Strawberry Cream Cheese

Trader Joe's is such a fun place to try new things. On my last trip, I picked up some Strawberry Cream Cheese Spread (made from RBST-free milk). I'm not sure what was wrong with me that day. I probably bought around 5 different cheeses and I'm lactose intolerant. On top of all that, I always find myself buying sweet cream cheeses (like the strawberry one up above) when really, I'm a savory fan!

Anyway, I was not disappointed. Tried this cream cheese on some toast this morning and I was impressed! It reminded me of the double whipped cream cheese that you can get down in San Francisco. It was light and easy to spread. Plus, if you can see in the picture, there are actual bits of STRAWBERRY in it! Wouldn't buy it every time I go down, but it's a nice treat.
Cost: $2.49

Trader Joe's Chocolate Covered Belgian Butter Thins

Mela told me about these Chocolate covered Belgian Butter thins from Trader Joe's. I'm not a huge cookie fan so I was skeptical but I tried one and YUM! Delicious. I picked up two boxes on my next State side trip.
I love having them with a cup of orange pekoe tea. The box doesn't contain THAT many biscuits (Maybe 8 of each dark, milk and white chocolate) but the crispy biscuit center is delicious. The only drawback is the chocolate melts on your hand if you don't eat it fast enough.
Cost: $3.49

Cinnamon-Apple Cake

Ali made this cake the other night and used Pear instead of apple. It sounded delicious, it looked delicious and I can only imagine how good it tasted. Here is a link to the recipe: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000000222502

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 3/4  cups  sugar, divided
• 1/2  cup  stick margarine, softened
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 6  ounces  block-style fat-free cream cheese, softened (about 3/4 cup)
• 2  large eggs
• 1 1/2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  baking powder
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 2  teaspoons  ground cinnamon
• 3  cups  chopped peeled Rome apple (about 2 large)
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Beat 1 1/2 cups sugar, margarine, vanilla, and cream cheese at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended (about 4 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture, beating at low speed until blended.

Combine 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Combine 2 tablespoons cinnamon mixture and apple in a bowl, and stir apple mixture into batter. Pour batter into an 8-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray, and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon mixture.

Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cool the cake completely on a wire rack, and cut using a serrated knife.

Note: You can also make this cake in a 9-inch square cake pan or a 9-inch springform pan; just reduce the cooking time by 5 minutes.

I can't wait to make this!