Special post: My five favorite things to make

Two years ago, I did a post with a similar title, except "two" instead of "five." I now have three more main dishes that I like just as much as the two described there, and they all feature Trader Joe's ingredients. Numbers 1 and 2 are the two described in that earlier post. I still make them frequently, with no change in the recipes.

3. Soy Chorizo chili, as described here, with link to the recipe at the end of the post.

4. Tacos. I use Trader Joe's Taco Seasoning Mix. In that same post, I said that TJ's taco shells would be my first choice. They were so only briefly. I soon thereafter discovered Old El Paso "Stand 'n Stuff" shells. Their clever design, with a wide base, conveys two big advantages. First, they can stand up without falling over. Second, you can stuff a lot more filling into them with no risk of cracking. I won't buy any others now. Really, once you try them, you can never go back to regular taco shells. (I once tried the version with a "hint of lime," and didn't like the flavor at all. Too salty.) I use Gardein's fake ground beef, Fresh Express Green Leaf Shreds, TJ's tomato sauce, and whatever shredded cheese I have on hand, with TJ's Organic Shredded 3-Cheese Blend being my current favorite. Most recently, I've started adding TJ's Organic Spicy Taco Sauce as the finishing touch.

5. Pasta. I'm not picky about the pasta itself, but my two principle choices are TJ's Winter Snowflake Pasta when I can get it, or TJ's Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti when I can't. But the thing that has really moved pasta from a safe but boring meal choice to one of my favorite foods is discovering the synergy between TJ's Autumnal Harvest Creamy Pasta Sauce (which I buy in bulk in the fall to last all year) and TJ's Italian Sausage-less Sausage (thin-sliced and lightly browned in oil). For some reason not subject to rational inquiry, that flavor combination sends dopamine across all my pleasure center synapses.

Drop in for dinner someday, and there's about a 99% chance that you'll be served one of these five things. As favorite things go, they're right up there with raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.