Go ahead. Get creative.

The fanatical devotion of many Trader Joe's shoppers comes from the variety of unusual convenience products that cry out for the shoppers' personal touches.

Chris Hunt/Staff (ENLARGE)

Instead of a traditional sauce, Genova Pesto dresses up whole-wheat pizza dough.

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Just discover the ready-to-roll pizza dough in the refrigerator case? Well, just wait until you try it with fresh pesto, marinated mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes. Just dying to try the vegetable biryani? Give it a stir in a pan with some mango chunks, a protein and one of the store's many spicy sauces, and serve it in a tortilla for a cross-cultural burrito.

Scratch speed cooking, the company calls it.

We call it fun.

Spicy Asian Wraps
4 servings

Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes

East meets Southwest in these easy cross-cultural sandwiches. For variety, instead of Vegetable Masala burgers and Mandarin Orange Chef Sauce, substitute 4 ounces cooked chicken or tofu strips and Trader Joe's Spicy India Relish.

1 cup frozen mango chunks
2 Trader Joe's Vegetable Masala burgers
2 cups Trader Joe's Biryani curried rice dish
4 tortillas
2 tablespoons Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chef Sauce

Lightly coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Heat to medium-high, then saute the mango chunks and masala burgers until warmed through and lightly browned. Using the edge of a spatula, cut the burgers into bite-size chunks. Add the rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until warmed through.

Spread 1/4 of the mixture down the center of each of the 4 tortillas. Drizzle each with 1/2 tablespoon mandarin orange sauce, or more to taste. Roll and serve.

Per serving: 660 calories (percent of calories from fat, 11), 20 grams protein, 129 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams fiber, 8 grams fat (1 gram saturated), 6 milligrams cholesterol, 1,602 milligrams sodium.

Pesto Pizza With Heirloom Tomatoes
4 servings

Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes

Although the instructions on the package say you can place the toppings on the uncooked pizza dough, we liked the results better when we cooked the dough first.

Trader Joe's 100 percent Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Olive oil or cooking spray
3 ounces (1/2 package) Trader Giotto's Genova Pesto
5 ounces Trader Joe's marinated mozzarella, cut into slices
3 heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Flour a work surface and roll out the dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a lightly oiled pizza pan or preheated pizza stone. Brush very lightly (or spray) with oil, pierce a few times with a fork and bake for 5 to 10 minutes until firm but not browned. Remove from oven. Spread the crust with pesto, then arrange mozzarella and tomato slices decoratively on top. Return to oven and bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

Per serving: 247 calories (percent of calories from fat, 70), 12 grams protein, 7 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 20 grams fat (8 grams saturated), 38 milligrams cholesterol, 134 milligrams sodium.

Three-Pepper Pappardelle
4 servings

Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes

Step-saving ingredients such as frozen bell pepper strips and little cubes of minced garlic make this fancy-looking pasta dish a breeze. Turn it into vegetarian fare by omitting the sausage.

8 ounces Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper Pappardelle Pasta
2 Trader Joe's Gourmet Chicken Sausage, chipotle pepper flavor, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound Melange a Trois bell pepper strips
2 cubes frozen garlic (or 2-3 cloves minced fresh garlic)
1 tablespoon butter or 2 tablespoons whipping cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
4 ounces Polder Blanc Dutch Goat Cheese, grated, divided use
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a small nonstick skillet, cook the sausage pieces until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the pepper strips and garlic and cook until the liquid is reduced by about half (the peppers will give off water).

Add the butter or cream and stir until combined. Stir in the cooked and drained pasta, sausage, basil and half the cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Per serving: 212 calories (percent of calories from fat, 69), 10 grams protein, 7 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 17 grams fat (9 grams saturated), 38 milligrams cholesterol, 131 milligrams sodium.

Chocolate-Orange Cake With Apricot Ganache
12 servings

Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 2 hours

Your dinner guests will never guess this grown-up dessert came, essentially, from a box and a jar.

2 large eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
3/4 cup water
1 (20-ounce) package Trader Joe's Chocolate Orange Cake & Baking Mix
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup Trader Joe's Apricot Sauce
12 Trader Joe's Cocoa Almonds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, and butter the paper.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, melted butter and water. Add the cake mix and stir until moistened. Spread the batter in the pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes, until cake pulls away from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 15 to 20 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool (for best results, invert again onto a second wire rack, so cake cools upright).

In a microwave-safe dish, melt the chocolate chips with the cream on high in the microwave, stopping every 15 seconds to stir, until the chips are completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Be careful not to burn the chocolate. Stir in the apricot sauce. Place the cooled cake on a serving platter. Spread the ganache over the top of the cooled cake, letting some of it drizzle down the sides and making sure any large pieces of apricot are complete covered with chocolate. Arrange the almonds decoratively around the edge of the cake.

Per serving: 235 calories (percent of calories from fat, 57), 2 grams protein, 25 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 16 grams fat (9 grams saturated), 63 milligrams cholesterol, 102 milligrams sodium.

Suzanne's Secret Ingredient Meatloaf
4 servings

Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour

Suzanne Ouellette has to be a little sneaky to get vegetables into her soon-to-be-6 son, Luc, and 3-year-old daughter, Nina. "Anything green or any vegetable that is detected is not eaten," she said. So she hides pureed green beans in meatloaf. "You can call it anything you want," she says of her recipe. "I call it dinner my kids will eat."

1/2 cup pureed frozen or canned green beans
1/2 cup Trader Giotto's Organic Marinara Sauce, divided use
1 pound ground turkey
3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the pureed beans with 1/4 cup of the marinara sauce. Combine the sauce mixture thoroughly with the ground turkey, bread crumbs and egg. Season with salt and pepper. Spray a small (3-by-7-inch or 4-by-8-inch) loaf pan with olive oil or cooking spray. Mold the meat mixture into the loaf pan and bake for 35 minutes. Top with the remaining marinara sauce and continue baking an additional 5 to 10 minutes, until meatloaf is cooked through.

Per serving: 335 calories (percent of calories from fat, 34), 26 grams protein, 28 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 12 grams fat (3 grams saturated), 143 milligrams cholesterol, 978 milligrams sodium.

Trader Joe's Colossal Butterflied Shrimp on Spicy Polenta Bites
16 servings

Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes

Dress up a party in a hurry with this quickie appetizer.

2 (18-ounce) tubes Trader Joe's Organic Polenta
Trader Joe's Red Chile Oil
Coarse salt
1 (1-pound) package Trader Joe's Colossal Butterflied Shrimp Marinated in Garlic & Herbs

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. On a cutting board or smooth surface, remove the wrapper from the polenta. Dip a knife blade into a tall glass of water, and cut the rounded edges off the polenta and discard. Cut the remaining tube into 8 slices, dipping the knife into the water as necessary. Repeat with the second tube.

Dip the polenta rounds into the chile oil, or brush with the oil, covering both sides. Place the rounds on a baking sheet; do not allow rounds to touch. Sprinkle with a small amount of salt. Bake in the oven until rounds become slightly crisp, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven.

Meanwhile, place the shrimp in a baking dish and cook in the oven until just pink, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Use a fork to remove the shrimp from the shells and place one on top of each polenta round. Drizzle with sauce from the shrimp. Serve warm or at room temperature.