Summary of Some Food Deals at Costco from 7/31-8/24 2024

 I felt some commentary on this months deals might be useful. I do realize that the numbers are going to be different, but since all food has gone up, Costco is still clearly a leader in value.

This month they have the Frito-Lay Classic Mix 54 pack on sale for $5 off.  I have previously written about the Baked Lays saving you calories and money.  While the Classic Mix pack won't save you calories, it will save you a lot of money over vending machine or the overpriced bags at the store checkout.

Save yourself some money and have some portion control and buy these at Costco!

While not a food item, the Ziploc Variety Pack is also on sale.  While reusable containers are have a lot of advantages, at this price the occasional use of disposable bags makes some sort of financial sense.

The Ocean Spray Craisins are again on sale. Over the years we have done a number of posts about them:

An Apple Compote.

Homemade Trail Mix. 

Pork Loin with Cranberry Relish and Mixed Grain Salad.

Bacon and Tomato Ravioli with a Salad of Romaine, Almonds and Cranberries. 

The Ling Ling Potstickers are again on sale. Here is a review of them we did.

The Columbus Reduced Sodium Sliced Italian Dry Salami is also on sale again.  This is a great product just as a snack, on a charcuterie board, in sandwiches and on pizza. We have done a variety of posts about this lovely product. 

We are thinking about trying the Coconut Chicken and the Lasagna that are on sale. Hopefully we will be reporting back with reviews.

Review of McCann's Imported Quick and Easy Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal

One of my favorite episodes of "Good Eats" is the "Oat Cuisine" show.  While I love the humor of the segment on how to make a haggis, the true value of the episode  is that they point out the wonders and joys of cooking with oats.

We enjoy oatmeal but let's face it, traditional instant oatmeal is hardly the best that this cuisine has to offer.  When we saw this fast version of steel cut oats at Costco, we had to try them and we are totally pleased.

This is definitely a hybrid product. It is not "instant oatmeal", it takes a few minutes to cook but it is vastly faster than making normal steel cut oats.  As for the taste and texture, as I said, we are totally pleased. They are definitely much heartier than you standard instant oatmeal with a very satisfying flavor.

They also take "kicking up" well with cranberries, cinnamon and vanilla.  I also plan on adding maple syrup, apples and other fruits and flavorings.

This product is an absolute winner and my wife and I recommend it with complete enthusiasm.

I have been asked for the nutritional information, here is a link to it.

A Quick Review of Nature'd Path Flax Plus Pumpkin Flax Granola

Generally, I tend to eat simple cereals like frosted shredded wheat, raisin bran and such. However, this granola looked pretty tasty so I thought I would give it a try. I have to say that I am very pleased with it.

It comes in a two pouches in one box. A lot of cereals seem to be doing that these days and if you don't eat the cereal fast, this helps it from going bad.  I suppose it is also makes it easier to work with than one big bag.

As for the cereal's nutritional profile, it had a good quantity of fiber at 20% of your daily requirement per serving. It also has low sodium if you are watching that. Finally, the only allergen mentioned on the label is soy, although they have the caveat that this is made in a facility that uses tree nuts, peanuts and wheat.

As for the taste and texture of the cereal, it is, being a granola, nice and crunchy. The pumpkin seeds make it more interesting that your typical granola in the area of taste. While the cereal is good just by itself, I have discovered it is absolutely delicious with dried cranberries.  My wife followed my lead on this and she definitely thinks that while the cereal is great plain, the craisins add a lovely touch.

My wife and I both give this cereal two big thumbs up and I highly recommend stocking up on it while it is on sale.  This is a flavorful cereal, low in sodium, with a good quantity of fiber and it is a great change of pace.

Costco Coupon Book June 14 to July 8 Plus A Review Of The Apple Strudel

Thanks once again to my friends at Addicted to Costco, I have this months coupon book.

The Craisins are on sale again and I highly recommend them.  Here are links to some previous posts about them.

Trail mix with craisins, M&M's and peanuts.

Pork Loin with cranberry relish.

Apple, cranberry and quinoa salad.


The take and bake pizza is on sale again and I have done a variety of posts on them.  Here is one.  They are a great deal to start with but on sale they are simply a crazy deal. In fact, we are having one for dinner tonight. (And the leftovers will be lunch tomorrow).

And while I haven't written about the Sun Chips, I have posted about the multi packs of chips in regards to the Baked Lays products.

As for the apple strudel, I highly recommend it. It has a good, flaky crust and a well executed apple filling. I also like the fact that they are miniature strudels which make for easy serving.  My mother in law put some sharp cheddar on hers and thought it was excellent.  And I am positive that heating these up and serving them with some good vanilla ice cream would be totally awesome!

And for extreme decadence, some of my wife's family topped them with fresh strawberries and Cool Whip, although I did not go far myself. I did use some Cool Whip though and that worked well.


I highly recommend them and with the coupon, they are about 80 cents each, which makes them an excellent bargain.

Pork loin with cranberry relish and mixed grain salad

Hi everyone, I'm the wife and today is a report on a dinner that we put together for my folks.

My parents started by splitting one of the pork loin steaks and each taking one half. By the end of the dinner, they had worked on the other one too so that it was almost finished as well.

If the cranberry relish recipe was doubled, there would be enough to season an entire package of the pork loin steaks.

Out of one package of pork loin chops, four were set aside for dinner and the other six were packaged in twos and put in the freezer for later use. These pork loin steaks were cut at approx. 1".

Pork Loin

Season the loin steaks with salt and pepper and roast at 325 degrees until just past pink. Watch the meat, don't let a timer do the thinking. Do not overcook. While the meat is still a little pink put the cranberry relish on the pork and finish cooking. Let sit a minute and sprinkle on a handful of silvered almonds before serving.

Cranberry Relish

2 cups Kirkland apple, peach, and passion fruit juice blend

1 cup Ocean Spray Craisins

1/4 cup coarsely chopped crystallized ginger

zest of one lemon

Simmer the juice, the Craisins and the ginger on low until most of the juice is reduced. Add the lemon zest at the end.

This cranberry relish would also be good on ham, chicken, or ice cream.

With the pork, a salad was served. This grain blend has not only quinoa, but also amaranth, brown rice and wild rice for a satisfying and nutty flavor.

Heritage Grain Blend Salad

1 Cup Nature's Earthly Choice Heritage Grain Blend

3 cups water

juice of 1 lemon

approx 1/3 cup olive oil

1/2 thinly sliced red onion (pole to pole)

1/2 each thinly sliced red and green bell pepper

Handful of cherry or grape tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the grain with the water until the liquid is absorbed and the grain is tender. When the mixture is done cooking and still warm add the lemon juice and olive oil. Combine with the veggies and season to taste.

If it were still summer, a large handful of fresh herbs would have made it into the dish as well.

Amylu Chicken Sausage With Apple, Cranberry and Quinoa Salad

We are fond of those Amylu Apple and Smoked Gouda Chicken sausages.  We had one last pack of them in the freezer and so I pulled them out and cooked them on the Griddler and we had our meat course. For a side dish I made the following: Apple, Cranberry and Quinoa Salad. Here is the recipe:

• 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked and cooled, (we buy our quinoa from Costco)
• 1 large Granny Smith Apple, cored and diced
• 1/2 cup Craisins (dried cranberries) from Costco
• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt dip

My idea was to use tart fruits like the Craisins and the apple to make the salad more suitable as a side dish than as a desert. My wife and I both agreed that it worked okay, not brilliantly, but okay as a side dish and that I should make it again.

We also both agreed that adding walnuts would be a good idea. To sum up, it was a good side dish that took very little work and time, it was very healthy and it well with something less "heavy" like the chicken sausage.

Recipe: