quality food items displayed in shipping boxes. Don't look for national brands here though, 90 percent of their items are sold under ALDI exclusive brands. All the ALDI brands are guaranteed and if you are not 100% satisfied, bring it back and they will replace the item AND refund your money.

There are ALDI locations throughout the United States and they even have some in other countries. So if you are lucky enough to be near one, check it out. It is definitely worth the trip.

While I was shopping at ALDI, I came across a Tikka Masala simmer sauce. For those of you that are not familiar with this it is basically a coconut and tomato based sauce with various spices. The spices are quite complex so I was excited to find this on the shelf. By the way they had other varieties that I will be sure to try in the future.

One of my recipes this week will include the simmer sauce but the main ingredient of this week's recipes is white rice. You may ask yourself why? The reason behind this is that everyone always has white rice either in their cupboard or leftover from Chinese takeout in their refrigerator. My idea is to show you how to throw together some quick. easy meals.

Meal 1

Spanish Rice

Leftover rice ( steam in pan with some water) if you don't have enough left, it is easy to make more depending on the desired amount of servings.
From this.....
...to this

And then add the following:

1 can of diced tomatoes with mild green chiles
1 medium onion
1 red and one green pepper diced
1 small can of tomato sauce
Sazon seasoning  (you can use pre-made or make your own (just google the recipe for it)
Other great additions are black beans and corn! you can even use this in the second recipe.




Meal 2



This is just as good in a wrap or a tortilla shell.



Rice (either leftover or make fresh
Lettuce (I used leftover salad)
Black beans
Sauteed vegetables of your choice (I used leftovers with peppers, broccoli and onions)
I topped mine with balsamic vinegar but salsa is great too
Sour cream and hot sauce is optional





This can be served two ways either in a wrap or a tortilla bowl. My friend has these great pans to make the bowls or you can buy them ready made in your supermarket.









Meal 3

1 jar of Tikka Masala simmer sauce
i can coconut milk
1 eggplant cubed
4 small baby bok choy sliced
1 medium onion sliced
Fresh cilantro to taste

I put everything in a pan and simmered until all the vegetables were tender and served on a bed of rice.
This not only looked and smelled amazing but was delicious.

Hope you try out these quick, easy meals and come up with a few variations of your own.



Would love to hear your thoughts and comments!


Until next time,

With Gratitude,

Trudy

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