Trader Joe's Saucy Scallops with Mushrooms

I had heard about Trader Joe's for along time before I actually stepped foot in one. And my first shopping experience was less than life changing. I was on vacation and I wasn't going to be doing any cooking until I got home. I picked up a couple jars of ... things ... shrugged my shoulders, and went on my merry way.

When a Trader Joe's opened in nearby Boulder, I decided I had to give it another try. There were some fresh vegetable options that I liked, and the frozen langostino tails were great. But I still hadn't explored the vast array of frozen foods that people raved about. I like to cook, so I'm more about ingredients than bagged meals.

On my last trip, I decided to avail myself of some easy meals, so I ventured into the frozen section. I have to say, things looked pretty good. There were a lot of them I wanted to try. A lot.

I came home with the Saucy Scallops with Mushrooms. It seemed like the perfect intersection of easy, fast, convenient, while also being something of a treat. I don't buy a lot of scallops. And while I still cook a lot of foods from scratch, there are days when I've got too many other things going on to fuss with dinner.

There are cooking directions for microwave, stovetop, an oven. I opted for the stovetop method and dumped the bag into the saute pan. There were white round things that looked like albino meatballs, but were actually the sauce that was frozen around the scallops. This makes so much sense. Less change of getting freezer burn on the delicate scallops.

I forgot to take a photo of that, so you'll just have to trust me.

The cooking was simple. Basically you're just heating it until it's all nice and warm. Easy peasy.

The sauce was cheesy, which I know is supposed to be forbidden with fish, but it was good. My one complaint, and it's going to sound pretty silly, is that I wish there were more mushrooms. I'm a mushroom fiend, and I would have been happy with equal amounts of mushrooms and scallops. Instead, it looked like there were more peas than mushrooms. Which was fine. I like peas.

I'll probably buy this again, but next time I'll add a good fist full of my own mushrooms to the mix. And now that I've tried one of their frozen entrees, I'll probably indulge in more. What have you tried? Did you like it?

Oh, and I served it on top of some brown rice.

Who's it for: People who want food, fast.

Pros: Easy. Lots of scallops compared to the rest of the ingredients.

Cons: Lazy. Oh so lazy.

Wishes: I would have liked more mushrooms. But not fewer scallops. Hah!

Source: I bought this.