Dog Beds from Costco

My favorite part of walking through Costco besides the free samples is seeing people with dog beds in their cart. When I bring home a dog bed from Costco, my dogs always try to scramble into the bed before I can even get it inside the house. For some reason they know it's for them and they gravitate themselves towards the fluffiness. Compared to online and other retail pet stores, Costco dog beds are world class in quality and price. At the warehouse, they range in price from $35-$45 depending on which style is chosen. I've also noticed that the beds have gotten more contemporary in design which is fantastic considering it's mandatory that a dog bed be in almost every room of the house. You can zip off the exterior fabric and wash it in the washing machine on delicate cycle. Your furry friend and you will love these dog beds!

On a side note, don't forget to follow Tum Tum on Instagram! 

Tum Tum and Kaiya (friend's dog) sharing a Spitz moment together

Tum Tum and his toy hogging an entire bed to himself. This bed is available online here for $39.99 with free shipping.

BBQ Beef Brisket

This is the perfect recipe to make for Sunday football. It's simple, tasty, BBQ beef brisket and the best part is that alllll the ingredients are from Costco. Living in Seattle, its a bit difficult to find great BBQ. My brother will occasionally show up at my front door with several pounds of rib tips from The Barbeque Pit. If you haven't been there and you love saucy sweet barbeque, this is the place to be. Otherwise, you can make something super similar at home!

Ingredients
4-5 pounds of beef brisket
Dry seasoned rub. My Costco sells the dry rib rub they use in their meat department. They also have sweet mesquite seasoning but any type would work
Kinders BBQ Sauce or your favorite BBQ sauce. Costco also sells Sweet Baby Rays

Recipe
Rub the brisket with the dry seasoned rub and get it into all the nooks and crannies
Cover with tin foil and put into the fridge overnight. This allows seasoning to fully settle into the meat
Take the brisket out the next day and let it come to room temperature
Completely wrap the brisket in tin foil and place brisket on a sheet pan
Cook at 275 for 1 hour per pound. My brisket was 4.5 pounds so I set my timer for 4 hours and 30 minutes
Once that's done, pull the brisket out of the oven and set the temperature to 400 degrees

Take the brisket out of the tin foil and place it onto the sheet pan
This is optional, but if you have a brisket point, you can scrape off the fat. I did this because I like to pretend like I'm on a diet. 
Slather BBQ sauce all over the brisket and put it back inside the 400 degrees oven

 

Continue to baste BBQ sauce over the brisket at 5 minute increments for 15-20 minutes until you get a deep sugary crust from the BBQ sauce

 

Slice against the grain and eat up!

Seasoned Mini Pretzels

I'm sure many of you have picked up the 6 lb bag of mini pretzels from Costco for a party or game. It's only $7 dollars, so I figure if I only eat half of it, I've eaten my moneys worth. If you're anything like me, after the first .25 lbs, you're already sick of pretzels. But there's still 2.75 lbs before I've eaten my moneys worth! I soon find myself defeated by the pretzels and never want to eat another mini pretzel again.

Fast forward a a few years and my craving for mini pretzels have returned so I purchase a bag from Costco completely forgetting my last experience with them. After the first few crunchy bites, the nightmares come back! So I sought out for a way to enjoy the last few pounds of mini pretzels. These recipes are so delicious that I guarantee you'll still be craving pretzels after you've finished your 6 lb bag.

Seasoned Ranch Pretzels

Ingredients
16 oz hard mini pretzels
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 oz ranch salad dressing mix
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dill weed

Recipe
Preheat oven to 200 degrees and get out 2 half sheet baking sheets.
Stir oil, ranch seasoning mix, garlic powder and dill weed together in a bowl
Dump the pretzels and the oil mixture into a gallon plastic bag
Seal the bag and shake to coat
Distribute the pretzels evenly between the 2 baking sheets. Make sure you squeeze out any remaining oil mixture over the pretzels
Bake for 45 minutes, and stir every 15 minutes

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the finished product, they barely last an hour once they come out of the oven. 

Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels 

Ingredients
16 oz hard mini pretzels
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup of white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Recipe
Preheat oven to 200 degrees and get out 2 half sheet baking sheets.
Stir oil, sugar, and cinnamon together in a bowl
Dump the pretzels and the oil mixture into a gallon plastic bag
Seal the bag and shake to coat
Distribute the pretzels evenly between the 2 baking sheets. Make sure you squeeze out any remaining oil mixture over the pretzels
Bake for 45 minutes, and stir every 15 minutes

Heidi's Dark Chocolate Covered Cookies at Costco

Heidi's Dark Chocolate covered cookies makes for a great housewarming or holiday gift this season! There are about 40 cookies individually wrapped in a off white or a bright red ceramic canister. The label says the net weight is 25.7 oz or 1.7 lbs. Inside each wrapper there are 2 chocolate cookies filled with a peppermint creme filling (reminds me of a high end Oreo with peppermint creme) The entire cookie is then dunked into dark chocolate. Once you're done eating the cookies, you can remove the label and utilize the canister for flour, sugar, rice, etc in your kitchen! At $19.99 each, this is a steal considering other smaller empty canisters are priced well above $19.99.

The BEST grilled cheese sammy you've ever eaten recipe

Liquid gold is what I call the perfect melted cheese. That perfect consistency of bouncy cheesy texture. Placed between 2 buttered slices of toasted garlic Parmesan bread and toasted to a crunchy, melt in your mouth piece of perfection. It's so delicious you don't even need the tomato soup. But if you insist, Costco carries a brilliant and creamy tomato soup from Harrys that occasionally goes on sale.

First thing is the bread. Costco has stepped it up in the bakery department and one of my favorites is their garlic and Parmesan bread. It comes in 2 loaves and is baked fresh daily. If you buy bread from Costco and you're not consuming it all within a few days, put one loaf in the fridge to make it last at least a week.

Ingredients
Loaf of garlic Parmesan bread from Costco bakery
Room temperature butter
Cello variety pack cheese

Recipe
Slice the bread into 1/2 inch slices (tilt the bread 45 degrees to get a nice diagonal slice. A little secret - the slices are larger so you can eat more!!)

Slather butter on each slice of bread and put half of them in a large non stick pan on medium low heat. Place slices of cheese on the bread, all the flavors work well from the variety pack.

Benj gets bored and likes to tear the pieces of cheese up into little tiny pieces. It's his way of helping. Put the lid on the pan and check it occasionally to make sure all the cheese is melted.

 

Once all the cheese is almost melted

Put on the buttered top pieces of bread

Flip all the sandwiches over and continue cooking until both sides are toasty tan

Slice halfway and sprinkle with Fleur De Sel, serve immediately. Even Ryu wants to get a bite of it!

Thanks to Costco for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner

Thanksgiving with my dad and brother usually meant a classic Thanksgiving spread from Wegmans. I love my Dad, but cooking from scratch was generally a weak spot. A few hours before dinner time, we'd start heating up all the food in the oven (one year, the oven got stuck closed so the food was extra hot).

Unfortunately there isn't a Wegmans out here on the west coast so we turn to Costco every year for Thanksgiving goodies. Everything served was from Costco except for the chives and thyme.

Menu (starting from the top):
Scalloped Potatoes with cheese and bacon
 - Russet potatoes thinly slices poached in half and half infused with thyme and garlic. Between the slices of potatoes are crispy bacon pieces and cheddar cheese.
Chive Mashed Potatoes infused with thyme and garlic 
- Russet potatoes boiled, peeled, and then mashed with half and half infused with thyme and garlic. Toss in a handful of diced chives to make it 'healthy'
Green Bean casserole with fried onion rings
- Blanched fresh green beans and sauteed Cremini mushrooms are mixed with half and half, chicken stock and a roux then topped with fried Walla Walla onions
Roasted Turkey breast
- Roasted with chicken stock and thyme
Cranberry and Sausage cornbread stuffing
- Premade from Costco every year, you just heat it in the oven, it is sooo delicious
Red Lobster biscuits
- Packaged mix where you add in cheddar cheese and bake
Roasted Brussel Sprouts
- Sliced in half then drizzles with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and bacon bits
Turkey Gravy
- Another premade item from Costco that is utterly amazing

Total cook time was about 2 hours, total eating time was about 10 minutes.
Let me know if you're interested in the recipes of any of these items!

8 lb Pork Loin at Costco for $6!

Skip over to your nearest Costco today through Sunday 11/29 to get $10 off a single pack of boneless pork loin! This is an instant savings, so you don't need the coupon book to take advantage of it! Check out the other Costco Black Friday deals here before you leave the house!

*Please don't go grabbing this pork loin out of any kids hands. I'll be really embarrassed for you.

Braised Bok Choy Recipe

At Costco I force myself to get at least 2 different vegetables each times I go. Usually when I get home from work the last thing I want to do is prep vegetables and cook them. Ice cream for dinner anyone? Recipes that take 10 minutes or less have a fighting chance that my vegetables will make it into my belly instead of the trash can. Introducing 2 lbs of baby bok choy at Costco. What does one do with 2 lbs of baby bok choy? They make braised baby bok obviously.

Ingredients
1 lb of baby bok choy
1/2 cup of Kirkland chicken stock
1 tsp of sesame oil
3 peeled garlic cloves
2 tbsp of butter
salt 

Recipe
Prep the baby bok by cutting off the end and slicing in half. Sometimes I'm lazy and don't even cut them.

In a pan at medium high heat, pour in the chicken stock, sesame oil, garlic cloves and butter.

When the butter melts, dump in the baby bok, sprinkle salt to taste, and put a lid on the pan.

After a few minutes, stir the baby bok around until its tender (3-5 min). If you don't cut them in half you should be able to easily slide a butter knife through the stem of the baby bok.

I served it with roasted duck with crispy skin (I cheated and bought this at Jing Jing in Bellevue) and some steamed rice.

Memory Wall

Costco sells a variety of solid wooden frames that can bring a bare wall to life. These Old Town frames fit a 11x14 or a 8x10 picture with the borders intact. They come in packs of 2 and they are available at $19.99 each pack. Occasionally there will be a coupon for $4 off bringing the total to $15.99. The last time this coupon was available was in September 2015. That's each frame for $8! Wowwwww. Even better is that inside each one is a coupon for 100 free 4x6 prints from the photo center. I had these pictures printed at Costco photo center for couple dollars each.

*There's a picture that's not like the others, can you find it?

Spam Fried Rice Recipe

Nom Nom Nom! Asian comfort food on a bleak rainy day. Just a few ingredients makes my frown turn upside down!

Serves 4-6 hungry hippos

Ingredients
1 brick of Spam
half a yellow onion diced
6 eggs whisked
3 cups uncooked rice (Jasmine or Calrose)
2 tbsp of butter
3 swirls of vegetable oil
dash of white pepper
tsp of sesame oil
3 tbsp of soy sauce
green onions for garnish, totally optional (you will have to venture out of Costco to get this)

Recipe
Cook the rice according to the rice cooker directions. You can pick up the Zojirushi rice cooker from Costco for 89.99 in the warehouse or online. This should take about 45 minutes.

In the meantime, prep the rest of your ingredients!
Dice up the Spam and the yellow onions
Whisk the eggs and plop 2 pats of butter in the bowl. The butter makes the eggs fluffier and tastier.

When the rice is done cooking, you're ready to start!
1. Swirl the vegetable oil into a hot wok, medium high, add in a tsp of sesame oil, and stir fry the diced Spam.
2. After several minutes, throw in the diced yellow onion and continue stirring around until the Spam is slightly crispy and the onions are tender.
3. Fluff the rice with a fork and dump it into the wok, drizzle in the soy sauce.
4. Stir stir stir until the rice is evenly coated
5. Make a hole in the center of the rice and pour your whisked egg/butter mixture into it

6. Slowly stir the egg while it's being scrambled. Once the eggs are fully cooked through, add in a dash of white pepper and serve!

Kristofer Buckle Sculpt and Define Contour Palette at Costco

Kristofer Buckle is a makeup artist to celebrities such as Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, the Kardashian sisters, and many more. He has just released a blush, highlight, and bronzer palette that I'm super excited to share with you! First off, can we just talk about the packaging for a bit? When you first open the lid of the dark bronze shimmer palette, you'll find a generous sized mirror with 2 bronzer shades, one matte and one shimmer. You then part the bronzer shades to reveal a 2 blushes and a highlight shade. Surprise! The palette includes shades: Illusion (shimmer bronzer), Drama (matte bronzer), Siren (gold highlight), Muse (coral blush), and Icon (mauve blush). The pigmentation is great and the colors are super flattering for all skin tones. The palette is available online at Costco.com (free shipping/return) or in your local warehouse for $16.99.

Swatches on my medium tone skin (3Y07 color id)

Packaging

Amy Nadine Renewing Nude Eyeshadow Palette at Costco

Amy Nadine is the newest member in the Costco Beauty's Most Wanted elite group. Nadine is best known for being Lauren Conrad's go-to makeup artist and has done makeup for multiple magazine covers including Cosmo, Fashion, and Elle. She recently introduced a new nude eyeshadow palette formulated with Bamboo Silk, Bilberry Seed Oil, Red Raspberry Seed, and Clover Flower Extract. This palette includes 4 shades in Mineral (cream highlight), Carat (satin gold), Copper (rose gold), and Teak (dark purple). This is a universal nude palette that would work well on a variety of skin tones. The palette itself is a beautiful rose gold color with the text AMY NADINE printed across the top and includes a large mirror inside. I flew from Seattle to the east coast with this palette and it held up fine. The palette is available online at Costco.com (free shipping/return) or in your local warehouse for $15.99.

Swatches on my medium tone skin (3Y07 color id)

Packaging

Kensie Massey Ankle Boots at Costco

Fall is upon us and everyone absolutely needs an ankle boot for this season. Costco is now carrying in stores the Kensie Massey Suede Ankle boot in both Black and Taupe. This shoe originally retails for $129, Lord and Taylor carries only the black one on sale for $79.99 but Costco warehouse and Costco.com carries both colors for $49.99! They come in size 6.5-10 and are sku 1009378. This shoe is super comfortable and looks so hipster with some rolled up skinny jeans. The fringe adds that extra element of movement and if fringe isn't your thing, you could cut them, or tuck then away. I bought the Taupe ones in a size 6.5, what color are you going to get!

Kensie Massey Suede Ankle boot in Taupe

Tucking the fringe away, bye bye fringe

Costco Flat Bread

A new item I saw at Costco this weekend in the prepared food section is flat bread! This is a thinner, crispier and in my opinion tastier version of their ready to pop into the oven pizzas. Each box comes with 2 flavors; Italian Sausage (balls of Motz, Italian Sausage... I don't remember what else is in here because I ate it too quickly) and Pesto Chicken (balls of Motz, Red Onion, Sweet Mini Peppers, Chicken, Parmesan, and Pesto). They cost $14.99 and it's roughly feeds 4 hungry people (or 1 Ellen). There's cooking instructions on the box and I used a thoroughly heated pizza stone to get a nice crispy bottom. 10 minutes later I had a delicious flavorful flat bread all to myself to eat.

Ingredients List:

Ready for Baking:

All done! I like the edges of my pizza super crispy

Magaschoni Ladies’ 100% Cashmere V-Neck Sweater at Costco

Costco is now carrying the Magaschoni Ladies’ 100% Cashmere V-Neck Sweater in 4 different colors; black, colbalt blue, purple, and heather gray. The sweater is soft to the touch, semi fitted and is vibrant in color. You could easily wear this with no camisole underneath as the V-neck is modest. I now regret not purchasing the purple one (looks like it has some tints of magenta). Click Add to Cart immediately, you will not regret it as this item will sell out in sizes quickly.

I purchased a size small in both black (pictured) and colbalt blue. Shout out to my amazing friend Woo who captured this moment.

Why is my blog called 93 Inch Bear?

93 inch bear is a perfect reason why Costco is my favorite store. What other store would try and sell you a 93 inch bear for less than $300? Only the crazy would purchase this thing. I wish I was crazy so I could have one busting out of my closet.