<p>We bought the dorm fridge for my son at, where else, Costco. There doesn’t appear to be one near his school (18 miles is the closest) and Sam’s Club is even farther.</p>
<p>When older s was in college, he had (a) the car and (b) the Sams club membership (it was closer to him than the Costco). Guess who did all the driving and paying for stuff (which they ultimately split, but he often paid more than his fair share). We ended up dropping his samsclub membership after college and he hasnt gotten a Costco membership as yet. His apt is so small he probably couldnt fit a thing in there!</p>
<p>I love this thread. Thought I’d revive it.</p>
<p>Yesterday we tried the pre-made 3-pack (individual sized) bbque chicken pizzas that were in the fresh/dinner for tonight type cooler near the meats. Yummy! Good balance of bbque sauce, chicken and cheese. A quick, good dinner - I think I paid $5.49 for the 3 - just pop them in the oven at home and bake for 15ish minutes. </p>
<p>S who has recently been introduced to Starbucks Frappe Mocha was with me at the store and practically got down on his knees when he saw the 12 pack there claiming that the $13 price was great! Little did he know that I also had a this-month’s coupon for $3.50 off that price! I bought a pack for him -which I told him he needs to save to take to school - and one for his GF who I am going to make a basket of goodies before she leaves for school. </p>
<p>Anything new you have tried lately?</p>
<p>Tonight my DH cooked. I bought taboule salad and salmon at DH’s request. He seared the salmon in a pan because he prefers a crust (not too successful with getting a crust though) and then put the taboule salad on top and baked it in the oven. It was not too bad. Oh, he did put some salt and pepper onto the salmon first for seasoning. I normally do not cook with salt.</p>
<p>I do like their salmon. Their cooked, lime seasoned shrimp is very good. It’s in the prepared food area where the shrimp cocktail is. It’s much more flavorful than the shrimp cocktails. </p>
<p>Found some dried fruit cobbler. Expensive, but delicious. My kids love it and they usually won’t touch dried fruit. But at that price, it has to be a treat for once in a while. Their prepared braised veal shanks are reasonably priced and are delicious.</p>
<p>Years ago my husband bought a mini-fridge that you plug into your car’s power adapter and set it either to be cold or hot. I laughed about it and said, “this is what happens when men shop at the Price Club alone”. But we use that thing for every long car trip we take (3+ hours) and it’s much better than a cooler. No dripping ice for one thing. And if your hotel doesn’t give you a mini-fridge, you can just plug it in instead.</p>
<p>More recently he bought these little flashlights that sit in chargers that are perpetually plugged in. I worry about them being electricity “vampires”, but they always work and have a very bright light.</p>
<p>We adore their wild sockeye salmon from Trident but it has not been in stock the last few weeks. I live in fear that it won’t come back.</p>
<p>The Kirkland chocolate covered almonds are to die for…I try NOT to buy them since I have no willpower.</p>
<p>Recently found name brand (Jantzen?) tankinis that I bought for DD and she LOVES them.
Great quality and 26.99 I think.</p>
<p>We also have bought several electronic thingys online from Costco…they double the manufacturer’s warranty for free. We got an HP desktop and also a real cheap portable DVD player some name brand that has a wonderful picuture that we use on trips.
The extended warranty makes me not obsess over purchases that might not last…and we have not had to use the warranties anyway.</p>
<p>Dog and cat food, flea control products, gas, cosmetics (shampoo, toothpaste, deodarant, razors), cheese, cereal, juice, gatorade, organic ground beef, over-the-counter medication, toilet paper/paper towels on a regular basis. Have also purchased foam mattress, camping stove, foam surf board, plants, yard supplies, pool chlorine, vacuum cleaner, cameras, printer, tv’s, small appliances. On the big items, I do check prices against other stores as Costco is not always the best price. We have also purchased bulk flowers on-line for a wedding- great deal!!!</p>
<p>I often buy flowers at Costco. Wednesday is the day they get in the fresh stuff.</p>
<p>The Costco/Amex is one of the top cards at cardratings.org. I didn’t realize until recently that in addition to rewards, it gives rental car coverage, extends warranties by one year, and has breakage/loss coverage too.</p>
<p>Folks, I discovered the BEST THING EVER on my last trip. They were giving samples of Alden’s Vanilla Bean Organic Frozen Yogurt. Unbelievably fantastic. My husband is on a strict heart-healthy diet – low sodium, low fat, etc. and he can eat this. My kids love it with just a bit of natural fruit preserve mixed in or topped with berries although plain is wonderful too. I don’t know if this is new or not but it’s definitely worth trying. We just got a Costco Amex card – thanks for the info.</p>
<p>Are the chocolate covered almonds milk or dark chocolate?</p>
<p>And if you are an executive member at Costco, you will get two rebate checks - your Amex rebate for all purchases charged on your costco Amex and your Costco rebate for all thongs you bought at Costco.</p>
<p>I discovered a great quinoa and edamame salad in their deli section. Very tasty.</p>
<p>Lol - my iPhone did some spelling corrections for me. Silly iPhone, I meant “things” ;)</p>
<p>What don’t we buy at Costco is the better question. The trick is, don’t wait - buy it when you see it, You can always return it, but it probably won’t be there if you wait.</p>
<p>My most memorable purchase was one holiday season when I only had two items on one of those big flat carts: a DeWalt compound miter saw and a big screen (for back then) flat tv. There was not a man in that place that was not looking at my cart with incredible envy!!</p>
<p>Besides the staples, some of my favorites are:
-the optical dept for glasses and contacts for the six of us
-my executive desk, credenza, hutch and file cabinet for my sunroom turned office
-the two leather recliners for $400 total after coupon to watch the above mentioned tv
-the parisian salad bags are delish and their fresh fruit is so cheap and really fresh
-rotissiere chicken, half and half, cage free eggs, spannikopita, ravioli, muffins, cakes,batteries, cheap gas for our five cars, those rebates and cash back checks!!!
-coupons I can count on every year (turbo tax, chlorine tablets, candy bars at halloween, tires for our five cars, pillows)</p>
<p>Onward to costco.com to buy some bike lifts for our garage!</p>
<p>Last time I was there I found a bag of Dark Chocolate Acai with Blueberry. They are unbeleivable.</p>
<p>The have dark chocolate covered pomegranate. I only bought it once and found it too tempting!</p>
<p>For heart healthy ice cream, try the Skinny Cow bars. Very satisfying and they have several types at Costco. I wish they still carried Julie’s Organic Sorbet bars. Those are great too!</p>
<p>I’ve been urging my son to write an article for the Costco magazine. When he moved into an apartment for sophomore year, I got him his own Amex card and I compiled a bunch of recipes that include some of our favorite Costco items (like the giant jars of artichoke hearts). I’m pretty sure that he and his 3 roommates lived almost exclusively on Costco food, supplemented with items they found at a farmers’ market in downtown LA. And he actually learned to cook - it wasn’t just that he was hooked on the seductive selection of prepared foods. He got to take our car to college last year, so I think he was quite popular with friends who wanted to take advantage of his Costco membership + wheels. He would get reimbursed in cash for their purchases, so we got the credit card bill and he had a ready source of cash. Sweet deal, huh? But really, I was so pleased that the Costco meal plan worked out so well for them all.</p>
<p>My current favorite Costco luxury is the Beechers cheese. It’s a very pricey local brand; if you ever see it, try it! </p>
<p>I also get meat there because I’ve read several articles detailing how careful Costco is about sourcing its products. For example, it will not sell hamburger unless the meat supplier can prove the source - as opposed to the standard practice of blending together meat from a wide array of sources. Costco’s standards reassure me that I’m getting excellent safety and quality, even for non-organic foods.</p>
<p>My family insists I buy a bag of the dinner rolls whenever I go. THey typically don’t last 2 days. </p>
<p>our family staples: Fresh roasted chickens, Chicken tenders, frozen shrimp, feta cheese blocks, eggs/3dz, bananas, all paper products, Craisins, batteries.</p>
<p>The sheet cakes are the best value around. The carrot cake is the I have ever tasted and for $18.99 you can’t go wrong.</p>
<p>The almonds are milk chocolate. My favorite, though I know most people would prefer dark.</p>
<p>I guess they’re making them just for me :)</p>