Costco Finds

This morning we met up with friends at the playground to celebrate a sweet little boy's second birthday, complete with cookies and cupcakes. And a Sonic diet green tea for me...I've gotten completely addicted to them this summer! It's so easy to stop and order one on the way to the park. There are worse vices, I suppose.

This afternoon we made our first exciting foray into the world of Costco. Well, that's not true, I made a scouting mission last week, scribbling down prices so I could cost-compare with H-E-B. I'm a nerd like that. A thrifty nerd. Once I realized I could save quite a bit, I went back with the kids and got a membership card.

Now our pantry is stocked with boxes of cereal almost big enough for Olivia to crawl inside, and enough paper towel to last until Christmas...plus a few extra goodies.

Two-pound tub of Sabra hummus? Oh yes, Costco and I will get along just fine.

Are you a Costco member? What do you buy there to save money?

Chill Weekend

We had a nice weekend. Lots of food was cooked, lots of relaxing occurred.

It didn't get off to the best start, however.  On Friday morning, Tony headed out the front door to go to work, and discovered he had a flat tire. No fun!

Luckily, our children are skilled mechanics, so he was on the road shortly.

For Friday lunch, the kids and I snacked on Sabra hummus, pita chips and carrots. I'm only mentioning this meal because...did you see Elise's adventures at the Sabra factory? I'm so jealous! I love Sabra. I can't wait for their new flavors to come out.

For dinner, I made nachos with PPK cashew queso. I topped them with red onion, purple bell pepper, olives, scallions, tomato, jalapenos, and chipotle salsa. Yum!

I made a modified version for Jackson and Olivia with queso, tomato and olives.

 On Saturday, I attended a baby shower for a friend who is due next month. I made a few treats for the shower.

Zucchini oatmeal cookie pies -- just like those Little Debbie oatmeal pies sold in gas stations, except way better! 

Soft pretzel bites  -- This was my first time making soft pretzels, and I thought they turned out all right, but not amazing. I didn't make the cheese dipping sauce. Instead, I served them with mustard. They would probably be better with a cheese sauce.

I also made some fresh guacamole.

There was so much good food at the shower. I wasn't super hungry at dinnertime, but I wanted to eat something healthy to counterbalance all the sweets I'd consumed earlier! So I made a quick chickpea and kale curry. Perfect.

On Sunday, Olivia announced that she is ready to start wearing her new underwear and using the potty every time. I have been working with her for a couple of months, but she has still been wearing diapers until now. We are so proud of our big girl for making this decision!

For Sunday dinner, I made the Curry Laksa from Appetite for Reduction. I actually have Anthony Bourdain to thank for bringing this delicious meal about. On a recent episode of No Reservations, he was eating this dish while visiting Panang, Malaysia. My husband kept oohing and aahing and saying how much he wished he could be eating that. I said, "I think I have a recipe somewhere..."

I love Asian food when it's hot outside. All the veggies keep it nice and light, and the heat makes you sweat and cools you off. I think I will make pho next week.

How was your weekend? Hope you had a good one!

Date Night

On Saturday evening, Jackson's school held a babysitting fundraiser, so Tony and I were able to drop off the kids and enjoy a few precious hours of "Couple Time." 

Since I knew we were going out for dinner, I had a light lunch that day -- Sabra roasted pine nut hummus with carrot sticks and pita chips. Well, I'm not really sure how "light" it was, considering I polished off half the tub of hummus. Oh Sabra, why must you put crack in your hummus?

For dinner, we headed to NXNW, a restaurant/brewery we had heard good things about. To start with, we had goat cheese crostini with roasted garlic cloves.

I love roasted garlic. I felt kind of bad for the server, who had to pick up three bulbs of roasted garlic and squeeze them over our crostini with her hand while we watched. I sat there thinking, "We could have done that!" I was imagining her hands smelling like garlic for the rest of her shift. But you know, some restaurants like to make a big deal of doing things "tableside."  She was probably used to it.

For my entree I had the roasted veggie pizza. It came topped with red peppers, red onion, eggplant, pesto, and feta cheese. It was great -- the crust was perfect, nice and chewy.