Tuesday, November 16, 2021

Like A Pointing Lab .... SQUIRREL!!

Costco trips can be dangerous, especially when they make their baskets so HUGE that you have a tendency to want to fill it up to the brim.  I'm sure that's on purpose.  I'm like a Labrador sniffing out that pheasant in a field of TWENTY pheasants.   I know it's here ... I just have to find it!!  SQUIRREL!! And I get totally distracted by something else that looks amazing and I think I just HAVE to have.

I was only after two things ... pots and pans.  I started out with a mission, sniffing every aisle looking for my prey.  I must say the days of cheap cookware have gone with the wind.  I finally spotted a big stack just waiting for Christmas customers, but the $300 price tag stopped me in my tracks.  I was thinking maybe that pheasant idea wasn't so good after all.


Suddenly I was distracted by the meat section.  Might as well take a look.  I do appreciate the sign PRIME BEEF.   No one around here sells prime anything any more.  It's all third and even fourth grade meat, what we actually used to feed the dogs.  

Here's the elusive 99 cents a pound flank steak, a really tasty piece of meat if you cook it right ..... at an amazing $10.99 a pound.  That's $42 for beef you would only have on a Monday night when nothing else was in the fridge.  Pretty crazy!!  Inflation like this hasn't happened in 40 years!!  Can anyone guess why?  The sad part is none of that inflation goes to the actual cattleman who raised the beef.  


So I bypassed the meat, although pork was $2.39 a pound for nice big chops.  SQUIRREL!!  Or rather bacon was next on the list of things I really didn't need.  I can say however that this bacon is much cheaper than the one in the meat case.  Luckily it freezes well.


That's when the glorious smell of muffins wafted my way.  The Pointer took over and I made a beeline for the four foot tall stack.  I'm pretty sure $7.00 is cheaper than I could make them.  Like a pointer, no thought was given to the creek crossing, or how I was going to possibly squeeze them into my freezer ... only the smell of those muffins.  


With no meat on the horizon, I passed by the huge allotment of turkeys and ham.  I didn't check the price on the turkeys, but the hams were a minimum of $28.  Not bad really, considering how big they were.  But wait .... SQUIRREL .... I spotted THESE hams, cut in half (I'm pretty sure it's the exact same brand) and only $10 each.  Buy two and there's a savings of $8.00.  Freezable of course.

Okay then, but you can't have ham without Swiss, so a big chunk of that jumped in my cart.  Don't tell me how much it was because I don't want to know!


SQUIRREL ... a nice man restocking the shelves began to talk to me.  Can't I help you find something?  Well that's a first ... there's never anyone in Costco to help you with anything.  Pots and pans please.  I've been eyeing these for two years, at the recommendation of my second Chef friend, which is probably why I try to cook so often.  He has used these in his cooking school classes for many years.

WOW ... there was ONE box left on the shelf.  The nice man proceeded to tell me about Costco's tag markings.  I had heard something about that, but had no clue.  "See this little (or rather large) asterisk on the price tag?  That means it's out of stock. "  What you see is all there is left.  If you want it, you better buy it now.

I grabbed that pheasant with both hands and threw him in my cart.  For $129.99 there will be dinner without chunks of teflon in the mix.  I didn't really need the chicken fryer or the two stockpots, but maybe I can put them to good use.  The thing I really like is the clear glass lids so you can see things before they boil over ... AND those pots all have pouring spouts, along with holes in the lid rim to drain noodles and such without even moving the lid.  Merry Christmas to me!!


There might have been a couple dove and a muskrat thrown into my cart for good measure just because ... SQUIRREL!!  .... WOW just LOOK at all those COOKIES!!!!

It took me an hour to stuff everything in the freezer.  When you buy for one but get enough for twenty, you have to be creative when it comes to packaging and packing.  Come to think of it, that will REALLY be the challenge when I head out in the RV because the freezer is 1/10th the size of my other one.

Meanwhile, Cooper found his long lost moose toy and carried it around for the rest of the evening.


So today is another Magic Kingdom day as I will head out to BINGO this afternoon.  Oh the joy!!!  At least I won't be distracted there while my money flows out of my bank account like it does at Costco.  It's safe to say there will be NO squirrels!!


14 comments:

  1. I hate to see where all these prices are going! Love the pans and a great price! The hams look great. I've been trying to get one at Raley's as they have the best price this Thanksgiving that I've seen, but neither of the rally's I've checked have what they advertised UHHH..Turkeys no problem. Cooper is so cute! Very photogenic! :)

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    1. I haven't checked ham prices here. On my next foray into the land of inflation, I'll see what they are running here.

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  2. Barb and I "Squirrel" a lot while working on the house. We commit ourselves to finish one project, next thing you know we are both doing something else!

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    1. Isn't that funny? I'm even that way when I'm cleaning the house. I'm so easily distracted by just about anything! LOL

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  3. Wow, fantastic score on those well-regarded Kirkland Sig. pots. They're not even on the website anymore, so unless it's just a west coast supply chain issue you may have gotten one of the last sets & you did it while prices are through the roof on everything else!

    I did a total clean-out too a couple of years ago & switched to a similar set of hard anodized. (Calphalon's Premier Space Saving line, they also have stainless steel pots from the same line for food that needs the maillard reaction)& have been quite happy with how they cook & clean - they're dishwasher-able! - but probably most of all how they stack. Open up my cookware cabinet now & you'd think I have Marie Kondo-induced OCD but it takes zero effort for a lazy girl like me to stay organized in there.

    Happy cooking, you got a great buy.

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    1. I think luck was with me this time. Most all of these pots ship from
      Thailand. Maybe they are on a boat ... who knows. Glad I got them though. I do like Calphalon products ... especially their frying pans.

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  4. Back in the 70's stagflation days we were raising our prices in the restaurant every 2-4 weeks. For people who would come in once a week (Friday night, Saturday night or Sunday after church) the price tag would hit them so hard that many became once a month'ers. I do think we are headed in that direction...

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    1. It's funny here because absolutely no one goes out to eat. So what does the city do but offer fabulous deductions and credits to open a restaurant. Three new ones are coming in. Won't they be surprised when they find out no one eats out even when it's cheap!!

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  5. I love your stove. I've always wanted that style. It would have people thinking that a real cook lives in the house! Elva

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    1. Thank you Elva ... real cook, right!! When I bought this house, it had no stove. They stole it when they left. I had two choices that would fit in the space. Expensive and MORE expensive. I chose the cheapest, but I do love it ... my first ever gas stove to cook on.

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  6. Next time you get a chance Price check the pots and pans at TJ Maxx
    At least there you won’t be tempted by the meat or pastries. 🥩🍗🍖🧀🥓🧁🥮

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    1. I've gone there four times in an attempt to find a set. They have never had anything worth spending the money on. I'm guessing that's because that kind of stuff doesn't sell well here. Even so, I always check there first.

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  7. Costco is a dangerous place...lol
    I am catching up I always enjoy reading about the adventures you take. You do a nice job of taking us with you.

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    1. Thank you Deb ..... yup Costco gets me every time!!

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