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Bridget
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I am trying to put together a menu of the simplest, easy to prepare, meals I can think of, using ingredients available at Costco. That way we only have to shop at one place.
I'm will use this plan for my last month or so of pregnancy and the first month postpartum. The energy I've had in previous pregnancies is just not there so I'm trying to make things as easy as possible.
Any Costco shoppers here that have easy meal ideas? Thanks!
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Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
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JennGM
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Bridget,
I don't menu plan from Costco, but I have one of the easiest, tastiest meals to offer to you...we make this for postpartum meals for families. Baked Chicken...make the rice separately, but that's easy, as it just sits on the stove most of the time. I've posted the directions below...it's hard to do in writing, and the directions are longer than it really takes. I'm compiling the family cookbook so I just typed this up recently. It's sinfully simple....
Baked Chicken
whole chicken, fryer
Lawry's Salt
Aluminum foil -- 18" wide works best
Baking pan, such as Pyrex
Make sure chicken is completely defrosted, or you will have to add to cooking time. You can cook several chickens at a time, but if you are cooking more than two you will have to add to cooking time and/or increase the temperature.
Turn oven to 350 degrees. Tear off about 2 - 2 1/2 feet of aluminum foil and lay out flat on counter. Sprinkle with water droplets in the middle of the foil and then sprinkle Lawry's salt onto the foil (the water makes it stick!). Be careful to not puncture the foil throughout this process.
Wash off chicken, remove gizzards and such from the inside of the cavity, rinse out well. Sprinkle Lawry's liberally all over chicken, including inside.
Place salted chicken in the middle of the foil. Bring both edges to the middle and fold down over the chicken. Then each end, fold edges in several times to keep juices from coming out.
Place chickens in baking pan and place in oven. Bake for approximately 2 hours. If you need more or less time, increase or decrease oven temperature. The chicken can bake longer and will just become more tender.
Serve with rice, using the au jus gravy. Cooked spinach or broccoli in the microwave and/or green salad balances out the meal.
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Joanna
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Tacos:
flour tortillas, (sometimes we use hard shell tacos,but I am not sure that you can get them in Costco)
refried beans,
ground beef - browned and seasoned with
Taco seasoning and
Tomato sauce
Shredded cheese
Salsa
I "cheat" and add a lot of chopped onions and grated carrots into ground beef - to make sure my "Three silly eaters" will get some veggies.
God bless you,
Joanna
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Mary Chris
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Bridget,
I don't think you can get all the ingredients for the following at CostCo but most......
French Dip Sandwiches
I buy the package of rump roast in the fresh meat dept. Stick them in the crockpot with two cans of french onion soup, some beef broth or boullion cubes, you can add beer if you like and cook it on high for 1 hour then turn down to low. I usually buy the little rolls at CostCo although I have not seen them there lately  .
My kids love it!
I buy the bag of frozen chicken breasts at CostCo and use them to make Irene's Chicken Tacos. You can buy most of the fixings for tacos at CostCo.
I buy the ingredients for Elizabeth's steak salad there.
I also buy a big thing of fresh chicken breasts and/or flank steaks and a bottle of marinade. When I get home I seperate them, put them into freezer bags and add the marinade before I freeze them.
We had the Bratwurst they sell there over the weekend and it was a big hit. So was the Kielbasa.
Box of pasta, some italian sausage and a jar of Emeril's sauce is easy!
We do there pork tenderloin and everyone likes that.
I shop there a lot, can you tell  ? As a matter of fact, I want to run by there later today........
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mom to MacKenzie3/95, Carter 12/97 Ronan 3/00 and wife to Jim since 1/92
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stefoodie
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Have you seen the book "Easy Cooking the Costco Way"? It was supposedly being given away at Costco's doors when it first came out. There's one here (I found the link through addall.com):
Costco Book at eBay
edited to say: it's also available online:
Easy Cooking the Costco Way Online Edition
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stef
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Erica Sanchez
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We like the spinach ravioli's that come frozen in a bag. There is a seasoning packet that comes with it. I think you only need to add some olive oil and butter. We can get several meals out of the one bag.
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Erica in San Diego
(dh)Cash, Emily, Grace, Nicholas, Isabella, Annie, Luke, Max, Peter, 2 little souls ++, and sweet Rose who is legally ours!
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Elizabeth
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Okay, my friend, I thought this was such a great idea, I organized a week's worth of recipes for myself and figured I'd map it all out for you while I was at it. Go to Costco on Friday; that way the fish is fresh and you use it that day. Marinate everything that needs it when you get home and freeze in those ziploc bags:
Monday
Steak Salad:
(cut and pasted from another thread) In the summer, my favorite is to make a big green salad in a large shallow bowl.Marinate a flank steak in italian dressing overnight (or use a combination of italian dressing and Yoshidas). Grill it in the morning and boil the marinade. Cut the steak into bite-sized pieces and continue to marinate in the fridge. Boil some quartered red potatoes and marinate those in dressing as well. When you are ready to assemble the salad, put the steak in the bottom of the bowl and the potatoes on top of the steak. Cover with spring mix. Add a layer of grated cheese. Sprinkle chopped red peppers (I really like to use the mini peppers in three colors) on top. Defrost frozen peas under running water and ring the perimeter of the bowl with peas. This looks so pretty and the marinated meat and potatoes are more than enough dressing for the whole salad. My kids are not picky eaters and they love this, but I've noticed that other kids do too. Since it can all be done ahead and assembled quickly, it make great summertime party fare.
Tuesday
Chicken and Cream cheese burritos
Green salad
Spanish rice
Cook all the chicken breasts at once. You can marinate them in freezer bags with Italian dressing ahead of time and grill them for even better burritos. Even you don¡¦t want to grill, you can crock pot in the marinade too. After the chicken is cooked, mix it with cream cheese until it looks sort of like chicken salad. Big cream cheese, big batch of chicken¡Xthat¡¦s about right, it¡¦s art and not science, right ƒº? Add some salsa until it¡¦s pink. Then put the mixture in the middle of flour tortillas and top with cheddar cheese. Roll it up. Line them up in an 11X17 pan. Pour more salsa and cheese on top. Microwave until it all melts and is warm inside.
For the rice, make rice the way you usually do¡XI use a rice cooker¡Xonly substitute diced tomatoes with mild green chilies for part of the water.
Wednesday
French Dip
Green beans
Use Mary Chris¡¦ recipe. Buy the French green beans, go around the wok once with olive oil and stir fry until they blackened. Add lots of minced garlic and cook until it¡¦s barely cooked. Salt and pepper to taste.
Thursday
Hamburgers
Baked beans
Veggies and dip
I add apples to the canned baked beans (and sometimes crumbled turkey sausage) and cook in the crockpot. You can choose a Costco dip or two. I use these throughout the week.
Friday
Fish
Green salad
Costco potato salad
Fresh fruit salad
I dip the fish in egg and then in cornmeal seasoned with whatever is handy. Bake in an 11X17 pan.
Saturday
Chicken and Feta Sausages--Grilled
Roasted red potatoes ¡V quarter the red potatoes and toss with olive oil and rosemary and garlic. Bake at 400 until they are heavenly.
Green beans¡Xsame as above
Sunday
Baked chicken (Use Jenn¡¦s recipe)
Sugar snap peas¡Xstir fry and sprinkle with a little butter
The shopping list (pretty much in order, according to my Costco and starting in the bakery corner):
Small rolls
Hamburger rolls
Flank steak
Boneless Chicken breasts
Hamburger
Fresh tilapia
Two roasters
roast for the French dip
Salsa
Amy¡¦s chicken and feta and spinach sausages
Dip of your choice
Red potatoes
Tri-color mini red peppers
Romaine lettuce and maybe spring mix too
Frozen peas
Any other veggies you like in salads
Green beans (two meals)
Veggies to dip
Apples
Fruit for salad
Sugar snap peas
Frozen peas
Eggs
Ready made potato salad
Cream cheese
Tortillas
Shredded cheddar
bouillion and/or French onion soup
Lawry's seasoning
Italian Dressing
Yoshidas marinade
Rice (I like the tri-color brown rice)
Tomatoes with chilies
Baked beans
Cornmeal
Ziploc freezer bags
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Elizabeth
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sorry for the funky little symbols. I composed in Word, didn't see them in the Preview and don't see them on the edit screen.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Bridget
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There are so many good ideas here! Elizabeth, I can't believe you came up with that whole plan, mapped out and everything so quickly! It's a great menu that will work well for us.
Who knew, a whole Costco cookbook!
This is way too much fun!
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Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
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Elizabeth
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Bridget wrote:
There are so many good ideas here! Elizabeth, I can't believe you came up with that whole plan, mapped out and everything so quickly! It's a great menu that will work well for us.
Who knew, a whole Costco cookbook!
This is way too much fun! |
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Yeah, well, I know Costco like the back of my hand  !
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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saintanneshs
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Some easy meals from a non-Costco shopper (too far into town for us farm folks):
Pork Chops and Apples with French Bread and Salad:
Open cans of sliced apples (in the pie/baking section)(2 cans for a 9x13 dish) and put into bottom of greased dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar (if unsweetened). Use Pork Shake N' Bake on Pork Chops (or whatever pork is on sale or in the freezer)...I've used country style ribs before. Bake 350 for 1 hr (or until chops are done...it depends on thickness of chops). Serve with Fresh bakery bread and salad greens from a baggie (throw in some cherry tomatoes) Prep time: 15 min. Bake time: 45m.-1 hr *When feeling up to it you can use fresh apples and bread.
Crock Pot Chili with Cornbread:
Boxes of cornbread mix
1 pkg. of cooked ground beef
1 onion
1 green pepper
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can baked beans
1 bag corn
Cook ground beef and onion and pepper in the am. Throw into crockpot with all other ingredients on low until suppertime. Mix boxes of cornbread in bowl as directed (usually w/ eggs and/or milk). Bake in lined (for less mess) muffin tin as directed. Serve chili with sour cream and shredded cheese. Prep time:15 min.
Ham Biscuits, fresh veggies with dip (we like Ranch) and Sweet Potato Bake:
-Deli Ham, sliced thick... or pre-cooked ham or left-over frozen ham from Easter (or another holiday). You could even use chicken or turkey for the biscuits.
-A biscuit pack (the cheap tiny ones, not Grands) Bake 'em according to directions. Brush with butter and drizzle with honey. Put small squares of ham (meat) in them.
-Sweet Potatoes baked in the am (6 cups of cooked sweet potatoes fills a 9x13 dish when scraped out of the peel and blended with 4 eggs, 1 cup milk, 2 tsp. vanilla) Put mixture in greased pan. Sprinkle on top: 1 cup pecans, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup soft butter, 1/3 cup flour. Bake 350 for 45 min. (I cover the top of the pan with foil if the top starts getting too dark.)
These recipes are my stand-bys when morning sickness (=all day sickness) comes around, I'm 9mo.preg. or post-partum. Hope they can help.
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Elizabeth
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I ran the menu/shopping list through the test today. It's a little more meat than I usually buy. Anybody want to take a crack a couple of Costco-friendly "no meat" recipes we could sub in there?
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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TracyQ
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We don't have a Costco around here, but we have a BJ's (warehouse store). What about frozen cheese ravioli with marinara or some other veggie tomato based sauce, Texas Toast or garlic bread, and a simple salad?
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MichelleW
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I've got a meatless one:
Cook the bag of 4 Cheese Ravioli according to the package.
Open a bag of fresh broccoli and put in baking dish with minced garlic and olive oil. Roast at 450 for 25 minutes. When it is finished squeeze one lemon over all and sprinkle with grated parmesan (we use romano) cheese.
In a saucepan melt some butter, add 1 c+ parmesan (we use romano) and some cream or half and half to make alfredo sauce (this might come bottled, I don't know).
Serve by tossing sauce with ravioli. Put ravioli on plates and broccoli on top. Delicious! Good with a tomato salad.
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Michelle
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Menu Planning
