Sunday, March 27, 2011

Costco Bagels-Not The Best Bagels In The World, But Good Value



I have had a lot of bagels in my life and thus, I was compelled to pick up some from Costco for a Toastmasters meeting where I was schedule to bring refreshments.

The bagels were a good success and my wife and I had some later. My lovely wife's comment was that they were fine but a little on the chewy side and honestly, I would probably agree with her. However, they were still good bagels and at the price Costco sells them at they are a solid value.

I highly recommend them and the next time you need to bring in a bunch of bagels to work, give Costco a try, it will give you a lot of bang for your buck.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Quick Comment About Honest Earth All Natural Creamy Mashed Potatoes

My friends at Addicted To Costco have sung the praise of these fine instant mashed potatoes. I have to say, they are a great product.

My lovely wife made a brisket in the slow cooker the other day and I suggested that we have some of these potatoes with it.  She liked the idea and in a few minutes these potatoes were ready.

Aside from being darn good for instant mashed potatoes, they come in packages of eight servings each, instead of just one big box that you have to worry about measuring out and controlling the mess.

As I said these are a great product and I highly recommend them.

Friday, March 18, 2011

A Couple Of Ideas For Serving Nature's Earthly Choice Heritage Grain Blend.

I have done a post on Nature's Earthly Choice Heritage Grain Blend and so has my lovely wife.  She made another batch of it and we have had it couple of different ways.

My wife seasons it with Garam Marsala and tops it with the wonderful albacore tuna Costco sells. She really liked it and in addition to being tasty, it was easy and extremely nutritious.

As for myself, I seasoned some with cinnamon and chili powder and I topped it with some pre-cooked chicken strips we bought on sale at Costco a while ago.

I also felt my variation was dang tasty, and again, easy and healthy.

I would definitely recommend people that like quinoa trying out this product and experimenting with it.  It seems like it can take a lot of different flavors and it is not hard to prepare.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Pasta With Sundried Tomatoes, Chicken And Cheese

I have been looking at that jar of Bella Sun Lucci Sundried Tomatoes in the fridge and I thought that they would go great with some rotisserie chicken.  Making a pasta with the those two components in the sauce seemed like a great idea for a tasty, quick dinner. My wife eagerly agreed and we set to it.

I browned up some crushed red pepper and garlic in some butter to start. Then some chopped chicken and tomatoes went into the pan and they weren't cooked really, just warmed. Finally, my wife doused the mixture with a very generous portion of grated parmesan cheese.  We served it with a romaine lettuce salad with a dressing of EVOO, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar.


Everything turned out great and it was a fine midweek supper. However, my wife discovered that the salad dressing added a wonderful set of flavors to the dish. I tried her idea and I agreed that the balsamic worked well with this.

We will probably do this again, but we will add some balsamic to the sauce.

This meal was definitely a success and it gave a great return on the investment of the time we put into it.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Amylu Chicken Burgers Sweet Potato Fries

When we were browsing at Costco recently we saw these burgers from Amylu. Given how satisfied we have been with their chicken sausage, we definitely felt we should try the burgers.  Without a doubt, this was a great decision. To go with them, we bought some sweet potato fries and it made for a colorful and varied meal.
The burgers are flavored with caramelized onions and cook up in minutes. I dressed mine with romaine lettuce, red onion and some mango chutney.(The chutney is not in the photo).  I garnished the fries with barbecue sauce, which also added some nice variety to the meal.

This meal was a snap to prepare and it was a great value too. If we had gone out to Red Robin for something similar, after tax and tip, you would be talking about $20 for the two of us. A 10 pack of the burgers at Costco is $12, so it is easy to see what a comparative bargain this meal is.

Friday, March 11, 2011

New Link Added-Costco Insider Blog

Here is another Costco specific blogs:Costco Insider.

He has a different style and selection of content than the other Costco blogs out there, so I hope you will give this site a try.

I have added this site to my list of links.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Yahoo Article Comparing Costco and Amazon

I saw this article on Yahoo Finance comparing the two stores.

I do understand the comments about the time value of money, but I feel I get a great return on that at Costco. And I don't believe I spend as much time there as the author of the article does, except for times when I am deliberately surfing the store to find new products.

And I can't readily buy  through Amazon take and bake pizzas, romaine lettuce, black bean burgers, potstickers and innummerable other items I buy fresh, frozen or refrigerated at Costco.

Don't get me wrong, I do think for some people Amazon has a valid business model, but for so many of the grocery and other items we buy, Costco just can't be beat.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Costco Coupon Book-March 10 To April 3

A new coupon book starts this week and here is a link to it courtesy of my friends at Addicted To Costco.

The pizza is definitely on our shopping list and we will probably try the strudel.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Egg Casserole With Salami And A Crust Made From Crescent Rolls

We bought those four packs of Pillsbury Crescent rolls on sale a while back. When we got to the final package, I suggested we get creative and make a breakfast casserole.

It was a pretty simple idea, with the filling being just some eggs, soy milk and some of that tasty salami we get from Costco.

The crust was the crescent rolls in one big piece, formed into a 8 by 8 baking dish.

It was a tasty enough dish, but my wife had to put foil over the crust to keep it from burning so the filling would set enough.
We will probably try something like this again if we get a bunch of crescent rolls, but we will probably precook the filling a bit.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Southwestern Style Pasta Prima Ravioli

As many of the readers of this blog know, my wife and I are very fond of the Pasta Prima ravioli they sell at Costco. It is tasty, easy to cook, versatile and affordable. The other day my lovely wife cooked up a batch and dressed in a sauce of:

1-28oz can diced tomatoes
1-16oz jar bean salsa
1-15 oz can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
Oregano to taste.

After putting the dish together, she garnished it with some grated cheese.
While not "The Best Thing I Have Ever Eaten", it was a wonderful, tasty and satisfying mid-week supper.  The return on the investment of time and money was great, and I am sure we will continue to experiment with this wonderful ravioli.