I Cook For A Living, And These Are The Trader Joe's Freezer Aisle Staples I Rely On For Cheap, Stress-Free Meals
Whether you need prepped veggies (I love their mirepoix!), a frozen lunch for work, or a fun snack for your next game night, TJ's has you covered. As a chef, I've come to rely on a handful of their products to make quick and easy meals throughout the week, which I'm often in need of after cooking for work all day. Sometimes, the lowest-effort meals are actually the best, and when it's cheap, too, it's a win-win.
These are some of my favorite frozen items that you'll always find in my freezer!
1.Hash Browns
Let's start with a real crowd-pleaser: the frozen hash browns. You will never not find these in my freezer, because they're literally my favorite thing to have on my breakfast plate. They're even better than McDonald's hash browns, especially because of their price point — but I think they taste better, too.
These are typically $2.99 for a whole pack of 8. Can't beat it. I cook mine in the air fryer while I prep some breakfast sausage and fried eggs, then finish them with a little salt for the perfect hash brown at home. There was a time when they ran out of these hash browns for a few months, and let me just say: thank god that time has passed!
2.Spaghetti Cacio E Pepe
This is a little embarrassing to admit, but I've messed up cacio e pepe quite a few times when making it from scratch. For some reason my sauce tends to get clumpy, no matter what trick or method I've tried. I'm still working on that, but in the meantime, I've gotten by with TJ's frozen Spaghetti Cacio E Pepe.
As a chef, it feels a bit crazy to recommend a frozen pasta dish, but this one is actually delicious, and I've never had anything like it. All you need to make this baby into a complete meal is a little garlic bread or chicken to go on top. I also really love adding broccoli to this pasta!
3.Frozen Ginger Cubes
One of my favorite things to cook with is ginger. It adds a nice bit of spice to any dish, whether you're using it in a lemony ginger salad dressing or in a stir-fry sauce. What I don't love is prepping ginger; peeling it is annoying, and it's quite fibrous which makes it hard to grate sometimes. TJ's saves the day by offering frozen cubes of ginger that come in a little plastic tray. When you need some ginger, you can pop out single cubes and keep the rest in the freezer. This is a genius product, in my humble opinion.
4.Japanese Style Fried Rice
Trader Joe's typically has two types of fried rice in stock: one Chinese version and another Japanese. I am obsessed with their Japanese Fried Rice. It has edamame, carrot, a little bit of tofu, and some seaweed in the mix. I love using this as the base of a quick stir-fry dinner: just cook a protein to go on top, and you have a really quick, filling meal.
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5.Double Chocolate Croissants
Have you tried the frozen TJ's croissants? Because you definitely should. They have a few varieties and they are all super delicious — I really love the double chocolate variety, but even the mini plain croissants are great, too.
Just remember that these are best if you thaw them and let them rise at room temperature overnight. It seems like a long time, but it's worth it when you're rewarded with a warm, freshly baked croissant for your perfect brunch at home.
6.Belgian Waffles
If you can't tell from my favorites list, I'm big on breakfast. So is Trader Joe's, which is probably why I'm always in there. For the longest time, I didn't have a waffle maker, so I soothed my cravings with TJ's Frozen Belgian Waffles. These pop right into the toaster, and trust me when I say the perfect breakfast consists of one or two of these babies with one of those crispy, to-die-for hash browns… and maybe some eggs or bacon for protein.
7.Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese
This mac and cheese is enough of a meal on its own. Super creamy with some delicious butternut squash in the sauce, this macaroni is always in my cart when I check out. To build out the perfect meal, I'll roast a chicken (also from TJ's, of course -– I love their newer heirloom chickens!), and serve it with this mac and some sauteed spinach or asparagus for a satisfying Sunday supper type of meal.
8.Parmesan Pastry Pups
Any time I'm hosting friends, I hit up the appetizer section in the freezer aisle. The Parmesan Pastry Pups are basically bougie pigs in a blanket, and their crispy little blankets are made of puff pastry. I make these in the air fryer also and sometimes pair them with the samosas or spanakopita for a fun little appetizer board.
9.Pork & Ginger Soup Dumplings
Another great option for a quick lunch is the Pork and Ginger Soup Dumplings. They're microwavable and each package comes with 6, which I find to be enough for a light lunch. If I'm trying to make more of a meal out of it, I'll serve them with some of the aforementioned Japanese Fried Rice or a quick salad with smashed cucumber, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.
10.Chocolate Lava Cakes
It'd be weird not to comment on any of the amazing desserts TJ's offers in the frozen aisle, and I had a hard time choosing just one to include (chocolate croissants kinda count, right?). That being said, the Chocolate Lava Cakes are so indulgent and come in handy when you wanna end a meal on a sweet note.
I love that these can be microwaved or baked in the oven depending on how much time you have. I do recommend baking them in the oven if you can because they'll get a tiny bit crisper rather than that microwave-steamed texture you get from mug cakes or other microwaveable desserts. These are absolutely divine on their own, but topping them with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream really puts them over the top.
11.Honorable Mention: Mini French Baguettes
Okay, one more item to round out this list. The Mini French Baguettes! I love bread, and I make sourdough at home, but that literally takes a day in the fridge to rise, and sometimes I just need a little bit of warm bread to complete a meal. These are so good and crisp up perfectly in the oven, giving you fresh-baked bread vibes at home. Truly delicious with a little salty butter and jam.
What's your favorite freezer aisle find at Trader Joe's? Share your go-to's in the comments!
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4 hours ago
- Yahoo
I toured the USS Silversides, a World War II submarine that sank 23 enemy vessels and earned 12 battle stars. Take a look inside.
The USS Silversides submarine sank 23 ships and earned 12 battle stars during World War II. Visitors can tour the vessel at the USS Silversides Submarine Museum in Muskegon, Michigan. The submarine was the site of a successful emergency appendectomy in enemy waters in 1942. Christmas Eve, 1942. The USS Silversides, a US Navy submarine, is surrounded by Japanese warships on a covert patrol in enemy-controlled waters. And George Platter's appendix is about to burst. Platter, a crew member on the USS Silversides, will die if he doesn't get surgery immediately. When the commanding officer gives the order, crew members spring into action. They fashion surgical tools out of utensils from the galley. They find an ironing board to prop up Platter's feet since the table in the wardroom is too short to lie him flat. They submerge beneath the waves to create more stability for the operation, even though the submarine's batteries are only partially charged. The pharmacist's mate, Thomas Moore, has never performed the surgery before. He keeps a medical textbook open next to him the whole time. Platter wakes up during the surgery when the local anesthetic wears off, so they sedate him with ether. It leaks into the rest of the submarine and sedates some of the crew, as well. After four hours, against all odds, the surgery is successful. Platter makes a full recovery and is back on watch six days later. It's extraordinary stories such as this one that are preserved at the USS Silversides Submarine Museum in Muskegon, Michigan. Visitors can climb aboard the historic submarine, which was awarded 12 battle stars for its service in World War II, and explore its battle stations, cramped bunks, and even the operating table where Platter received his appendectomy. I toured the USS Silversides in May. Here's what I saw. Commissioned in 1941, the USS Silversides sank 23 ships over its 14 war patrols, making it one of the most successful American submarines from World War II. The Gato-class submarine measures 312 feet long and weighs 2,410 tons while submerged. Its standard crew consisted of eight officers and 72 enlisted men. After it was decommissioned in 1946, the USS Silversides was used as a teaching submarine and became a National Historic Landmark. From 1947 to 1969, the USS Silversides was used as a training vessel for the Ninth Naval District in Chicago. It was then moved to the Naval Armory and Navy Pier before arriving in Muskegon to serve as a museum in 1987. It was also used as a movie set for the 2002 film "Below." The submarine is now the star attraction at the USS Silversides Museum in Muskegon. The USS Silversides Submarine Museum is open seven days a week from April through December and operates Thursday through Monday in the winter months of January, February, and March. An all-inclusive ticket to the museum costs $17.50 for adults, $15 for veterans, and is free of charge for active-duty service members. Tickets can be purchased on the museum's website. Like the USS Cobia in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the museum also offers visitors the chance to spend a night on the submarine. The USS Silversides is docked outside the museum in the Muskegon Lake Channel, which leads into Lake Michigan. The Lake Express ferry passes by the USS Silversides Submarine Museum on its route between Muskegon and Milwaukee. As I began my tour of the submarine, the ferry honked its horn as passengers waved at me from the upper deck. The deck featured weapons such as a 4-inch, 50-caliber deck gun, a 40-millimeter antiaircraft gun, and a 20-millimeter surface-to-surface gun. The 40-millimeter antiaircraft gun had the longest range, capable of shooting targets up to 22,800 feet away. A plaque on the deck memorialized the crew member Mike Harbin, who was killed by enemy fire while manning the deck gun. Harbin was 19 years old when he was shot in battle on May 10, 1942. He was buried at sea. The torpedo loading ramp was made of a wood called lignum vitae, which gets slippery when wet. Lignum vitae is Latin for "wood of life." The rest of the deck was made of teakwood, which is impervious to water, fire, and termites. It also doesn't float, which was crucial to maintain the submarine's covert operations if a piece broke off. Decals on the side of the submarine indicated its many wartime accomplishments. The USS Silversides featured stickers showing it sank 30 ships, but that number has since been amended to 23, Bethann Egan, the museum's executive director, told Business Insider. The USS Silversides also damaged 14 ships, cleared 16 enemy mines, and rescued two American paratroopers. The first stop on my tour was the forward torpedo room, where crew members loaded torpedoes into the six torpedo tubes. The room slept 16 crew members on bunks that unfolded alongside the torpedoes, which measured 22 feet long and weighed 3,000 pounds. Lockers above the bunks were used to store personal possessions. All of a crew member's personal items had to fit into one small locker. Colored lights were used to help crew members' eyes adjust to the dark to prevent night blindness. If the submarine was too bright inside, crew members wouldn't be able to see in the dark if they went up onto the deck at night during an attack. The lights used to be blue and then switched to red, which is why the light fixture said "blue" on it even though the light bulb was red. The shower and bathroom in the forward torpedo room were used by the officers, whose bunks were down the hall. Flushing the toilet on the USS Silversides was a 12-step process. One wrong move would cause the toilet's contents to shoot back out. Meals were plated and reheated in the officers' pantry. Officers ate the same meals as the rest of the crew but dined in the privacy of the wardroom instead of the crew's mess. The pantry also stocked snacks and coffee. The table on display in the wardroom was the original table where George Platter's successful appendectomy took place in 1942. "The pharmacist's mate who actually performed it did not technically have permission from all the way up, but the commander made the decision that this needed to happen or else the sailor was going to die," Egan said. "So he stood up for him and made sure that he was not court-martialed after." The wardroom also served as the officers' dining room and lounge. The higher an officer's rank, the fewer people he had to share a room with. Junior and senior officers served as administrators on the submarine, while the executive officer, known as the "XO," was second-in-command to the commanding officer. Officers' quarters included foldout desks and sinks. The rooms also came with storage areas where they could hang their uniforms. The commanding officer enjoyed the only private room on the submarine. His stateroom featured a depth gauge and a compass above the bed so that he could tell how deep the submarine was and which way it was facing at all times. Chief petty officers slept in a room nicknamed the "goat locker." According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, the nickname dates back to the 1890s, when chief petty officers took care of the goats kept on ships for fresh milk. Another explanation is that chief petty officers served in the Navy for more than a decade to reach their positions and were known as "old goats." In the yeoman's shack, the yeoman handled the submarine's paperwork. In addition to managing personnel records, the yeoman also kept logs of the submarine's changes in direction, speed, and depth. In the control room, crew members managed the USS Silversides' vital functions with numerous technical instruments. The bow and stern plane wheels pictured above controlled the submarine's depth and angle. The commanding officer would give commands such as "2 degrees right rudder," which the crew would repeat and execute. The ship's inclinometer worked like a carpenter's level to show if the submarine was tilting to one side or the other. Keith Gill, the museum's director of curatorial services, told BI that staff members use this inclinometer "every day" to check on the submarine. "It's almost never centered, and that's because we have some leaks in some tanks that we're monitoring and adjusting air pressure to keep water out," Gill said. The hull opening indicator light panel was known as the "Christmas tree" for its red and green lights. A green light indicated that a vent or hatch was closed, while red meant it was open. The submarine could only submerge when the board was fully lit up in green. The helmsman's wheel steered the submarine. On some World War II submarines, such as the USS Becuna, the main helm was in the conning tower above the control room. On the USS Silversides, the main helm was in the control room itself. The control room also housed the compressed air manifold and trim manifold. The compressed air manifold distributed compressed air throughout the submarine, which was used to start the engines, fire torpedoes, and surface the vessel. The trim manifold showed how much weight was in different tanks on the submarine and moved water between them to maintain the ship's balance as it used up fuel or fired weapons. In the radio room, crew members could communicate with vessels up to 12,000 miles away. Most communications happened in code. Cooks prepared all of the crew's meals in the galley. Cooks were also trained to operate the deck guns and perform other technical tasks around the submarine. Gill noted that during World War II, Black crew members were often relegated to roles in the kitchen and weren't allowed to advance beyond serving as stewards because of the Navy's segregation policies. "One of the negative sides of our past is how we treated African American citizens," he said. "They were in the military, but they were segregated somewhat. On a Navy ship, on a sub, you really can't segregate, but you can control what they're doing." The kitchen featured a piece of equipment I'd never seen on a submarine before: a soft-serve ice cream machine. The kitchen also included a deep fryer. Crew members ate meals in three shifts in the crew's mess. Submarines were known for doing some of the most dangerous work and having some of the most difficult living conditions in the military, but the Navy ensured they received the best food. Submariners also received hazard pay, the highest in the Navy. The enlisted men also slept in shifts in the crew's quarters. Newer crew members slept on the bottom bunks, which could also occasionally be used as food storage early on in a patrol. "Supposedly, they called this the honeymoon suite on top," Egan said. "I don't know if that's 100% accurate." The mattresses in the two middle bunks were placed so close together that they essentially functioned as one bed. Regular crew members showered only every 13 to 15 days in the crew's washroom. Officers showered every three to five days, while the cooks showered every day since they were handling food. The forward and after engine rooms each contained two 1,600-horsepower diesel engines manufactured by Fairbanks-Morse. At top speed, the USS Silversides could travel at 21 knots, or about 24 miles an hour. The forward engine room also contained two evaporators that distilled ocean water into fresh water. The engines are still operational. The USS Silversides' insignia was painted on one of the aft engines. The logo depicts a silverside fish smoking a cigar and holding a torpedo. The maneuvering room was crewed by two electricians who controlled the propulsion of the submarine. At full power, the USS Silversides used 4 million watts of electricity. The last stop on the tour was the aft torpedo room in the back of the submarine. The aft torpedo room was smaller than the forward torpedo room, with four torpedo tubes and room for eight torpedoes. The room displayed a real demilitarized Mark 18 electric torpedo. Electric torpedoes such as the Mark 18 didn't leave a wake, or trail of waves, behind them, making them more difficult to detect. After I finished my tour of the submarine, I visited the museum itself, which featured photos and artifacts from World War II and beyond. I particularly enjoyed an exhibit about the appendectomy that took place in the wardroom, featuring photos from the procedure. Preserving the aging submarine is no small task, but the USS Silversides remains a fascinating testament to the dedication of American service members in World War II. After running its engines in an annual Memorial Day tribute, the museum hopes to give the USS Silversides its first oil change since the 1950s this summer. Eventually, the entire vessel will have to be removed from the water and dry-docked because of leaks in its tanks. The museum applied for federal funding through the Save America's Treasures grant program, but Egan said during my May visit that they might not end up receiving it because of sweeping cuts made by the White House DOGE office. "They have not officially cut that funding source yet, but it's not looking good," Egan said. When the submarine was on active duty, the entire 80-person crew worked tirelessly to maintain the ship, and the Navy financed all necessary repairs and upgrades. The USS Silversides Submarine Museum's preservation efforts, however, are privately funded and largely volunteer-driven. "We're just poor museum people who are trying to honor the commitment that these guys made over 14 war patrols to protect our country," Gill said. Read the original article on Business Insider
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Peek inside a real doomsday bunker — with the 15 essential items preppers say will keep you alive for a year
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China Navy and Coast Guard Ships Collide During Dispute With US Ally
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A Chinese coast guard and navy destroyer collided during a dramatic confrontation with Philippine government forces in the South China Sea. Footage released by Manila captured the accident, which severely damaged the coast guard cutter. Newsweek reached out to the Chinese Foreign Ministry via email for comment. Why it Matters The clash occurred near Scarborough Shoal. The rich fishing ground lies in the Philippines' maritime zone and is one of the most hotly contested features in a territorial dispute that last year led to the hospitalization of several Philippine sailors. China asserts sovereignty over most of the busy South China Sea, putting it at odds with overlapping claims by Manila and several other neighbors. A Hague-based arbitral tribunal rejected these sweeping claims in a 2016 ruling Beijing says is invalid. What To Know The Chinese ships had been attempting to block a joint Philippine Coast Guard–fisheries bureau mission to deliver supplies to local fishermen near Scarborough Shoal, known in the Philippines as Bajo de Masinloc and in China as Huangyan Island. The collision occurred 10.5 nautical miles (12 miles) east of the shoal as Chinese Coast Guard vessel CCG 3104 and guided-missile destroyer Guilin sought to drive away the much smaller Philippine Coast Guard patrol vessel BRP Suluan. A damaged Chinese coast guard ship is seen after accidentally colliding with a Chinese navy vessel while chasing a Philippine fisheries boat near Scarborough Shoal on August 11, 2025. A damaged Chinese coast guard ship is seen after accidentally colliding with a Chinese navy vessel while chasing a Philippine fisheries boat near Scarborough Shoal on August 11, 2025. Philippine Coast Guard via AP Video shows CCG 3104 in hot pursuit, deploying its water cannons, before turning starboard, right into the oncoming 7,500-ton destroyer, leaving the bow of the smaller ship visibly crumpled and twisted. "CCG 3104, which was chasing the BRP Suluan at high speed, performed a risky maneuver from the Philippine Coast Guard vessel's starboard quarter, leading to the impact with the People's Liberation Army Navy warship," Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Jay Tarriela wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "This resulted in substantial damage to the CCG vessel's forecastle, rendering it unseaworthy." Tarriela said that immediately following the collision, the Philippines side offered "assistance with man-overboard recovery and medical aid for any injured CCG crew members." The other Philippine coast guard ship involved in the mission, the BRP Teresa Magbanua, escorted the dozens of Filipino fishermen waiting nearby to a secure location so the supplies could be distributed, the official added. The Chinese coast guard, in its own statement, accused the Philippine ships of intruding "under the pretext of delivering supplies to fishing boats." "The China coast guard, in accordance with the law, took necessary measures to drive them away, including tracking and monitoring from the outside, blocking, and controlling," the agency added, without mentioning the collision. What People Are Saying Brent Sadler, a retired U.S. Navy captain and senior research fellow with The Heritage Foundation, on X: "What comes next will be important as to how tensions play out... there was already an unusual flotilla of Chinese ships headed to Philippine islands to the north of Luzon (south of Taiwan)." Beijing-based think tank the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative, in a July report: "The South China Sea dispute is not simply a test of maritime law—but of whether international law can evolve beyond its colonial and Eurocentric foundations to accommodate a genuinely pluralistic global order." What Happens Next It's unusual for a Chinese warship to interact directly with Philippine forces, and Guilin's actions are being viewed by analysts as an escalation. It remains to be seen whether the incident marks the beginning of heavier PLAN involvement in the dispute or whether China will escalate further. The Philippines is expected to continue challenging Chinese maritime incursions into its exclusive economic zone, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reiterating last week his pledge not to yield "one square inch" of Philippine-claimed waters.
