Costco Shopping and Prices 27/4/14

So I have continued to shop at Costco even though I haven't been posting anything about it. I usually go now for smaller trips and park outside the building and just take my own shopping bags in. The experience is much easier and shorter when you don't have to get a car park or a trolley! But today I bought quite a few things, mostly things I don't think I have posted about before either, so I have done another price comparison between Costco, Aldi and Woolies. I get my Woolies prices online, so the savings in store wouldn't be as large I think. However you will see that on these products the difference is so large between Woolies and Costco that even the lower in store prices won't be better than Costco.  If you want more details or a review of any particular items please let me know with a comment, I'd be happy to let you know :)

Items I didn't mention in the table: Yum Cha at Home Steam Selection seafood dumplings (scallop, prawn and prawn+ginger) So much yum. This is $19.99 for 52 piecces. Frozen Blueberries 6.46 for 1kg, Ceasar Salad- The lettuce is ok, the bacon is ok....but the dressing is sooooooooooo good. This is a much better shopping treat than the jerky I usually by too, I think. In this picture you also can't see the skim milk box, that blue one is full cream. 

Pre-vacuuming

After Vacuuming- Enough to last a day or two fresh
and the rest sealed up to last until we need it. I
will need to keep track this time of how long it takes
us to use it up and how nice it stays.

So even though the spell check was on, I missed a couple of 'real' spelling errors. But I couldn't be bothered fixing it and getting a new screen shot. I am truly sorry for letting you down. But not really.

Fancy Nachos

 My friend recently brought these amazing appetizers to a lunch party. They were so fresh and tasty and I was amazed that I liked them because I have never liked fresh tomatoes. I made them for Christmas eve/day snacks and my parents and sister loved them too. It is a great blend of fresh flavours with the salsa and a smooth but tangy taste to the avocado and yogurt mix.
My boyfriend was put off by the won-ton cups for some reason, so I made the salsa and sauce to have on nachos and it turned out the be really nice! A big improvement on the normal blobs of jar salsa and mashed up avocado that there is never enough of. Still a 'sometimes' food, I imagine the nutritional value is improved by the fresh rather than processed salsa.

Ingredients (serves 4)
These ingredients are really just a guide, adjust to your own tastes and preferences for best results!

• 1-2 punnets of cherry tomatoes, halved and seeds removed (I used mini roma)
• 1/2 a large Spanish onion
• 1/2 bunch coriander
• 2 tbsp (or so) of olive oil
• 2 small-medium avocados
• 1/4 cup of plain yogurt
• 1 large bag of corn chips (baked pita chips would work well too and lower the salt/fat content)
• 1 large tin kidney beans, washed and drained
• Grated cheese (we used a pre-shredded 'pizza cheese' mix)
• Small tub of sour cream
• Taco seasoning (optional)

Method

1. Dice the tomatoes, removing any left over seeds/juice where possible. Pre-heat your oven to about 180 degrees C
   
   
     
2. Finely dice the onion and roughly chop the coriander. Add to diced tomatoes with olive oil, mix well to coat and leave to sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. 
   
   
   
3. For the avocado dip simply blend the avocado flesh with the yogurt in a food processor. If you haven't got a food processor, just mash them together until very smooth. We added a little salt and pepper here, but it isn't necessary. Lemon juice is also a nice optional extra!
   
4. Using a tray/s large and shallow enough, spread the corn chips in one layer and top with cheese and beans.
   
5. Bake until your desired amount of meltiness has been achieved, it was about 10 minutes or a bit less for us. 
   
6. Top with sour cream, avocado dip and salsa (avoiding and of the juice that may have accumulated in the bowl) and sprinkle with taco seasoning if you want that extra flavour.
7. Enjoy!