Bargin Mecca (Went to Costco today)

I've loved the store before it became Costco. My affection began with Price Club and just got stronger when it turned into Costco. I can spend an afternoon just browsing the aisles. But I don't buy perishables at Costco because it would spoil before we could eat it all. Also, I can usually get produce cheaper at the farmers market. I buy bulk dairy, meats and canned goods. My strategy is simple if it's a staple item with a long shelf live packaged in manageable portions I'll buy it at Costco. I try only to buy staples at Costco because if we have a box of snickers in the house we'll eat the box. My main food staples from the warehouse store are

Dog Food
Cat Food
5 lbs block of Chedder
Milk
Beef
Pork
Chicken Breasts
Fish Fillets
Sausages
Baked Beans
Refried Beans
Tomatoes, Diced
Chicken Stock
Onions
Baking Supplies

Most of the fresh and frozen items I buy have to be repackaged for storage but taking an extra 30 minutes and repackaging is easy. Besides, if you include the time to repackage the items; I'm still ahead of the game by not going to the store weekly and I always have food that stores well on hand. To prepare for storage I use my second favorite kitchen tool my food sucker it works well with most things I freeze. I'm not sure how I can use the bulk buying power of Costco with the 100 mile diet but right now I've found most of the meat is local to Colorado at least. We're trying to decide if the salmon is something we can do without.

Lazy-agna (Baked Penne)

So I've been thinking about making lasagna for a few days. But, I just did not want to deal with the noodles and all the mess. Here's what I came up with tonight for dinner. I served it with some sweet Italian sausage and crusty bread. My three year old loves to slice the mushrooms using our egg slicer. The boy loved it and went for seconds (the equivalent of a five star rating). My wife complained it was to acidic but I felt it was fine.

Lazy-agna (Baked Penne)
Serves 6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

1/2 lbs penne pasta
8-10 mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lbs ricotta cheese, low-fat
1/2 lbs mozzarella cheese shredded
5-6 leaves basil, chopped
1 bottle of your favorite spaghetti sauce

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F.

2. Cook penne according to package instructions for half the required time. Drain pasta and put in a mixing bowl.

3. In a medium pan heat 1 tbs of olive oil. Add and sweat sliced mushrooms. When mushrooms are done add the ricotta and basil bringing all ingredients up to temperature.

4. Combine and mix mushrooms with the pasta in mixing bowl.

5. Put a thin layer of the mixed pasta in a small casserole dish. Cover pasta with sauce and a light sprinkling of mozzarella. Repeat until casserole dish is filled. Place any remaining mozzarella on top and bake covered for 25 minutes. For the last five minutes set oven to broil. But stay close to make sure the food does not burn.

6. Remove from oven let dish rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

7. Enjoy.

Chicken Fajitas- Indianish Style

I love fajitas. They're simple to make you just need meat, sweet peppers, onions, tortillas and voila fajitas right? Its so simple who needs a recipe, not me. Well, I've been trying to make the ultimate fajitas for years. It's become a matter of principle for me not to look for a recipe. My problem is the spices mixture. I keep trying to get the spices right and I keep getting the alchemy wrong. On the plus side I've created a few great variations while trying to recreate the original. Here's last nights failed attempt. It was great everyone liked them.

Fajitas- Indianish

1 tbs olive oil
1/2 lbs chicken breast, sliced in strips
1 bell pepper, green sliced in strips
1 bell pepper, red sliced in strips
1 med onion, sliced in strips
1 tbs cumin, ground
1/2 tbs turmeric
pepper to taste
4 whole wheat tortillas
sour cream to garnish
Chutney, tamarind to garnish

1. Heat oil in skillet. When oil is warmed add chicken and half of the cumin and turmeric. Cook chicken until done, remove from pan.
2. Add sliced vegetables and remaining cumin and turmeric to hot pan saute once the vegetables are browned add about 1/4 cup water and de-glaze pan allowing the vegetables to steam in the pan. Just before the pan goes dry remove vegetables and serve with chicken.
3. Serve on the whole wheat tortillas with a spoonful of sour cream and the chutney.
4. Enjoy.

Serves 4

While not traditional these "fajitas" are quick and delicious. The flavor comes from cooking the spices in the hot oil with the chicken.

Curried Chicken Salad

This is a great last minute recipe. I usually make it with half of a Costco rotisserie chicken. Just de-bone the chicken and cut the meat into half inch cubes. While the chicken is loaded with sodium it's tasty and quick. Serve open face on rye bread, add couscous and a spinach salad and your set for the night with leftovers for lunch.

Chicken Curry Salad
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
• 1/4-1/2 cup mayonnaise or plain yogurt
  
• 1-2 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 stalks celery, chopped fine
• 1 small onion, chopped fine (optional)
  
• 1/4 cup currents or raisins
• 1/4 cup pistachios or almonds, chopped
• pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, stir in half the mayonnaise, half the curry powder, celery, onion, currents and pistachios until well blended.
   
2. Add the chunk chicken and mix until blended. Use remaining mayonnaise and curry to achieve desired creaminess and taste.
3. If time chill for 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
4. Serve and enjoy.