Cheaper Than Starbucks

Instagram user @ohheyaldi (run by a woman named Ashley) shared photos of the new chocolate and vanilla cake pops at her local Aldi store in Bloomington, Illinois. “Have your cake and your pop too 😉 🍰,” @ohheyaldi captioned the post.

The cake pops are made from the Bake Shop Bakery and come in four packs (!!) for just $4.49. That’s only a little over a dollar for each cake pop, compared to $2.95 for one at Starbucks. They also look delicious! The vanilla are dipped in white icing with colorful sprinkles and the chocolate are dipped in chocolate icing with colorful sprinkles.

Shoppers and (more importantly) their kids recommend these treats. “My boys LOVED these!” one person wrote.

“These are so good! 👏👏” someone else commented.

Themed Goodies

Aldi is home to the best snacks. They recently dropped several St. Patrick’s Day-themed goodies, including Irish Coffee-flavored truffles, Clancy’s Lucky Crunch Snack Mix, and a Minty Shamrock mix to make your own version of McDonald’s Shamrock Shakes at home. Yum!

With Easter coming up at the end of the month, you can also grab several bunny- and egg-themed sweets here. These include Whoppers’ Robin Eggs, Cadbury Crème Eggs, Ferrero Rocher Easter Bunny chocolates, and Creamy Peanut Butter Filled Choceur Chocolate Bunnies. We’re getting a sugar rush just thinking about it!

Before you go, check out all of the Trader Joe’s products you can shop right at Walmart:

The Pioneer Woman, aka Ree Drummond, recently shared her Nacho Cheese Casserole recipe on Food Network’s YouTube Channel, and our mouths are watering just watching it.

“If you’re looking for a weeknight dinner that everyone is gonna love, you can’t get any better than Nacho Cheese Casserole,” Drummond says in the video. She adds that this dinner “completely disappears” without a crumb because it’s that good.

How to Make

Drummond starts by adding olive oil and flour to a skillet to create the sauce for the casserole. She adds a few other liquid ingredients and spices, continuing to whisk. She leaves it to stay warm, while browning meat on a separate skillet, topped with flavorful seasonings.

Now it’s time for the most important part of the dish: the cheese! This “very simple” recipe requires grated sharp cheddar cheese and pepper jack cheese mixed together. Easy right?

She pours the sauce into the browned meat, then assembles it in the casserole dish. It starts with a layer of crushed Doritos nachos chips, followed by a layer of the beef mixture, then the cheese. Repeat this layering once, then finish with a final layer of chips and cheese on top.

Once it’s done cooking, sprinkle your favorite toppings. Drummond uses chopped lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream, and other ingredients, but you can use whatever feels good to you.   

She scoops it up and serves a healthy heaping on a plate, and we’ve never seen something so delicious looking! Other casseroles pale in comparison to this cheesy, beefy, crunchy scrumptiousness.

The Comments

“Looks delish! I have added this to my grocery list for dinner tonite [sic]. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes with us,” one person commented.

“That looks EZ to make, im going to give it a shot.  Thank you 😂😂😂” someone else wrote.

Drummond has shared sports-related meals before — like her amazing chili that went perfectly with the Super Bowl — so we know this one will be just as good.

Get The Pioneer Woman’s full Nacho Cheese Casserole recipe HERE.

Before you go, check out our slideshow below:

For many, ham becomes the star of special meals like Easter and Christmas because it’s a time of year that calls for a special menu, and whole hams aren’t something most families invest the time and money in for normal weekly meals. So this collection of recipes features memorable mains fit for a holiday meal in addition to dressed-up daily dinner favorites for less adventurous palates. And yes, there’s also lamb, the de facto alternative for a ham-free Easter feast.

A version of this article was originally published March 2019. 

On Feb 26, De Laurentiis uploaded a video of a bubbling cocktail, topped with ice cream. Of course, this piqued our interest, so we ran to the post to see what this drink was! She posted it onto her page called @thegiadzy with the caption, “This cocktail is a twist on a Venetian dessert called Sgroppino, but we added a bit of vodka to turn it into more of an elegant cocktail. Just a little bit of vodka has a neutral flavor, but it gives it that extra bit of a kick that we love. It’s so fizzy and refreshing, and perfect for spring! Tap the link in our bio for our Italian Sorbetto Cocktail #recipe!”

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As De Laurentiis said, Sgroppino is a classic Venetian dessert cocktail, but she adds not only some citrusy ice cream to it but vodka as well. In the recipe, she claims the neutral taste of vodka “gives it that extra bit of a kick!” Sign us up.

The super-simple drink only takes five minutes to make, perfect for a mixology beginner looking to serve us something quick.

Now, De Laurentiis didn’t specify what type of vodka, so just grab whichever ones your favorite, along with some lemon sorbet and Prosecco Italian sparkling white wine, to name a couple.

This cocktail is super easy, only using three straightforward steps to create a perfect beverage!

Check out De Laurentiis’ Italian Sorbetto Cocktail (Sgroppino) recipe HERE.

In search of more summer recipes? Giada De Laurentiis has plenty:

There must be something in the air (maybe everyone’s New Year’s resolutions?) because we feel like we’re getting this message from pretty much all of our favorite food celebs right now: eat. your. breakfast. First, Martha Stewart shared her recipe for breakfast cookies so good, you might want to scarf one down for dessert, too, and now Giada De Laurentiis has a recipe that’ll make you eager to get up in the morning.

On March 1, De Laurentiis shared video recreating her muffin recipe with the caption reading, “To say we’re obsessed with this recipe is an understatement 😍 The texture is absolutely amazing – nobody would ever guess these are gluten free. We also love these with chocolate chips, but feel free to omit or add in your other favorite mix-ins for banana bread. And if all that isn’t good enough, these muffins are dairy free, too! 🤯 Tap the link in our bio for our Gluten Free Banana Bread Muffins #recipe!”

In the past, De Laurentiis has said “I really like a carb in the morning,” and we’re much the same. But though these muffins do have plenty of healthy carbs to keep your energy up all morning (and pair wonderfully with a hot cup of coffee), they’ve also got plenty of protein, too, thanks to the inclusion of almond butter, almond flour, and an egg.

Since it’s a gluten-free recipe, almond flour is one of the bases for these muffins. We like almond flour from King Arthur, which is finely ground and not gritty.

De Laurentiis also calls for fine white rice flour, which helps add a bit of chew to the muffins, and to hold everything together.

These gluten-free banana muffins are seasoned with vanilla and cinnamon, with a scant handful of dark chocolate chips thrown in for good measure. The bitterness of the chocolate helps counteract the sweetness of the bananas, and let’s be honest — it’s always fun to eat chocolate for breakfast. There are lots of health benefits to chocolate, too, so add a few extra if you feel like it.

The muffins that come out of the oven are fragrant with cinnamon and bananas, have a mildly nutty flavor that’s super-satisfying, and are dotted through with melted pockets of bittersweet chocolate. No offense to our pillows, but we just might be willing to abandon our beds a few minutes early in the morning if it meant extra time to enjoy one of these gluten-free banana muffins before the day gets going.

Before you go, check out our gallery:

Watch: Ina Garten’s Spiced Apple Cider Recipe Is the Only Drink You’ll Need This Winter

In researching this story, two things transpired. First, we came away with a tasty arsenal of new recipes (or new spins on old favorites) that, if nothing else, should prove a welcome addition to the dinner table. But, more poignantly, we realized how food serves as both an equalizer and a connector — it is a tie that binds women in history across all races, professions, classes and time periods.

So, feast your eyes on the following recipes inspired by some of history’s most badass women. You’ll get to see some of your heroes in a different light and, when all is said and done, you can quite literally feast.

A version of this article was originally published March 2019. 

Costco members know that when it’s time to come up with a week’s worth of dinners, Costco has you covered. But there’s more to Costco’s last-minute meal selection than rotisserie chicken and food court pizza. If you head over to the Costco deli service area, you can find pre-made dinners and easy meal kits that get food on the table in minutes on those hectic weeknights, and the newest Costco meal is a must-try. If you’re looking for a last-minute dinner from Costco, the new Udon Noodle Salad kit could be just the thing your fridge is missing.

Costco announced on Instagram that “The new Udon Noodle Salad kit is coming to your local Costco Service Deli.” The video shows that the new item comes in a container that’s filled with cooked udon noodles and a shredded rainbow cabbage slaw. Those two items are combined, and then get tossed with the included packets of dressing, and are garnished with the included roasted peanuts and some lime wedges.

The salad promises to be bright and fresh, thanks to the crunchy slaw and citrusy limes, but also seriously satisfying, with a nice chew from the udon noodles and a protein-filled crunch thanks to the peanuts. Costco confirmed to Instagram commenters that the salad is vegetarian (though not vegan).

We can totally see enjoying this item on its own as a quick dinner, or portioning it out into a couple of containers for lunches. You could also use it as a meal starter, and boost the protein content by adding baked or fried tofu, grilled chicken, marinated steak, roasted shrimp, or even a few hard boiled eggs.

The next time you’re shopping at Costco, check out the deli section for the new Udon Noodle Salad kit and other fast and easy prepared meals, like their Chicken Alfredo, Street Taco Kits, and Heat-and-Eat Gyro Kits. Costco members (sign up here) know that this is the secret to always having a quick dinner on hand.

Before you go, check out our gallery below:

Watch: A 5-Ingredient Grilled Pizza That’s Easier Than Ordering Takeout

Potato salad is a controversial food to talk about, because it seems like everyone grew up eating a different version. Even celebrity chef potato salad recipes can’t seem to agree on what’s right. Challenge one variety, and its steadfast defenders are bound to come out of the woodwork. But let’s be adults about this and try to agree on one thing: when potato salad is bad, it’s really bad. We’re talking dry, mushy, flavorless, boring potato salad, the kind you’ve probably gotten from tubs at the deli or scooped onto your plate at a potluck. If you’d rather have a potato salad that’s bursting with flavor and loaded with texture to boot, then we’ve got the recipe for you: a crispy potato salad that’s going viral on TikTok, and for good reason.

This viral potato salad recipe, which is sort of a cross between traditional American potato salad and German potato salad, is all about texture. It requires a few extra steps, but the end result is so worth it. First, you’ll boil your potatoes. When they’re tender, add them to a parchment lined sheet pan, smash them with the bottom of a heavy glass, then drizzle them liberally with olive oil, salt, and pepper, the roast until crispy.

Then comes the creamy dressing. It’s rich but not heavy, thanks to a base of Greek yogurt and light mayo. It gets flavor boosted with lemon juice (acid is something sorely lacking from most American potato salads), salt and pepper, chili powder, garlic, dill, chives, and celery leaves. You could also add a squirt of whole grain mustard and some chopped parsley to liven things up even more.

Next up? Some more crunch. Chopped cucumber and celery add a fresh snap to each bite of the potato salad, while crispy bacon adds umami and and a smoky flavor. Some people add chopped pickles, too. Vegetarian? Swap the bacon for crispy coconut bacon or crispy roasted chickpeas that have been seasoned with smoked paprika.

The crispy potatoes get roughly chopped, then tossed with the dressing. The end result is a potato salad that’s loaded with flavor and texture, a mixture so good, it might just steal the spotlight from whatever you serve it with. And one thing’s for sure — after you share this with your friends and loved ones, you’re going to be the go-to potato salad person for all of your group’s parties and potlucks.

Before you go, check out our gallery:

Watch: We Tried Ina Garten’s Overnight Mac & Cheese & We Totally Get Why It Broke the Internet

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The new Trader Joe’s snack recently made its way to social media, and fans cannot stop raving about this new twist to the fan-favorite classic. One commenter expressed their excitement on Trader Joe’s Obsessed’s Instagram post writing, “I just tried these too! Delish! Eating the entire bag would be too easy!”.  This snack is delightful enough on its own, but it pairs wonderfully with a variety of desserts, including ice cream, brownies, and cake. Another Hold the Cone Tip fan said “Just got them today 10/10 so bomb”. 

People literally can not get enough of them not only because they are overwhelmingly yummy but because they’ll only set you back $4. They’re simple— just comprised of a crispy waffle cone and a dark chocolate filling. As you bite into it, you’ll see that the “conical nugget” is undoubtedly the best part, followed by a delightful filling of dark chocolate. If you are someone with a sweet tooth this will surely satisfy your cravings. 

Next time you are at Trader Joe’s, head over to the snack aisle and buy yourself one or even two of these. You’ll likely adore them just as much as I do, and you will understand why they’re so popular among snackers online. At only $4, they’re a tasty and inexpensive treat.

The first must-try item is The Frozen Bean Minty Shamrock Frappe Mix. You get three individually packaged frappe mixtures that you can add to your own dairy or non-dairy base to make your own McDonald’s Shamrock Shakes at home. Each box is just $4.99.

To keep your sweet tooth satisfied, you also have to check out Clancy’s Lucky Crunch Snack Mix, which is a jumble of chocolate-covered pretzels and candy-coated popcorn that is ideal for munching on while watching movies. And for a little after-dinner treat, check out Moser Roth’s St. Patrick’s Day Truffles that come in four flavors: Irish Coffee, Chocolate Cream, Salted Caramel, and Vanilla.

In fact, you can check out all of Aldi’s St. Patrick’s Day offerings thanks to the Aldi Made Me Do It TikTok walk-through. This week you can also pick up three different Irish cheese rounds, Irish butter, St. Patrick’s Day whipped cream and ice cream flavors, and even a special edition Lucky Charms cereal that turns your milk green.

There are also a handful of non-holiday goodies available for purchase this week, too. But why go basic when you can be on theme with your grocery shopping?

All of these fun St. Patrick’s Day food finds (as well as some adorable St. Paddy’s decor — yes, including gnomes!) will all be available for purchase starting tomorrow, February 28. So start your engines, go into your local Aldi with a game plan, and prepare to take home the gold (or maybe, the green?).

Before you go, check out our gallery below: