Joyce and I are the first to admit that we will never be gourmet chefs.

We need all the help we can get, and we found it at Trader Joe’s.

Daughter Robin is one of the unique market’s biggest fans, making frequent trips to the Warwick store on Route 2 for her favorite Trader Joe’s brand candies, spices and “prepare your own” frozen meals.

Living in Edgewood, we are only a few minutes from their new Fox Point market on South Main Street.

We decided to check it out and walked out over a hundred dollars poorer and three huge bags of groceries richer.

In the bags were 10 meals and a few other delicacies.

The frozen meals come with simple ready-to-cook instructions and tasty ingredients, all separately bagged. Instructions not only tell how to cook, but they also spell out how long and when to add each ingredient.

It’s like “Cooking for Dummies.”

Last week we avoided dining out and takeout and prepared a week’s worth of Trader Joe’s meals.

Our favorite was paella. Mussels, shrimp and squid were mixed with rice and spices for a tasty treat, just enough for two people.

The next night we enjoyed pork dumplings, as good as any we’ve had in Chinese restaurants.

Shrimp Tempura filled the bill on Wednesday, followed by Spicy Spanish rice. We’ve found that Spanish rice can be added to many meals as a substitute for potatoes or plain rice.

The prepared frozen food section is like a Chinese menu, with Kung Pao, General Tsao, Moo Shu and more. There are also ethnic foods I couldn’t pronounce.

We topped the week off with delicious baked tilapia in their suggested lemon topping. A bowl of chopped veggies was added to the fish.

I also found some delicious Belgian waffles and onion soup with a thick gravy and loads of cheese.

We’re going back this week to try more of their creative meals, packing our freezer for emergencies and “fine dining,” perfect for two seniors and priced at a third of what it would cost us in a restaurant.