Parmesan-crusted baked chicken and Spanish-style sautéed potatoes
This week’s recipes are brought to you by Costco. Well, they are my recipes, but I made them because of a recent trip there! Remember the week when I focused on limes – think lime curd – because I had 5 pounds of them? Well, this week I have 20 pounds of potatoes. Luckily I found an excellent potato recipe.
Over the summer, I started shopping at Costco for the foods used in my cooking classes. If you’ve never had the pleasure of shopping there, let me explain what it’s about. The idea is to buy bulk foods for a fraction of the cost of a regular grocery store. The only problem is the in bulk part.
It’s perfect when I needed to buy six whole chickens for a cooking class. They cost about $1 per pound, but you have to buy two. For my class that’s not a problem. It’s much cheaper than the $3.50+ per pound chickens at my grocery store. Understandably lots of restaurants shop here.
Be forewarned. You will need lots of freezer space if you purchase much meat. I only go once a month, so I stock up. My extra freezer barely closes when I unload my purchases. Lamb, chicken, steak, bacon, brats, etc. I find the meat a great buy and high quality, and since I can freeze it, there’s no worry about spoilage. Rumor has it Julia Child recommended buying meat at Costco.
Crackers, mustard, soy sauce, peanut butter, and other pantry items are easily stored also. Again, these items are cheaper than my normal grocery store, but don’t be fooled into thinking the quality is lower because it isn’t.
I’m not sold on the produce, however. I don’t find the prices to be much of a bargain, and it’s extremely hard for a family of three to eat the huge quantity before it spoils. So, I’m not sure what possessed me to buy 20 pounds of potatoes other than I justified it by saying it only cost $6.
One can only eat russet potatoes for so long before needing a new recipe – mashed, baked, twice-baked, and home fries can only be eaten so many times. This week’s Spanish-style sautéed potatoes are really quite interesting. They are extremely versatile, allowing you to mix the spices up to pair with the other foods you are serving. I paired them with Parmesan-crusted baked chicken. It was a meal of tan food with just a hint of color from the cilantro garnish, but that wasn’t a problem for my teenage son.
Continuing with the tan theme, I’m including one of my favorite breakfast “recipes” Hummus and cucumber breakfast. It’s quite simple, but it’s a great way to use some of the 2+ pounds of my hummus bought at Costco!
