I get extremely excited whenever the Fearless Flyer (the seasonal circular Trader Joe sends out) lands in my mailbox. I hunker down to read all the product descriptions thoroughly, and carefully plan what items I wish to purchase for my next visit. I was extremely thrilled with the most recent Fearless Flyer as it announced one of my favorite foods: Poutine!






Poutine can be found in the freezer aisle for $3.99 a bag. It comes with a good amount of french fries, a bag of gravy sauce, and a bag of cheese curds. The instructions are pretty straight forward: heat the fries in an oven and defrost the sauce and cheese.

Since the Poutine did not come with meat, I purchased Chicken Asada (found in the refridgerator section, approximately between $4-$5) to throw on top of the fries.



Maybe it was my oven, but I just couldn't get my fries crispy! (I've made the Trader Joe's Garlic Fries before, and they turned out very crispy and tasty. I did, however, use a different oven then).



The Chicken Asada is very easy to make, considering that it comes pre-cooked. You just pop into the microwave and heat for 2-3 minutes. Alternatively, you can heat in your oven for 15-20 minutes. I was hungry and thus used the former option.


Tip: if you like eggs, throwing in a fried egg at this step would really add an extra omph to the dish.

Voila! Poutine fries with chicken.

Review on the Poutine: I was not too big of a fan on these fries, since they didn't turn out crispy for me and there was not enough gravy to complement all the fries and chicken. If TJ's had thrown in another bag of gravy, I think it would have been a lot better.

Poutine is also easy enough to make on your own: buy some frozen fries, some pulled meat, and gravy made for mashed potatoes. As such, it's not necessary to buy Poutine prepackaged from Trader Joe's. I had very high expectations for this and this certainly did not meet them.

(Tip: The garlic fries at Trader Joe's are delicious and very reasonably priced! I believe they are between $2-$3.)

Review on the Chicken Asada: I did not find the Chicken Asada to be anything special, since in the end, it was just chicken. It was not flavorful or marinated enough, but it is fine just a piece of chicken. It is however, a great healthy option for a meal, though it is most likely cheaper to buy pre-cooked chicken at Costco.

In the end, I did not think either of these products live up to what I have come to expect from Trader Joe's. One benefit I did get from this recipe is inspiration to make my own poutine using other ingredients from TJ's (maybe with fries, pulled beef, gravy, and a fried egg!)  :)

Readers: Have you tried the Poutine fries from Trader Joe's? What did you think about them? Please let me know in the comments below!

-Mina
Follow my blog with Bloglovin