Tuesday, August 25, 2020
Rana Gnocchi Skillet Kit Review-A Quick, Tasty and Affordable Side Dish
Tuesday, August 11, 2020
Summary of Food and Related Items on Sale at Costco From 8/5 to 8/30
Costco has a number of food, beverage, pet food and related items on sale this month. Here is a summary:
FoodSaver Multi-Use Food Preservation System $50 off, $99.99 after discount, Limit 5
FoodSaver Vacuum Sealing Combo Pack, $10 off, $29.99 after discount, Limit 5
Snapware Platic Food Storage Set, 38 piece, $4 off, $15.99 after discount, Limit 5
Pyrex Mixing Mixing Bowl Set, 8 piece (4 bowls with matching lids), $3 off, $11.99 after discount, limit 5. This is a favorite of ours. We love them. They are functional, affordable, attractive and they store easily stacked inside of each other. Aside from mixing, these are also nice serving bowls for casual use. We also use one of these bowls for making our weekly batch of oatmeal.
Keurig K-Duo Plus Coffee Maker, $40 off, Limit 5
NutriBullet Blender Combo, $20 off, $79.99 after discount, Limit 5
Kirkland Signature K-Cup Pods, 120 count, $5 off, $31.99 after discount, Limit 5
Red Bull Energy Drink, 24 count / 8.4 fl oz, Save $7, Limit 2
Folgers Ground Coffee Classic Roast, 51 oz, $2 off, Limit 5
Sambazon Organi Acai Superfruit Juice, 64 fl oz, Save $3, Limit 3
S. Pellegrino Essenza Sparkling Water Variety Pack, 24 count / 11 fl oz, $4 off, Limit 5
Perrier Sparkling Water, 24 count / 16.9 fl oz, $4.50 off, Limit 5
Perfect Hydration Water, 24 count / 20 fl oz, $4 off, Limit 10
Hint Flavored Water Variety Pack, 15 count 16 fl oz, Limit 5
GoGo SqueeZ Organic Blastz Fruit Pouches Variety Pack, 16 count / 3.9 ox, $3.50 off, Limit 10
Capri Sun 100% Juice Variety Pack, 40 count / 6 fl oz, $4 off, Limit 5
Starbucks Pike Place K-Cup Pods Medium Roast, 72 count, $7 off, $29.99 after discount, Limit 5
Skinny Pop Popcorn, 28 count / 0.65 oz, $4 off, Limit 5
Sensible Portions Sea Salt Garden Veggie Straws, 25 oz, $2 off, Limit 10
Black Forest Organic Gummy Bears, 65 count, $4 off, limit 4
Meiji Hello Panda Chocolate Creme Filled Cookies, 32 count, $2.50 off, Limit 5
Oberto or Pacific Gold Original Beef Jerky, 16 oz, $4.20 off, Limit 4
Edward Marc Coconut Almonds with Dark Chocolate, 32 oz, $3.90 off, Limit 10
WildRoots Trail Mix Coastal Berry, 26 oz, $2.70 off, Limit 10. While we enjoy making our own trail mix this certainly looks like a tasty alternative.
Pepperige Farm Goldfish Crackers, 45 count / 1 oz package, $3 off, Limit 5. Where I work we bring in treats for our birthday and I brought these in last year. They were very popular. Now with Covid-19 they make even more sense for a safe and tasty indulgence.
Nature Valley Granola Bars Oats 'N Honey, 49 count, $3.80 off, Limit 10
Kellogg's Rice Krispie Treats Original Flavor, 60 count, $3.50 off, Limit 6. A few years ago I had to provide refreshments for a training session for Toastmasters and I used these are desert. They worked well since they were safe for people with food allergies and they are individually packed.
Pure Protein Bar Variety Pack, 21 count, $5 off, Limit 10
Premier 30g Protein Shakes 18 count / 11 fl oz, $7 off, Limit 2 each of four different flavors
RXBAR, 16 count / 1.83 oz, $5.50 off, Limit 4
Frito-Lay Classic Mix Variety Pack, 54 Count, $3.60 off, Limit 5. While these aren't the baked versions that I wrote about some years ago, the cost savings for buying these over the vending machine are real and have only gotten more substantial where I work. And now with Covid-19 they have shut down our break room so we can only bring in our own snacks.
Kellog Eggo Waffles Homestyle, 72 Count, $3 off, Limit 6. While we prefer homemade waffles these are definitely convenient for school/workday breakfast.
Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats, 2/35 oz boxes, $3 off, Limit 10.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch, 2/ 24.75 oz boxes, $2.10 off, Limit 5
Chobani Non-Fat Greek Yogurt Variety Pack, 20 count/ 5.3 oz, $4 off, Limit 8
Hellmann's or Best Foods Mayonnaise, 64 fl oz, $2 off, Limit 6
Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing, 2 / 40 fl oz bottles, $3 off, Limit 2
Marinara Sauce, White Linen and/or Organic, 2 / 40 oz jars, $3 off, Limit 10
Hillshire Farm Lunch Meat Variety Pack 3 packages / 1 pound each, $4 off, Limit 1
Columbus Antibiotic Free Seasoned Sliced Chicken Breast Nitrate Free, $4 off, Limit 3
Season Skinless & Boneless Sardines in Olive Oil, 6 count / 4.375 oz, $3 off, Limit 10. These are an easy way to add fish to your diet.
Sandwich Brothers Chicken Melts Flatbread Pocket Sandwiches, 15 count, $3 off, Limit 3
Don Lee Farms Organic Chipotle Black Bean Burger, 12 count, Save $5, Limit 3. We have previously enjoyed other brands of black bean burgers at Costco and I have full confidence that these are also a quality product.
Don Lee Farms Organic Veggie Bites 28 oz, $3 off, Limit 3. I would think these would be good to dip in the Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing that is on sale this month. They are also an easy way to add a healthy fish to your diet.
CJ Bibigo Steamed Dumplings Chicken and Vegetable, 36 count, $3.50 off, Limit 3. These come in 6 trays of 6 each along with 6 sauce packs. They make a great quick and easy lunch. I am very fond of these.
Snapdragon Vietnamese Pho Bowls, 9 count/ 2.1 oz, $3 off, Limit 10. My lovely wife is particularly fond of these and this will be another item we purchase this month.
Rana Gnocchi Skillet Kit 23.6 oz, $2.50 off, Limit 3. I love gnocchi and I will definitely be buying this and hopefully doing a review before the sale is over.
And for our four legged friends, we have three Costco Canine Cuisine Items:
Jerky Treats Dog Snacks Beef Flavor 60 oz, $5 off, Limit 5
Nylabone Edible Dog Chews Grain Free with Real Bison, 48 count, $5.50 off, Limit 10
Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Adult Dog Food, Chicken & Brown Rice, 38 lbs, $13 off, Limit 10.
I recommend checking with your local human society or animal rescue to see if they take donations of pet food and other products. It is a great way to help out homeless animals. There are also pet food pantries that help out by providing food to owners that are in financial need. Given the current unemployment rate I would certainly think there are plenty of pet owners that could use a helping hand.
Take care everyone and be safe and be well.
Sunday, June 21, 2020
Peppers And Tomatoes Stuffed With Quinoa And Chorizo
But that was not the only way I experimented with the dish. While discussing this idea with my wife, she suggested adding a poblano chili to the stuffing and I thought that was an excellent idea. Then, to round out the flavors, we added some chopped onion. Finally, since my wife is not fond of cooked peppers, we stuffed some tomatoes to suit her tastes. The final dish was as follows:
1 small sweet onion chopped
1 pound chorizo
1 poblano, seeded and chopped
1 cup quinoa, cooked according to directions
About 1 tablespoon of chia seed(Available from Costco)
Peppers and tomatoes, tops cut off and centers cleaned for stuffing
Oven was preheated to 350 degrees.
The chorizo and onion were sauteed together, until the chorizo was cooked through. The chopped poblano was then added and cooked for a few moments. Finally, the cooked quinoa was added, along with chia. The filling was mixed together and then the vegetables were stuffed.
The stuffed vegetables were placed in the oven and cooked until the tops were browned a bit, about 20 minutes. (Please feel free to cook these to your preference).
Aside from being good eats, I thought the results were attractive:
This was definitely a success and I highly recommend experimenting with stuffed peppers and tomatoes.
A Review of Costco's Beef Bulogi Korean BBQ
It is sold in the deli section in a good family sized portion and as soon as you open it, it looks good!
Before cooking, my wife cut it up a bit and then put it in our red Tramontina skillet we got from Costco. We have affectionately nicknamed this pan "Big Red" and it gets a lot of use in our house. It is one of the few items we kept when we upgraded our cookware with that fabulous set of Calphalon from Costco.
After cooking it smells good and looks great.
We served it with brown rice and Costco's Quinoa Salad. I imagine some people find the two side dishes redundant but the rice and the salad really have very different tastes and texture profiles so there is a lot of good variety in this meal.
This worked really well for us. The beef was a flavorful and quick meat dish, the rice was a nice compliment to eat with the beef and the salad was a tasty, brightly flavored side dish.
The beef bulogi also works well in a beef sandwich so you can leverage into a variety of different meals.
This is has definitely become one of our favorite deli items at Costco and we will definitely buy it again.
Saturday, June 20, 2020
Our Best Pizza Ever-Chicken and Artichoke Hearts with Pesto Sauce and Fresh Mozzarella
Finally, I add the Belgioioso Fresh Mozzarella and it goes in the oven with its companion pepperoni based pizza.
Bake it until it is golden brown and delicious and you end up with this magnificent pizza.
The pesto sauce gives a very different cheesy, herbal flavor versus the more typical marinara sauce. Chicken as a meat is a good match for the other major topping of the artichoke hearts. Finally, the fresh mozzarella completes the profile of brighter, less heavy flavors.
As I said, we tend to make a lot of pizza. We always have enjoyed what we have made but this one really stands out as the best pizza we have ever made. And with all the quality ingredients we get from Costco at a great price it is really easy and affordable to make.
I absolutely recommend getting some pesto, cheese and artichoke hearts from Costco and making your own killer pizza like this.
I am really confident you will love it.
Enjoy!
Sunday, June 14, 2020
Costco In Warehouse Hot Buys for 6/13 to 6/20
Sunday, June 7, 2020
Review Of Hawaiian Style Chicken by Naples Kitchen On Sale At Costco Until 6/14
We saw this in the monthly sales flyer and I knew we had to try it and we are very glad we did. It was normally $14.99 but with the coupon it was only $10.49 for the three pound package.
The directions were to warm up the chicken in the oven and the sauce separately in a pan on the stove but I was lazy and ignored the directions and just dumped it all into a 9 by 13 glass baking dish.
I put it in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F and it came out like this:
We served it with rice and some of the Normandy Style Vegetables we keep on hand in the freezer.
We really like this chicken. It had a bit of tang and sweetness, but it was definitely not a Sweet and Sour Chicken. It definitely had character, flavor and good texture. Serving it with rice gave something to up soak up every little bit of the yummy sauce and the vegetables on the side made it a complete meal.
My only comment is that I should have followed directions. Heating up the sauce separately like the directions said would have made for a better temperature of the chicken and the sauce. But that is completely my fault-next time I will follow the instructions!
Also, we found that this made six really nice servings with the meal as we served it. The package says 10 servings but to do that you would probably want more on the side to make it a complete meal. But even at full price at six servings per package that $2.50 a serving and on sale it is less than $1.80 per serving. You can use this as a foundation of a really nice meal and even with sides still come out at a less than the price of a Whopper Junior meal.
We will definitely buy this again and it gets a full and complete recommendation from me and my wife.
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
June 2 Is National Rotisserie Chicken Day And Here Are Some Of My Favorite Posts
One of our favorite things to do with Rotisserie Chicken is to remove the the meat and put it in recipe sized containers and make stock from the carcasses.
Two Birds in the Hand is Worth Five Packages of Chicken and Four Quarts of Stock in the Freezer.
Using the chicken and stock we have in the freezer I made some wonderful Chicken Soup with a couple of twists to it.
Chicken Quinoa Soup with Vegetables.
It is getting warmer and summer salads make a great meal. They can also be lighting fast. Here is one that came together at warp speed.
Caprese Con Pollo Salad.
Here is another salad idea but this one has beans in it for a totally different but tasty character.
Chicken Salad With Cannellini Beans, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Green Pepper and Sweet Onion.
Sometimes I like to take a recipe from someone else, make a a bunch changes and then have some with similar flavors but essentially a brand new dish.
Chicken with Artichoke Hearts in a Piccata Style Sauce Over Rice.
I can say with complete confidence I will have more posts using this versatile, flavorful and affordable food.
Be well and good eating to you all.
Monday, June 1, 2020
Dinner with Kirkland Signature Pesto on Pasta with Sabatino's Sausage and Normandy Vegetables- A True Costco Meal
We like to cook but sometimes it is nice to have a meal at home that you put together yourself but is also a real time saver. That was this dinner. I started by turning on the Griddler and getting it warm. At the same time I got the water boiling for the pasta. For a sauce for the spaghetti I chose the Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto. This is an excellent pesto at a great Costco price.
For the meat serving I chose the Sabatino's Smoked Mozzarella with Artichokes and Garlic Chicken Sausage. Being a chicken sausage they are somewhat lower in fat than beef or pork sausages but they taste great. They are also fully cooked so all you have to do is get them warm. However we do like to brown them for maximum taste but that is your choice. While I used our Griddler for quick indoor cooking these are also fabulous over a charcoal grill.
They were on sale at Costco earlier this year and we tried them in part because of that. But we will definitely consider buying them again for their great taste and convenience. They come in a three pound package with four smaller packages of four each for a total of 16 sausages.
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Summary of Costco Food on Sale in Coupon Book for 05/20-6/14
Most of the items below are warehouse only but a few can be shipped.
Happy Eating!
Monday, May 25, 2020
A Family Tradition-Sunday Waffles with Kirkland Signature Maple Syrup and a Link to Kerrygold Recipes
With the Coronavirus we don't currently can't attend a live church service although we do watch ours (which is performed in an empty church) via a live stream. As part of connecting to family and food we have started the tradition of Sunday morning waffles before we watch church.
The waffle recipe below is a core part of my wife's family. They have been using it for decades. It was created by my wife's grandfather when he took her uncles on scouting/camping trips. (That is why it has powdered milk in it.) Later, they started using at the family cabin and that is why it is called the Cabin Recipe.
This recipe will also work for pancakes, the kind that grandpas make for their grandkids with their initials or other shapes. Also, the recipe scales down very effectively. The version below is for eight servings but we scale it down for four servings. With four servings my wife and I each get two waffles on Sunday and another two as leftovers on Monday. Leftover waffles are definitely a great way to start the week!
I would like to thank my wife for two things. The first is for sharing this recipe and the second is for translating this recipe. Grandpa was a mechanical engineer and the way he wrote the recipe reflects that with most measurements in decimal format (example- 0.61 C Powdered Milk)! My wife converted the quantities and other things so that it would make sense to a non-engineer.
Cabin Waffle Recipe
Eggs
|
4
|
Each
|
Sugar
|
¼
|
Cup
|
Vanilla
|
1
|
Teaspoon
|
Powdered Milk
|
¾
|
Cup
|
Water
|
2 ½
|
Cup
|
Oil
|
½
|
Cup
|
Salt
|
1
|
Teaspoon
|
Flour
|
4
|
Cup
|
Baking Powder
|
2
|
Tablespoon
|
Substitutions: 3 cups milk for powdered milk & water. This recipe was created to allow for use while camping.
While the waffle recipe is excellent, there are two things that really put the waffles over the top. The first one is Kerrygold Butter. Speaking of Kerrygold, I have added a link to their recipe page.
The second is Kirkland Signature Maple Syrup. This is definitely another great Costco product at an excellent price.
And finally, it all comes together in one delicious breakfast.
At some point we will go back to attending church in person and won't have time before church to make waffles and relax eating them. But we will still have occasional brunch on Sunday and breakfast on Saturday as opportunities to make them. Now that we have waffles back we aren't going to give them up!
Monday, May 18, 2020
Some Pizza Ideas With BelGioioso Fresh Mozzarella and a New Link
I have blogged previously that our preferred pizza dough is from Tyler Florence at the Food Network. It is a great tasting dough with good texture and it is really reliable. This is important because having the basic components of a dish be of good quality is important. Another important fundamental item for pizza is cheese. While we have made pizza without mozzarella, it goes on most of our pizza. Our preferred choice for mozzarella is BelGioioso Fresh Mozzarella from Costco.
It is a very high quality cheese and at $6.99 for two pounds of it, the price is really right at Costco. We also like the convenience of it. It comes in two separate one pound packages which makes it handy to use. Finally, it is sliced and that saves some hassle and timel. All in all a great product at a great price.
Recently, we made a couple of pizzas using some homemade marinara sauce (which we will cover in another post) and some various toppings.
One pizza was topped with marinara, pineapple, ham and finally with cheese. The other was a triple meat of pepperoni, ham and bacon topped with cheese, although my side of it had mushrooms and olives which are not to my lovely wife's liking.
We really enjoyed both of these pizzas. The Hawaiian style pizza had a sweeter, brighter taste with the glazed ham and the pineapple. The triple meat pizza was very hearty and also really hit the spot.
Yes, it is sometimes nice to get pizza from your local place, a chain or Costco but there are also the times when making a killer pizza at home is delicious and satisfying to the heart and the wallet. And as I write this, we are still dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic and this sort of food and cooking does bring me a sense of accomplishment that helps me to deal with the world.
So make some dough, save some dough and have a delicious pizza. And for more ideas on what to do with BelGioioso Fresh Mozzarella, visit their recipe page that I have added to the link sections.
Take care and be well!
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Costco Sale From 05/09/20 to 05/17/20
Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats $3 off
Gourmet Chocolate Chunk Cookies $1.50 off
CJ Bibigo Beef Bulgogi Mandu-$3 off
Monday, May 11, 2020
Comfort Food for Trying Times: A Review of Idahoan Buttery Homestyle Mashed Potatoes
The individual packages are easy to open foil pouches. Each package has four servings each so the whole box is 32 servings, making the cost about 20 cents a serving.
These are very good potatoes but I am sure people are wondering if these are as good as the Honest Earth ones. While these are excellent instant mashed potatoes, they are not as good. I definitely prefer the texture and body of the Honest Earth Potatoes along with the flavor. Also, the Idahoan Potatoes are made so that butter is not part of the preparation. You can certainly add butter to them and it adds to the taste but it also does affect the texture and body a little so that does impact the comparison.
Now let me be perfectly clear, these are very good potatoes at a good price that are well packaged but they are not as good as Honest Earth. But they absolutely have my full and complete endorsement
and we will definitely buy them again. They are a tasty, affordable and easy way to add potatoes to a meal.
Also, in these trying times of Covid19, these are a fabulous comfort food that helps to make life better.
Enjoy and be well!
Monday, May 4, 2020
Buttery Cheese Bread Sticks
We like to make pizza at home and we found a great recipe for dough from Tyler Florence. This is a very straightforward and reliable dough to make although we do reduce the salt by half (for our tastes) and use one cup of whole wheat flour for part of the dried ingredients. Typically, we have some dough left over after making two pizzas so we put it in the fridge and do something with it a couple of days later. One thing we like to do is make cheese bread sticks.
We start out by rolling out the dough.
After that, I melt some of that wonderful Kerrygold butter from Costco and brush that on top. Next comes some garlic powder and I finish it with Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese.
I slice it and then move it to a cookie sheet for baking.
I bake it at 425 degrees until golden brown and delicious. You can have them as a snack by themselves although we made a meal out them with some homemade marinara sauce and a salad on the side.
Easy, quick, delicious and fun these are a tasty snack or a satisfying part of a meal. They are also very affordable. Add it all up and you definitely have a winning combination.
Enjoy!
Monday, April 27, 2020
The Best Ham Glaze Ever and Calphalon Cookware from Costco
As I said I make a triple batch of it. We serve some on top of the ham but it has other uses. For example it is great on vanilla ice cream, apple pie or apple pie with vanilla ice cream! There are probably other great ways to serve this wonderful glaze but there are certainly already plenty of good reasons for us to make a big batch of it.
There has been one problem with making a big batch and that is that our saucepan was only 2 1/2 quarts and that was a bit on the small size for making a triple sized batch. Given that situation, I started looking for a 3 1/2 quart saucepan.
I found some nice Calphalon pans in the $60-80 range online and then I thought to check out Costco since they sometimes carry some individual pans. They didn't have any single pans like that but the following 12 piece set caught my eye:
- 8” Fry Pan
- 10” Fry Pan
- 2.5 Qt. Sauce Pan with Lid
- 3.5 Qt. Sauce Pan with Lid
- 4.5 Qt. Sauce Pan
- 3 Qt. Saute Pan with Lid
- 5 Qt. Dutch Oven with Lid
- 6 Qt. Stock Pot