Yes, I’ve had mine get weevils when it was in a more porous container but to be honest, I had forgotten about this one box in the back of the pantry… You get the picture. Now, everything is either in a big ziploc or in a locking canister.
I was just picturing a giant locking canister, big enough for 50 pounds of something, and what that would look like, lol.
You’re right. In a humid location like Hawaii, rice can go bad in a hurry with bugs crawling. I’ve had that situation just once in my life – fortunately. Yes, two months in storage at room temperature in a humid location is probably the max. In a dry location, on the other hand, rice can go pretty long time, more than a year.
Speaking of the bugs in the rice… Ever since I became a big fan of Andrew Zimmern’s “Bizarre Foods” TV series, I’ve always wondered about what it’s like to eat them… These can’t be all that bad with some soy sauce, sesame oil and a bit of garlic and salt…? I know that they’re very rich in protean…
I am going to say 50% of food from Costco, 25% from a big box grocery store, 25% from a local produce market or Farmer’s Market.
We don’t have a Trader Joes local, the nearest one is nearly an hour drive. I would/do still drive there once a month or so to stock up on their items - worth it to me - just pair the trip with other shopping needs in that area.
Did anyone mention good prices on medicine cabinet basics, vitamins etc? Largest size Advil etc. is usually about $3 less than Target etc., the “chewy vitamins” are also usually $2 less a jar. Members of my family take various digestive and allergy over-the-counter products regularly, and prices at Costco are usually at least several dollars cheaper. It adds up.
I pass by my local Costco everyday on my 15 minute commute to and from work. There is another larger Costco just 5 minutes from my office. Both have gas stations so this is where I fill my tank. My dream is that Costco will offer rotisserie chickens in a drive thru line at 5 pm each day. But we all know why they put those chickens at the back of the store. They want us to buy more than just chicken. I used to not run in after work when I just wanted a chicken since the lines were too long. Now that they have self checkout at my store I can just pick up a chicken and get out quickly!
Are the chickens superior to the average grocery store rotisserie chickens? Or is it just price? My local grocery store of choice has good, plump chickens. They cost just a $1 more.
I’ve had a Costco chicken. They are HUGE.
Our local grocery stores either sell measly looking chickens for $5 or nice ones that match Costco’s quality - but for $10.
Thumper, not only are they really tasty (and cooked nice and through but still moist and great crispy skin) but they are BIG. I think they are at least 1 1/2 times the size of the rotisserie chickens I see at Kroger.
I can easily get three meals out of one chicken for 4 people. Eating sliced chicken from the breasts, taking the dark meat and any leftover white meat and making a big pan of chicken enchiladas and then making chicken soup out of the carcass.
Plus I always give my pup the chicken juicyness at the bottom of the plastic container warmed up and poured over his dry dog food for a treat. He LOVES that!! 
Yes, what @BunsenBurner said has been my experience, too. The Costco chickens are pretty big, so I only eat my favorite parts, the legs, and use the rest in making chicken noodle soup. 
I love using leftover Costco chicken for chicken and dumplings. I use the following recipe and add frozen peas at the end.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/chicken-and-dumplings-recipe-2013193
Perfect dinner on a cold night.
Do we need a separate Costco checker recipe thread?
@abasket - When I know H and I have a busy week I buy a Costco chicken and that becomes our meals for the week. The first night we may just have the chicken with a salad then the next night I will make chicken tacos or burritos and the third night may be some curried chicken with veggies and rice.
Gotta wonder what they do to them to get them so big…
I have never seen what I would call a big Costco rotisserie chicken, they are just normal sized.
Let’s just call the other chickens undersized.
This is why they can sell the chicken for $5:
The Costco chickens are like small turkeys!!!
Another Newbie (no membership yet, but have offers from friends to get access).
I need help with specific Costco food items for my Christmas day main meal. Serving ribs, greek coleslaw, TJ’s frozen green beans, sweet potato casserole, sister Shubert rolls, pecan pie, brownies, cookies. Need to add in items that are either premade, or easy to pull together. Extra points for items that can be served cold or room temperature. We will be short on oven space for baking or reheating.
Looking for appetizer type finger foods (fruits/veggies/mixed nuts). Need some shrimp but prefer wild caught. Suggest your favorite bag salads?
Looking for Gluten Free items that actually taste good. GF AND non-dairy would be great. Only a few of our folks will need GF, so am open to lots of NON-GF suggestions as well.
Thanks for any specific product suggestions at Costco.
My current favorite bagged salad - and it’s relatively new at my store - is Cherry Almond Blue - this is it:
https://www.taylorfarms.com/products/organic-chopped-salad-kits/organic-cherry-almond-blue-chopped-kit/
Just be prepared to have extra salad dressing of some sort on hand. The two little packets to me are not near enough when serving the entire bag of salad. This salad is a little more $$ than some of the other bagged salads but IMO better tasting.
Forgot to ask for cheese selections