Saturday, April 5, 2014

Saturday's Costco Finds, Etc.

This morning we got up and ran a bunch of our errands since it was bright, sunny and beautiful out. There is rain in our forecast for the next couple of days so we wanted to get out today and get it done. Our pollen count was over 5,000 here yesterday (yuck)! I was so excited to find some beautiful wild Pacific halibut at Costco as well as a few other finds. I also picked up some skirt steak that I'm going to marinate overnight and all day tomorrow to grill for fajitas. It's a tougher cut of meat, but extremely flavorful and marinade is all that's needed to tenderize it a bit and infuse it with lots of flavor. I like to use fresh lime in my marinade so I picked up a big bag of limes. For whatever reason, limes have been harder to find here recently and when you do find them they don't look good...so I was excited to get a big bag of nice looking limes today. When we got home I made my lunch and had delicious turkey/cheese/avocado rolls that were super easy and quick and really good. I used Boars Head Ovengold turkey breast and placed some of the new "Five County" cheese I picked up today on top of the turkey and then placed slices of fresh ripe avocado and rolled it up "as is". It was so simple and so good. The longer I am wheat/grain free, the less I miss eating bread and the more I appreciate that it's the important stuff that goes INSIDE that "makes" a sandwich -- fresh, good ingredients! Wraps are nice because they are thin and don't detract from the filling. What I realize is that the majority of time, regular sandwich bread simply serves as a "holder" or a "filler" and doesn't really add much in the way of flavor (most of the time) -- and some of it is just "habit". I had a Bubbies dill pickle along with my turkey/cheese/avocado rolls -- they are naturally fermented and really good. Their label says "best pickle in the world".  While I don't consider myself a pickle connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination, these were really tasty and crisp and I really, REALLY like the way Bubbies makes them (especially what they don't put in them). I haven't posted for the last couple of days because I am working on recipe projects (for others). I am functioning today on about 4 hours of sleep and so far, so good! One thing I've been wanting to say to all of you that are Costco members (if you don't already know)..."ATTENTION Costco Shoppers...Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour is on SALE!"  :-)  While Costco doesn't sell Honeyville's Blanched Almond Flour in most of their retail locations, they DO now carry it online! It just happens to be on sale (the sale began on Monday, 3/31/14).. You can buy 6 pounds (in two 3-pound bags) for $39.99 which includes tax AND shipping! That's what their regular 5-pound bag normally costs (so that's an extra pound of almond flour plus free shipping). Naturally, I ordered it the first moment I could (I waited until right after midnight on 3/31 to order it)...LOL. It's on sale through 4/20/14 if you are interested in checking it out (mine came in 2 days and I snapped a photo below). Here's the link: Costco Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour Sale. It's actually kind of nice having 2 smaller bags that are more easy to handle. Check out some of today's Costco and other food shopping finds below. Enjoy!

This is on sale at Costco (online only) thru 4/20/14 -- 6 lbs for $39.99 (includes tax & shipping)!

This cheese was excellent -- layers of 5 different cheeses per slice (see the list below)


Don't worry, it is supposed to be cloudy. The instructions say to shake until cloudy before serving! 





9 comments:

Peg said...

Hi GG, just curious about the SuperFine Grind Almond Flour. Is it much finer than the regular Honeyville Almond Flour? Does it make a difference when baking, etc? You've got my curiosity up!

Hope you've completely recovered from your health scare a couple months ago.

Thanks.

Peg

Anonymous said...

I don't have a membership myself, but I love reading and seeing pictures of your costco finds! :) Neha

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC

The almond flour is a *find* alright! I didn't see that particular packaging on the Honeyville web site. Must be special for Costco. I like the idea of smaller bags, too, and I *love* free shipping!

I always look at this cheese every time we go to Costco but haven't tried it yet. Looks yummy. We're going tomorrow so I'll be sure to get some.

It's still on the chilly side here but at least the sun has been out for the past two days. :-) Have a great week!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Peg,

I haven't opened my bags from Costco yet since I have a 5-pound bag already open right now. It looks the same to me and doesn't look visibly different. I'm thinking it is probably the same thing since the almond flour they sell is finer ground than other brands that are "almond flour/meal". As far as my health scare in February -- I feel good and think I'm okay -- I feel completely back to my old self! Thanks for asking. When I get to opening the almond flour I will post if it seems different than the regular. I think just the packaging is different though, but I will definitely look to see. :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks, Neha! I know some folks that don't have memberships either but they are lucky enough to know someone that does so they can "piggyback" and enjoy some of the deals through their friends or family. Glad you enjoy seeing what they have. :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis! Glad you are at least getting some sunshine. The birds were singing all day long here -- really loud. It even sounds like spring here now! The only thing is spring here brings high pollen counts so you can't really spend an extended period of time outside unless you don't mind sneezing and itchy eyes. Will keep my fingers crossed that the warm weather is headed your way! Have a good weekend and great week, too! :-)

Bobbie and Jim said...

FYI about limes...saw on the news that almost all our limes come from Mexico and they have been hit with a disease that has limited the supply this year. The news said a case of limes usually costs $18 but now costs $126 a case. Yikes...heck of a jump in price. Enjoy your blog and am "trying" to go wheat-free, but like you husband will not be joining me in that endeavor, so it complicates meal planning.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Bobbie,

Thank you for the information about limes! I've spoken with numerous people that were having difficulty finding them, just like I was and it is good to finally know why. WOW that's quite a jump in price! Now, while I do really like limes, I don't love them THAT much! The bag (3-pound) I got of them yesterday cost $8.98 which is more than I've ever paid for them before (at least twice as much). I just checked my bag and while they are "packed in CA" it says they are "product of Mexico". Guess I need to use them wisely! Thanks for letting me know that -- I had not heard or read any news about it. ;-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

P.S. -- Meant to tell you not to get discouraged if your husband doesn't want to go in it 100% with you. You will find, if you plan your meals carefully, you both can easily eat "most of the same stuff". For instance, if I made spaghetti, I would make the meat sauce as usual and then boil a small portion of regular noodles for his sauce and make my own zucchini or yellow squash noodles and lightly sauté them for my sauce. If you make a meat and veggie that you both can eat, you can "supplement his plate" with a baked potato or some other side dish that you don't eat. I do remember feeling like it was hard in the beginning, but as time as gone by I just take it in stride. Believe it or not, my husband eats almost everything I do (especially at dinner)...he just eats the other stuff, too (like his lunches at work, his breakfast, etc.). He actually likes almost everything I make...he just refuses to give up the rest of the stuff! It will get easier and maybe your husband will become a natural convert -- mine continues to be a rebel! ;-)