Pasta Prima Chicken Mozzarella Ravioli With Pancetta And Vidalia Onions

We stocked up on the Pasta Prima Chicken Mozzarella Ravioli that was on sale last month and I thought it would be a good idea to make very simple sauce to help highlight the elegant flavor of the ravioli. This dish had only four components:

Pasta Prima Chicken and Mozzarella Ravioli-one package
About an inch think slice of pancetta, cubed
Half of a large vidalia onion, chopped
EVOO

All there was to cooking this dish was just browning the onion and pancetta and then just adding a bit of EVOO to have enough liquid to balance out the sauce.  By serving it with a romaine lettuce salad we had a fine and complete meal in just minutes.

My wife and I were both very pleased with how this turned out and it was definitely a success. The hearty taste of the pancetta complimented the more delicate flavor of the ravioli and the sweet, light taste of the onion.

Our only negative was that the dish is just a bit salty due to the pancetta being a salty meat. But let me be clear, it was a very sucessful dish. I am only saying that if we could figure a way to temper the saltiness of the meat in it a little, it would be perfect.

As it stands, it was a lovely meal and the return on our time was fabulous.

Costco Coupon Book For May 12 to June 5 2011

Once again I would like to thank my wonderful friends at Addicted To Costco for putting this month's coupon book online.

Some of the things we will be getting this month include the bourbon chicken, the M&M's and the fruit bars.

I will have more on these items later.

Tostitos Garlic & Black Bean Chips-A Quick Review

You still have until tomorrow to buy these chips on sale and if you are a salty snacker like I am, I highly recommend stocking up on them.

While I generally eat my tortilla chips with salsa or as part of taco salad, I found these chips flavorful enough to eat on their own. The garlic and black bean flavors are present and enhancing, without being overpowering.  Also, these chips have more fiber than your typical tortilla chip, so they are a slightly less guilty pleasure. And while they are great by  themselves, they still work well with salsa.  And at some point we will make a chicken taco salad with some chicken strips we bought from Costco.

At $6.59 for a 26 ounce bag, these are definitely a better value than the bag you buy in the grocery store.  Then add in the coupon and you are paying about the same price for a 26 ounce bag as you pay for a 13 ounce bag in your typical supermarket.

Once again, Costco sells a great product at a great price. If you like tortilla chips, I highly recommend picking up some before the sales ends on May 8.

Quinoa With Ham, Pineapple, Black Beans and Vegetables

Sorry about the delay in posting. We went on vacation and then when we got back, we had a bunch of mundane chores to do like car shopping.  But it is time to start into posting again. Here is a fun, colorful dish that was easy to make to help me get into the swing of things again.

After Easter, my mother in law offered me all the ham I wanted, so I took her up on the offer.  I thought it might be fun to do something with quinoa and after some research, I came up with this dish.

1 cup quinoa, cooked and just so lightly salted
About 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger, chopped
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 small onion, diced
About 1 cup chopped baby carrots
About 1 cup chopped celery
Canola oil
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
A portion of a fresh pineapple, chopped, with some juice from the pineapple
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly ground red pepper
Some freshly ground curry mix
Dried dill, crushed

I cooked the quinoa per directions. While that was happening I sauted  the ginger and garlic in the canola. After they had cooked a bit, I added the onions, then the celery and carrots. When they to about the right consistency, I added the quinoa, pineapple and beans. The last step was to season it and honestly, I just kept adding the spices until it had the flavors I wanted.

Due to our complex schedules, the first meal we had of it was for lunch the next day, so maybe that helped the flavors to meld. In any case, I think I got the seasoning pretty close to where I needed it. The ginger adds a fun, bright flavor while all the rest of the spices help to make the flavor profile broad enough that the dish was a little more complex, but not too busy.

My wife and I both rated this a success and I think we will try ham and quinoa together again.


I took a lot of inspiration from this recipe. However, as it is typical of me, I didn't bother measuring any of the seasonings.  Also, I eliminated the powdered milk and added onions. Finally, I used fresh pineapple and fresh ginger. I think those are probably the biggest changes since they help give the dish a lively, fresh and invigorating zing. (Eliminating the powdered milk also makes this dish a little brighter). I think this recipe definitely has a similar ingredient list to the one I referenced, but I think the few changes I made help to make it significantly different.  But I do want to be honest, I did get some good ideas from the dish I referenced.

Also, the quinoa and the black beans make this a pretty healthy dish, so you can enjoy the wide variety of flavors and textures this dish has to offer without any guilt.

Costco Canine Cuisine-Kirkland Signature Dog Food

As much as we buy cheese, Nutella, quinoa and other foods from Costco, the #1 food we buy by weight from Costco is our dog food. As it is with so many items at Costco, they offer exceptional value.  The Kirkland Signature food we get is less than IAMs and other name brands, but it is of excellent quality.  When we got our new dog from the local animal rescue, they were already feeding her this brand of food and she was certainly seemed to be doing well.  The day we brought here home, we took her to the vet for a baseline checkup and I showed the ingredient list to our vet.  He reviewed the list of ingredients, noted her health was excellent and gave his approval to keep using it.



Our pet's health is important to us and we appreciate that fact that Costco sells such a good product at such a reasonable price.  This is definitely another example of Costco offering excellent value.

As for our dog Layla, I am sure the photo below will illustrate what a happy, healthy and pretty dog she is and we thank Costco for making a great product that helps keep her that way.

Costco Coupons For April 14 To May 8

Once again, my friends at Addicted To Costco have published the upcoming coupon book.

Among the items I know we will be getting will be the Potstickers, the Tostitos Garlic Black Bean Tortilla Chips and the Welch's White Grape Cherry Juice.

I would like to thank my friends at Addicted To Costco. They have a lot of great info for Costco members.

Grilled Corn Beef Sandwich On Rye With Jarlsberg Cheese

My wife recently made a wonderful corn beef brisket in the crockpot. A delicious and versatile meat, it struck us that it would be great to make a sandwich out of it.  My wife and I are are very fond of the Jarlsberg cheese we buy at Costco and thought that would be an excellent cheese to mesh with the meat.  It is a great cheese for snacking and sandwiches, and Costco has a low price on it.

Given how tasty the meat was, this could be a pretty simple sandwich. We sliced the meat and the cheese and just dressed the rye bread with some Polish mustard.  Then after a few on the Griddler, we were ready for hot, cheesy, meaty goodness!

Honestly, this was an absolutely fabulous sandwich.  The corn beef and Jarlsberg work wonderfully together and the rye and the mustard added just the right flavors to put this over the top.

We have another brisket in the fridge and I can guarantee you, some of it will end up in a sandwich like this one.

Costco Cuisine Recipes on Pasta Prima Website

My wife and I love the Pasta Prima Ravioli and with our permission, they have posted some links to a couple of recipes on our blog.

I have added a link to their site to my list of links.

I am sure we will continue to use this fine product. It is tasty, affordable and easy to work with. Ravioli can have more than just a simple red sauce, so I encourage everyone to do some experimentation with it.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Pizza with Shrooms and Olives-One Last Chance

Whenever the Take And Bake pizza goes on sale, we buy them at least a couple of times during the sale. For the second pizza, we had his and hers sides. While my lovely wife and I do have compatible tastes in food for the most part, she does not like mushrooms and olives. Thus, my side had those wonderful toppings. I had a jar of a gourmet olive mix from Costco and some dried, reconstituted mushrooms. On my wife's side she had the wonderful Kirkland Signature Artichoke Hearts. Thus, if any of you in Mountain or Pacific time want to run out and get a pizza before the sale ends tonight, I hope you enjoy this suggestion.

We both enjoyed our respective sides and I have one to make one final mention: even though she does not like olives herself, my wonderful wife is the one that bought that delicious jar of olives for me.

Cheap Emergency Lunch On Sale This Month at Costco: NongShim Noodles

My wife took advantage of the coupon to buy one box, get one free of the NongShim noodles at Costco. At a price of about 32 cents each, they are a tremendous bargain. I believe in having "emergency" lunches around the house that are easy, cheap and quick to prepare and these fit that description perfectly.


Just add boiling water (we have a wonderful Braun hotpot for this) and let the noodles sit for three minutes and you are ready to go.


I admit, they are a noodle bowl, but they are a quality one and for the price, they are a tremendous value.


And they store for a while too.  If you are a busy person that needs a quick lunch now and then, I say take advantage of this screamer deal and buy some before the sale ends on February 27.

Tuna Pasta Salad With Artichoke Hearts and Sun Dried Tomatoes

The other day my lovely wife made this yummy but extremely simple tuna pasta salad.  She added a can of the delicious Albacore Tuna from Costco along with sun dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts, plus a bit  of the oil from both of the veggies to the pasta.

Yes, that is all there was to it. It was tasty, healthy and quick, and with the exception of the pasta, everything came from Costco.

Costco Take And Bake Pepperoni Pizza-On Sale and Kicked Up!

At its normal price, the Take and Bake Pizza from Costco is a good value. But when they chop off three dollars like they do this month, it becomes an absolute bargain.  At $6.99 I would be hard pressed to justify making my own pizza, given the materials and time involved.  And honestly, while this is not a gourmet pizza, it is an excellent "working class" pizza and it is the size of a hubcap off a Hummer!

While a straight pepperoni pizza is a classic, we felt like kicking ours up a notch. We garnished the pizza with the Kirkland Signature Artichokes Hearts we are so fond of and Bella Sun Lucci Sun Dried Tomatoes we also got from Costco.  This added a pleasing set of textures and a couple of more layers of flavor.  Given the mere moments it took to "upgrade" this pizza, I really have to say it was an excellent reward on our time and effort.

At this price, we plan on picking up at least one more of these beauties before the month is over. Great tasting and an awesome value, this pizza is a perfect example of what we love about Costco.

World Nutella Day-February 5, 2011

Happy World Nutella Day!

Coupons for February

I was stuck in a motel with poor Internet access when the blizzard hit Michigan and did not have a chance to post a link to the new coupon book.  I do apologize for the delay.

Here are the coupons, with thanks to my wonderful friends at "Addicted To Costco".

Enjoy!

Aarti's Quinoa-All Bran Pilaf with Raisins and Simple Green Salad

We are big fans of the quinoa we get from Costco and we are also admirers of Aarti Sequeria, the most recent winner of "The Next Food Network Star".  For one of the challenges, they had the contestants work with breakfast cereals and she was given All-Bran.

Aarti made an impressive recipe for the challenge: A Quinoa-All Bran™ Pilaf with Raisins and Simple Green Salad. My wife and I were intrigued by this recipe and my wife decided to make it to go with some pork we had.

The dish was a huge success.  It was spicy without being heat for the sake of heat.  It has a wonderful variety of textures between the quinoa, the breakfast cereal and the raisins. There is no doubt that this will become a regular in our household and we will be serving with other meats like beef and chicken.  This dish had a number of virtues including:

• It was delicious
• It was nutritious
• It was quick
• It works great as a side dish

I highly recommend you checking this recipe out. If you don't have quinoa already, this is a great reason to buy it.

100 Posts

I noticed that the previous post was Number 100.

I would like to thank everyone for their interest and support in making Costco Cuisine a success.

Thanks!

Cuban Style Sandwich With Naan Bread

My wife made a  pork loin in the crockpot and we will be getting a variety of meals out of it. For example, my lovely wife made this Cuban style sandwich with it using naan bread.  She layered the pork, ham, provolone cheese (from Costco) and red onion on the naan bread we also get from Costco. A quick dose of brown mustard was the last touch before grilling and it was ready to go. Then it just needed a few minutes on the Griddler and it was done.

To serve it, she simply sliced it in half.

Naan bread is a great panini bread and I notice there is even a sticker on the package saying it makes great panini. The pork went well with the cheese we buy from Costco and the ham and onion gave the sandwich a more complete feeling.

However, after a few bites, as good as the sandwich was, we thought it needed something else, so we put some pickle slices on it. That made a great sandwich just plain outstanding.

I highly recommend experimenting with naan bread for making panini. It takes grilling well, it doesn't need slicing and it has good flavor and texture.

California Pizza Kitchen Sicilian Pizza Review And Serving Suggestion

There is a coupon this month for California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizzas, so we decided to buy a box.

We got the Sicilian, which is a thin crust meat pizza. They are about 13 ounces each, so we made a salad of romaine lettuce, peanuts and cranberries to go with it.

We thought it was a good pizza and with the coupon, they are a good value for an upscale frozen pizza.  Adding a salad helped make it into a pleasant, easy and quick midweek meal.

We will buy these again with the coupon, but only when they are on sale because there are other pizzas that we like better. 

Pasta Prima Ravioli With A Sauce Of Chorizo, Tomatoes With Chilis, Onion And Garlic

After some thinking of how to put a different spin on our favorite frozen ravioli, I decided to give it a bit of a Mexican flavor.

My wife diced one small onion and chopped three medium cloves garlic. While she made a salad of romaine lettuce and various veggies, I lovingly sauteed the onions and garlic in EVOO.  After a couple of minutes, I added some of a local brand of chorizo and cooked the mixture until the chorizo was done. I finished the sauce by adding one 14 1/2 oz can of diced tomatoes and one 14 1/2 once can of tomatoes with chilies. By serving it with the lovely salad made by my lovely wife, we had a very satisfying mid-week meal with some great leftovers for lunch.

The chorizo and chilies add some intriguing flavors with a bit of heat.  My wife and I were quite pleased with this dinner and I am sure we will make it again. And not only was it tasty, but it was a very quick meal that was easy to put together.

Trail Mix With Craisins, Peanuts and M&M's

My wife's uncle died and she headed out for the funeral with my sister in law and my niece.  As part of the care package I packed for them, I made some trail mix using dried cranberries, roasted peanuts and plain M&M's. The formula was:

• 2 Parts Craisins (dried cranberries)
• 2 Parts roasted peanuts
• 1 Part plain M&M's

I tried some of it and I really liked it and my wife and the rest of clan thought it was delicious and satisfying. The peanuts add a bit of a salty flavor and a nice dose of protein and other nutrients.  The dried cranberries are a wonderful, slightly tart fruit and they provide vitamin C and fiber.

Also, this is economical because it was homemade and we bought the dried cranberries on sale. (They are on sale again this month).

If you like the idea of a healthy, fun and satisfying snack, this is a great way to put that three pound bag of Craisins to work.

Repost: Save $100 And 2500 Calories, Plus Eat More

With the Baked Lays on sale again, I thought this was worth reposting. Enjoy!

Many of us spend money on snacks out of the vending machines at our place of work. Recently Costco had a 30 pack of Baked Lays for $2.50 off.  The price in my local store is normally 10.89 so the final price is 8.39, which is 28 cents for each bag.

I looked in the vending machine we have at work and most snacks are 75 cents each which means bringing your own saves nearly 47 cents, which is a pretty huge savings.  And even without the coupon, you would be saving about 39 cents each.  If you buy a bag a day at work, this will save you about $100 a year, which is decent money.

And there is also a calorie savings too. I compared these to the regular Lays products at Costco and the baked products were about 10 calories less for most of them. However, the portion size for the baked products is larger than the fried products, so you get to eat more.

The boxes come with four varities:

• Regular Baked Lays Potato Chips
• Baked Barbecue Lays Potato Chips
• Baked Cheddar Cheese Ruffles
• Baked Cheetos

As I said, the box holds 30 bags, so it saves some space that way.

I admit that you need to do more than just buy these snacks to get rich and thin, but they certainly will help you reach those goals.

Don't cry over spilled milk

or in this case, a lost dinner.

Chicken 'Pot Pie' with Garam Marsala

The dinner wasn’t a disaster, but storage ended up causing it to be wasted. I made a variation on chicken pot pie seasoned with garam masala inspired by Jeffery Saad. Start with a stock pot that has two small onions chopped, one carrot chopped, one stalk celery chopped and four cloves of garlic grated into it and softened in EVOO over medium heat. Add about six cups chicken stock and about half a rotisserie chicken chopped into bite size pieces. The whole pot is seasoned with salt, pepper and about a teaspoon and a half of garam masala. This all cooked together and about two cups of quinoa is added and left to simmer until cooked. The quinoa took the place that potatoes would be in a regular chicken pot pie.

The dish tasted fantastic, but was too hot to put in the refrigerator right away, so I set it outside to cool down. Unfortunately, the dish fell off the ledge later in the evening and crashed on the cement and we lost the rest of the beautiful dinner and a fine Corning Ware dish as well.

This is a dish we will be making again and hopefully I can take a picture of it and it will be around for Mike to eat as well. I will be more careful about using the 'Minnesota refrigerator' in the future.

Chicken With Artichoke Hearts In A Piccata Style Sauce Over Rice

We are very fond of the Kirkland Signature Artichoke Hearts  we get at Costco.  I was thinking they would be good with chicken and after surfing the web I came up with the idea of serving them in a piccata style sauce.

First, I cooked up one small yellow onion with three medium cloves of pressed garlic. After they were nicely cooked, I added 1/2 cup white wine, the juice and fat in the bottom of the rotisserie chicken package, a 1/4 cup capers, a rinsed and drained can of cannellini beans and a bunch of artichoke hearts that had been chopped up. Then I juiced one large lemon and added the juice, plus the zest from the same lemon.

After the flavors had melded a bit I added about half the chicken chopped and let it all come to temperature.  The finished product was served over jasmine rice.

I was really pleased with the outcome of this and so was my wife.   The artichoke hearts add slightly exotic flavors and textures and the beans help to make the dish hearty.  Overall, I though the flavor profile was broad and satisfying and I am sure we will make this again.

This recipe from Robin Miller did provide some inspiration, so I do want to give her some credit.  I liked the idea of the artichokes hearts in a piccata recipe, but then I made it my own by:

• Using fresh onion and garlic cooked in EVOO
•  Eliminating the step of cooking the chicken by using a rotisserie chicken
• Cutting out some of the ingredients from the chicken breading since I used cooked chicken
• Adding the juices and fat from the chicken instead of broth
• Changing from brown to white rice
• Substituting cannellini beans and using more of them
• Cooking the beans in the sauce instead of with the rice
• Not caring about any measurement except for the wine and capers

If you have been wondering what you can do with artichoke hearts that is quick, easy and delicious, this is a great option.

New Coupons Start Today!

I plan on doing some reviewing of products from the coupon book, so please check back.

New Coupon Book-January 6 to January 30

My good friends at Addicted To Costco have posted a PDF of the new coupon book.

You can see their post on it here.

Enjoy!

Pasta Prima Ravioli with Grape Tomatos and Artichoke Hearts

While I was taking my nap before going to work on 2nd shift, my lovely wife made me a tasty and quick lunch using a variety of ingredients from Costco, including the Pasta Prima Ravioli, Kirkland Signature Artichoke Hearts and grape tomatoes.

I came up with the idea of using those ingredients together and after searching online, I found this recipe using these ingredients.  My wife approved highly of the idea and eagerly made this fine meal.The only real changes my wife made was that while the original recipe called for Roma tomatoes, she used the grape tomatoes from Costco.  She also sprinkled some of the cheese and herb topping that came with the ravioli on the finished dish instead of the cheese called for in the recipe.

Aside from using an ingredient we had on hand, I think the Roma tomatoes out of season are not very enjoyable.  The grape tomatoes which have a better texture and flavor for this time of year, were an ideal substitution.

We think the dish came out, per my wife's description as "pretty, incredibly well". The artichokes went well with the ravioli and using the tomatoes helped give the dish a bright, fresh flavor.

This is definitely a keeper and I am sure we will make it again.

Guest Post: Cinnamon Bark Cookies

Hi there.  I'm Amber from Sprinkled With Flour, and when Mike recently asked me to do a guest post on his blog, I was thrilled.  You see, this is my first time doing a guest post, and it really makes my day when other great blog authors take the time to visit my part of the blogging world.  I love Mike's concept here of creating dishes from the wonderful selection of products from Costco, and Mike was particularly interested in my recipe for Cinnamon Bark Cookies.  The Saigon Cinnamon that he has featured would work wonderfully for these cookies. 

There are some ingredients that go hand in hand with the holiday season, and cinnamon is at the top of that list for me.  Sprinkle it on a dollop of whipped cream that tops a cup of hot chocolate, mix it with sugar crystals that dust a snickerdoodle, or just use the cinnamon sticks as a holiday garnish.  When I came across a recipe for Cinnamon Bark Cookies in my local paper, they looked so festive I just had to make them.  While the ingredients seem simple enough, there is a bit of a learning curve when making these. 

Let's just say my first few attempts to assemble these cookies, resulted in a pathetic mess that you would definitely not want to leave out for Santa.  I quickly disposed of those, too embarrassed to capture my failure on camera, and set about making another batch.  After about the third or fourth batch, I finally got the hang of it, and was able to produce a few that weren't too shabby.  These little cookies are crispy and a little buttery, with a hint of cinnamon.  Yum!

Cinnamon Bark Cookies
(adapted from Springfield News-Leader, December 2010)
8 large egg whites
2 cups sugar, plus 1/4 cup
2 cups all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon extract
10 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup heavy cream
brown gel food coloring
2 tsp cinnamon
Heat the oven to 375 F.

Line a baking sheet with a nonstick silicon baking mat. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to whisk together the egg whites and 2 cups of sugar until foamy. Add the flour and salt and mix to incorporate. Add the cinnamon extract, butter and cream, then beat again until completely smooth. In small amounts, add the brown food coloring a drop at a time until desired color is reached, stirring thoroughly between additions. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with the cinnamon.

Scoop a teaspoon of batter onto the prepared baking sheet. Using a small offset spatula spread the batter thinly and evenly into a rectangle about 2-by-5-inches. Depending on the size of your baking sheet, you should be able to fit 2 to 4 cookies on at a time.

Sprinkle each rectangle lightly with the cinnamon-sugar. Bake the cookies for about 5-8 minutes, or until the surface looks dry. The edges should not be browned.

Working quickly and as soon as the baking sheet comes out of the oven,  use an offset spatula to flip each rectangle over. Tightly roll both long sides of each rectangle toward the center, similar to forming a scroll. Set aside to cool and repeat in batches with remaining dough.
   
TIPS
* These cookies must be shaped into the rolled cinnamon stick as soon as they come out of the oven.
* Only cook 2-4 cookies at a time, or the rest will cool too quickly before you can roll them.
* For best results use a silicone baking mat, but if you don't have one use a well greased baking sheet.
* To remove the cookies from the sheet, use an offset spatula.
* Spreading the batter thinly ensures even baking of this cookie. Working with the delicate cookie while still warm and pliable is essential.

12/19: Last Day For The Sale of The Griddler At Costco

Today is the last day to save $15 off the already low price of a Griddler at Costco.

We find it indispensable for making panini, bacon and other foods.

It also makes a righteous Christmas present for the foodie on your gift list.

Ground Beef Stoup with Nature's Earthly Choice Heritage Grain Blend

With the cold weather here in Michigan, soups, stews and stoups are very comforting.  And to comfort myself and my lovely wife, I made a stoup recently using Nature's Earthly Choice Heritage Grain Blend from Costco along with some Costco ground beef. Here is the recipe:

• 2-3 medium cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
• EVOO
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, slightly thawed
• 1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1  14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes with chilies
• 2 cups water
• 1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 cup Nature's Earthly Choice Heritage Grain Blend

Mix the spices and the Grain blend together and set aside.


Cook the onions and garlic in the EVOO until soft and then add the corn and cook for a minute or two.  Then add all the other ingredients and bring to a boil.  Simmer until the grain blend is fully cooked.(The directions on on the package for how long to cook the grain). Then serve and enjoy.


I know, pretty simple, isn't it? Here is a photo of the finished dish.

I will agree with those that might suggest this has a similar flavor and texture profile to chili, but adding the corn and the grain blend changes the flavors and textures enough that it is a significantly different dish.  On a scale of 1-10, my wife gave it a 9.  I would agree with that and I have to say that is pretty good for something that had only a few minutes of prep time and less than 30 minutes of cook time.

Also, it does have a variety of foods with the grains, beans and ground beef.  Objectively speaking, I think this dish was a solid success on all fronts and I am sure we will make it again over the winter.

Free Costco Cookbook-Smart Cooking The Costco Way

When  we were at Costco after Thanksgiving to buy a new TV, we were given this cookbook as we were leaving the store.

While I have been a reader of their cookbooks in electronic forms (see my links to them), this was the first time I have had an encounter with a printed and bound paper book.

I have to say I am impressed, especially for a freebie. Sure, lots of stores have recipe cards and certainly a lot of food manufacturers do websites and cookbooks.  But this is the first cookbook I have seen from a food retailer.


It is primarily organized by course, with a special section devoted to famous chefs such as Mario Batali, Steven Raichlen, Bruce Aidells and other.

At 236 pages long, there is a wide variety of recipes.  Along with a typical index, there is also a index by manufacturer, which makes sense since they reference so many products by name.

There definitely are some recipes in here we are interested in trying or using as a basis for our own recipe.  I haven't seen this cookbook at Costco since the weekend after Thanksgiving, but if they hand them out again, I recommend getting one. It has a lot of appealing and practical recipes in it and I am sure most of the readers of this blog would find something useful in it.

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New Coupons Started 12/02

Once again, here is a link to the information, courtesy of my wonderful friends at Addicted To Costco.

They have a link to a PDF file in their entry.

The coupons last until 12/19.

Enjoy!

Another Great Use For Saigon Cinnamon-Chili

Sorry about the delay in postings, I got a bit sick this week and unfortunately, that suppressed my appetite.  But finally, I am feeling better and it is time for a seasonal favorite: chili.

I know, I know, I don't make an authentic chili because I use beans and ground beef.  But chili with with ground beef and beans is certainly a classic dish and very easy for to prepare in a crockpot.  And it turns out great in a slow cooker, because the flavors have so much time to meld.

For the most part, this was a fairly typical batch by many people's standards: ground beef, tomatoes, onions, beans, some chili powder, ground cumin.  But my wife loves the idea of cocoa and cinnamon, so I added some of that.  The wonderful Saigon cinnamon from Costco adds another type of warmth to the dish and certainly broadens the flavor profile.

My wife commented to me how good the chili was and you know, she was right.  This was also easy to make since there is very little prep time involved.  It is also a reasonably priced meal.  Now that winter is here in Soutwest Michigan, a nice  bowl of chili with a slightly exotic but wonderful flavor is just the right thing to warm both your body and soul.

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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.

Guest Post-Cranberry Cobbler Crunch

Hi, I'm Chris Louie, and I blog over at The Simple Skillet When Mike asked me to do a guest post about my Cranberry Cobbler Crunch, well, I was honored! I love his ideas, and I love Costco (other than the crazy parking and long lines) and shop their regularly, although I rarely purchase any of the prepared foods. I buy the produce, fish, meat, and other whole foods, and of course some of their wines.... then come home and cook from my own recipes. However, once in awhile I do like to try some of their specials.

Getting back to the Cranberry Cobbler Crunch, well it really isn’t your typical cobbler, and not your typical cranberry dessert. It is more like a pudding cake, and the crystallized sugar on top adds a nice crunch and takes the tartness away from the dried cranberries. I make this dessert often (well, probably more often than I should). I also make Individual Berry Cobblers that are just as easy, and cook in half the time because they are made in little souffle cups. You could do that with the Cranberry Cobbler Crunch as well, and just bake for 30 minutes in the 3 inch souffle cups.
This is a perfect dessert for a cold winter night, served warm with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It’s also good for breakfast/brunch (I know)…but it is! It’s not too sweet, and goes great with a cup of coffee or tea. It is easy to make, but takes an hour to bake. You can serve it warm out of the oven, but it is just as good the next day, just warm it a little in the microwave oven. The top keeps it’s slight crunch from the Turbinado sugar. When you're done having your second piece, you may want to check out our low calorie meal plans with recipes and shopping lists!

Serves: 8 (but in our house we usually get about 6 slices out of it)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups cranberries, dried
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg, large
1 cup milk, I use 2% fat
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour, all purpose
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar, such as Sugar in the Raw
Preparation: Place cranberries in a small microwave safe bowl. Cover with water and cook in microwave for 1 minute and set aside to soften. Lightly butter and sugar a 9 inch pie or cake pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a microwave safe mixing bowl. Add sugar to butter and whisk together. Add milk, egg, and vanilla to the bowl and whisk together. Add flour and baking powder and whisk together. Pour batter into prepared pie pan.
Drain cranberries in a colander, shaking it around to make sure the water is fully drained.


Arrange softened cranberries over top of batter. Sprinkle with Turbinado sugar. Place baking dish in oven. Bake for approximately 1 hour until a toothpick placed in the center comes out clean.


I sprinkle a little more sugar on top (optional, but really good) when I remove it from the oven.


Best served warm, and you can reheat individual pieces in the microwave later.
Nutrition: Per Serving About: 350 calories, 13 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 4 g protein, 58 g carbohydrates, 2 g dietary fiber, 140 mg sodium

To print recipe click here

For More Desserts:

We post free weekly meal plans, recipes and shopping lists for family meals, low calorie meals, low carb meals, vegetarian meals and kid friendly meals. Stop on by and check it out!

Guest Post Nutella Chocolate Mousse Tart

When Mike emailed me to do a guest post I was immediately excited by his invitation. Then to find out it's about my favorite single addiction, Nutella !!  I was in a hurry to get started on posting my latest creation! Nutella is nature's perfect food it's great on everything.

Nutella  was invented by Pietro Ferrero in Italy in the 1940s, and was originally called pasta gianduja. Hope your a big fan like me! Here is my latest entry and thanks Mike for your invitation... Nutella Chocolate Mousse Tart

Nutella Chocolate Mousse
3/4 cup Nutella
1/3 cup unsalted butter
4 eggs, separated
1 tablespoon sugar

In a double boiler or oven proof bowl, over simmering water, melt the Nutella and butter, stir to combine. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, stirring after each addition. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In large bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, then add the sugar and continue beating until smooth and glossy.
 Gently fold in 1/4 of the egg whites to the Nutella mixture using a spatula, then add the remaining whites and combine completely. Spoon into cooled pie crust and cool in the refrigerator 4 hours.

 
Chocolate Butter Crust :

Makes  1 large tart shell in pan with removable bottom
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons heavy cream, chilled
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Dough:

Place flour, cocoa, sugar, and salt in the bowl mix together with electric heavy duty mixer. Add butter, mixture will resembles coarse meal, about 10 seconds. Add yolks, cream, and vanilla; process until mixture comes together, keep adding cream if too dry, a little at a time.

Turn out dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, and flatten into a disk with the palm of your hand. Wrap well, refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until ready to use, up to 2 days.

Line the bottom of a removable tart pan with pistachio nuts. Unwrap dough, roll the dough out about 1/2 thick on the clear wrap, lift still on the wrap and place on over the nuts, to line the tart pan. With plastic wrap push still over the top, press sides in to make sure all dough is in the fluted edges to the top. Remove plastic wrap. Prick the dough with a fork on the bottom and bake on 350 until tart is done around 25 minutes. I make sure the toothpick is clean in the center before removing from the oven. Cool around 5 minutes, loosen edges if they look stuck with a knife and gently move from the fluted edges then flip onto on board to cool.
Then line a cookie sheet with wax paper and flip it right side up.  Fill  when cooled with mousse, add a  toasted meringue- or whipped cream topping and chopped hazelnuts.

Meringue:

3 egg whites from large or jumbo eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup superfine sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
In a chilled clean bowl, beat the egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. With mixer running, add the cream of tartar, then gradually add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form. But don't walk away and overbeat as I did! It will not be smooth and get dry as you see in the picture...don't even answer the phone! That's what happened to me and this is the result too stiff of peaks formed!
Pile on to the top of your pie and seal edges to crust. (Sprinkles with nuts after its sealed and starts to brown or they will sink in.) Bake at 400°F  until lightly browned. Watch this closely as it will brown quickly in different ovens.

Tips:
The bowl must be cold I put my bowl and beater in the refrigerator first! The bowl must be immaculately clean!

Sugar fills an important role in meringue. It stabilizes the beaten egg white foam which enables it to sit longer and hold its shape. Sugar pulls the water from the eggs and allows it to set better. When using sugar, your meringue can run the risk of getting a gritty texture so I only use superfine sugar when making meringue because it dissolves faster than table sugar. Use meringue within 5 minutes after beating as they will deflate quickly.

The challenge in making perfect meringue is neither to under or over beat the eggs. Under beating introduces too little air, and the whites will rise inadequately. If over beaten the mixture will separate. Seal your pie to the edges before baking. Its also better to make just before you serve as refrigerating will cause it to seperate from the edges and get runny.

Try some of my other Nutella Favorites:

Nutella Ganache Milano Cookies
Nutella Rocher Hot Chocolate
Thanks For Reading ! Claudia From What's Cookin Italian Cuisine

New Feature-Guests Posts On Costco Cuisine

I am trying out something new: I am going to have guest posters that have recipes that I think fit well with the philosophy of this blog.

Let me know what your think after they start posting.


Thanks and I hope you enjoy this new feature.

Quick and Easy Spinach Quiche-Ideal For Holiday Brunch Or Breakfast

For Sunday brunch with the family, my mother in law generally makes scrambled eggs. However, sometimes she likes to kick it up a notch by making a quiche.  This one used eggs, mozzarella and bacon bits, all from Costco. She adds a little milk and some frozen spinach (thawed and drained) plus some seasoning and she is good to go.

Easy, quick, tasty and affordable.  That is a wonderful set of qualifications for any dish.  And buying a number of the ingredients from Costco really makes it simple to grab stuff from your pantry and fridge and have it put together in minutes.

I highly recommend something like this for a holiday brunch or breakfast.  It really satisfies people but it keeps your time in the kitchen to a minimum so you can enjoy family time together.

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:

Les Plats du Chef All Natural Spanakopita-Great Tasting, Fun And On Sale

We love the assortment of both basic items like rice and more distinctive foods like the spanakopita that Costco carries. While I was doing other chores, my wife threw half a package in the oven for refreshments for my Toastmasters meeting.

The spanakopita went over great, it was all gone by the time the meeting was over.  It is tasty, easy to eat and fun.

The holidays and their associated parties are coming up, so we will definitely buy some more of this.  The coupon has no limit, so we will get some and store it in the freezer. At $3.50 off per package and no limit, this is truly a great opportunity.

"Must Go" Cheese and Pasta

In my wife's family, they have a term for things that are in the fridge and have to be used up before they go bad. They call them "Must Goes". Here is my wife's take on a pasta dish using some "must goes" from our fridge

A while back we had one last piece of that wonderful fresh mozzarella  from Costco.  We also had some ricotta and some Parm Reg cheese. The mozzarella was still good but near the end of its life, so my lovely wife threw all those cheeses together with some fresh and canned tomato and just a little bit of spice to liven it up. While not the best thing we have ever eaten, it was pretty darn good for something she just threw together in minutes.

Fresh Belgioioso Mozzarella from Costco is a great cheese at an awesome price and we will continue to enjoy it on a regular basis.

New Coupons Started 11/11

Here is a link to the coupons courtesy of our friends at Addicted To Costco.

We will be buying spanakopita and the pita chips. And we will definitely max out the coupons for Nutella and the Potstickers.

Some great deals this month, so check them out.

Costco Take And Bake Pizza Review-Great Pizza, Great Price

Sorry I am behind on blog entries, I thought I was back in the groove but then my mom spent a day and a half in the hospital. She is fine, but it messed up my schedule for a while.

Until the November 7, Costco has their Take & Bake pepperoni pizza on sale for $3 off, which brings the price to 6.99 in my local store. It is a huge pizza, practically the size of a hubcap on a Hummer.  And it comes almost totally covered with pepperoni.

Sure, it is big, but it is also a good pizza, comparable to the major chains like Papa Johns.  As you can see, it has lots of pepperoni. But it doesn't end there, it also has a flavorful sauce with a well made crust. Even at regular price, it is a good value. On sale, it is just simply a bargain.  The first one we had we served with the same type of salad we made with the Craisins that are on sale.


For the second one we bought, we topped it with fresh tomato from the farmer's market and Kirkland Signature Artichoke Hearts from Costco. That was fun pizza. It had a variety of textures from the different toppings and the tomato and artichoke hearts added nicely to the flavor profile.

You still have a couple of days to buy them on sale, and even at full price, they are a good deal.