Happy holidays! I will keep in touch.
Oh my God, I’m so busy. I am doing well, but busy during the holiday season. Busy is good ($$$), but I don’t have time for “Costco Blog”
I just wanted to say hi and post a small chit-chat to keep my blog alive. I will get back to you.
Note: Jack In The Box is a fine business establishment and I wish them well. Below is just small talk, a joke. This is how I talk to my friends and family. So, please read it without being serious.
From the below 12 coupons, I can only use two of them. The rest of the coupons require 2 people because they are “2 for” deals. This is like I’m at a roller stake rink and the DJ is playing the couples-only song. I stand aside and look at the couples. I hope this music will end soon so I can continue with the boogie. (boogie down, boogie on down…)
It seems like the DJ Jack is saying, “You sit down for now. It sucks to be alone.”
I’m not in the fast-food business. But, I thought many people eating fast food are single and/or they live alone. So, my guess was that many people will find these coupons useless. But what do I know?
Coupons like these don’t bother me. I never stop and ponder why I live alone. I don’t feel sad when I see “couples only” coupons like this. I throw them in the recycle bin without thinking. I go to Jack in the Box maybe once every 5 years, anyway.
But, in the corner of my subconsciousness, for a split second, I realize I am being discriminated against for being alone. Coupons like this don’t seem fair to single people who live alone. We are being excluded. And that sucks. That thought passes me by so fast that I barely know it’s there. But, it is there.
As a single person living alone, there are items I don’t buy at Costco. One category is the seasonings (spices) for cooking.
I check out the spice section at Costco every time I’m there because it’s fun looking (I love Costco). Sometimes I find items such as Everything Bagel Seasoning. In most cases, Costco-size spices are way too big for typical single people like me. In fact, even if I had a family of four, I don’t think my family would finish the big container of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt before the expiration date. But, sometimes it makes sense to buy from Costco and throw them away as they expire. It’s OK if you don’t finish the entire container. As long as you are financially ahead of the game, that’s all it matters. For that, I have to strategize according to my unique cooking style. This takes brainpower and effort.
What I consider when I buy a spice:
I have made many mistakes by purchasing large containers of spices at Costco. The learning process was long. But I am getting better at my spice game. In my case, it doesn’t make financial sense for me to purchase large containers of spices at Costco. There will be rare exceptions, of course.
I bought the salt and pepper grinders in January 2020. 2 salt containers were $4.99. 2 black pepper containers were $6.49. They all had an expiration date of October 2022 (4+ years).
I will keep the salt long after its expiration date. I think the salt is OK as long as they are visibly clean. Correct me if I’m wrong about this, but they are Himalayan salt. The salt must be many million years old. So, I don’t worry about keeping them for extra10-20 years in the kitchen.
As for black pepper, today, I threw away the unfinished opened container and switched to the new container (pic). In October 2022, I will throw away this pepper container about 80% full. Kirkland Signature black peppers are cheap, have a long expiration date, and I trust their quality. For under $7, I will not waste my energy thinking about black pepper. I will pick it up at Costco and move on with my life. Here, after throwing away half of the black pepper, if I consider all the variables, I neither lose nor gain financially.
This concluded my example of salt and pepper. Now I apply similar logic to each spice I purchase. And I apply similar logic to everything else around the house, everything and more. This requires memorization and an analytical thinking process. I believe the level of the task I perform equals high-paying professions. This is what most stay-at-home moms do every day while turning babies into upstanding citizens.
Also, I salute single people doing it all alone. Represent.
Talk to you later.
This is how some single men cook. Below is my dinner from last night. The prep time was about 15 minutes.
Chicken was from my August 2020 Costco Shopping (9 months ago). I thawed it overnight in the refrigerator. I also thawed some tortillas (I vacuum packed them in single serving size). I used a Soup Mix from World Market I purchased about a year ago. It’s a dry food with long shelf-life.
I boiled the soup mix with chicken for 1 hour. I topped the soup with shredded tortillas. And seasoned it with oregano, peppers, and Tapatio (hot sauce).
It was an excellent dinner. The chicken was tender and tasty. I always keep these Costco chicken breasts in my freezer. Once I make a soup like this, I will eat this for three days.
As a single person, buying bulk from Costco works for me. I save money and time. Also, Kirkland Signature products are high quality.
Vacuum, freeze, and enjoy.
It came to me as a great shock that laundry detergents lose effectiveness sooner than I thought.
This subject wouldn’t matter if you have a full-size family. But it’s a different story if you live alone. In my case, a large jug of fabric softer can easily last 3 years or longer. So, I did some more research and learned that many products will lose effectiveness sooner than I imagined. Below, I listed some of the products and how long they are good for.
FYI: Chemicals in dried powder form would last longer compared to its liquid counterparts.
I was clueless. How come nobody told me this? I felt so stupid… all these years… I thought these products lasted 5 – 10 years easily,
Maybe a lot of single men out-there didn’t have this information as well. So, here it is. If you live alone, buy your liquid chemicals in small units.
I get a craving for pizza once in a while. I would like to enjoy pizza late Saturday night, or when I’m home alone feeling cozy. But, I live alone, so I need a little planning to enjoy pizza.
Pizza is family-oriented food. Going to a pizza restaurant alone is not only depressing, but it’s too expensive. I don’t want to have a pizza delivered to my house and ended up with a massive amount of leftover. That’s also too expensive. In both cases, just a tip alone will buy me 2-3 slices of Costco pizza.
So, this is what I do. I buy Costco’s Take and Bake pizza, slice them up, and freeze them. They last many months in the freezer. I enjoy pizza whenever I have a craving for it, and they will cost me $1.50 each slice. I can top it off with whatever I want. Since I enjoy my kitchen, baking pizza when I’m home alone is an absolute joy. It’s the most economical way for a single person to enjoy a good pizza.
Preparing Costco pizza for the long term, single serving, storage
** Costco’s take and bake pepperoni pizza has 36 slices of pepperoni
I broke my pizza cutter and I may never buy another pizza cutter again. I cut pizza maybe once a year. And there are plenty of people, including professionals, using kitchen shears to cut pizza.
Happy Easter for those who have their own families.
Good for you.
I’m having my egg hunt alone…
