Ro-Tel, Rosarita Refried Beans, KS Shredded Cheese

Ro-Tel, Rosarita Refried Beans, and Shredded Cheddar/Jack Cheese -  I’m writing this all as one item because they should have just bundled it up in a pack and sold it together, like a gift basket.  They got us again with the nice little lady demonstrating the Ro-Tel and refried bean dip!  But really, it tasted so good and Dave thought it would be the perfect accompaniment to Sunday night football.  We also decided that having the dip was the perfect excuse to buy the big 5 pound bag of shredded cheese.  Probably not really, but in our minds we could justify it.  We had just run out of refried beans recently but they are a pantry staple at our house.  There is just so much that you can do with them or simple heat them up and throw some shredded cheese on top for a high fiber, low hassle meal.  At our Costco we have the Rosarita Traditional type refried beans; too bad they’re not the no fat kind (they taste pretty much the same, just without the fat).  I’ve never had Ro-Tel before; not at my house or anyone else’s either.  But they’re having commercials all the time lately and they make it sound so yummy.  And then of course there was the Costco demo lady too.  So, really, it was just a matter of time.  For those of you that don’t know (I can’t be the only one) Ro-Tel is diced tomatoes and green chilies in a can.  Nothing more to it.  It’s not at all what I would call spicy even though the green chiles make you think it might be.  I’m not sure what else people do with it besides add it to dip or queso, but I can see it being a good addition to chili too.  Now I’ve got 8 cans of it so I’ll have to figure out something besides dip, I guess.  There’s nothing particularly special about the shredded cheese.  It is a nice mix of cheddar and jack cheeses with the small grate so that it melts easier, making it the perfect topping for our dip.  Sure, you get 5 pounds of it in a big bag but it is cheaper than getting the little bags at the grocery store.  Plus, you can put it into some Ziploc’s and put it in the freezer.  Since the grate is so fine, when you want to add some to a dish, you just take it out of the freezer and heat it for a bit and you have melty cheese, just like if it came from the fridge.  So, after all that blabbing, here’s how we make our 5 minute dip:  we spread out a layer of refried beans in a dish that we can put in the microwave, then we add a can of Ro-Tel (well drained), then to the top we add a nice layer of shredded cheese.  We cover and put in the microwave until the cheese is thoroughly melted and sort of bubbling a bit.  You could dress this up by adding some diced green onion, or finely diced jalapeno (to give it a little kick), sprinkle a little cayenne pepper in with the cheese.  Well, you get the picture.  And of course we use our Kirkland Signature tortilla strips with this too. Ro-Tel: 8, 10 ounce cans for $5.29; Rosarita Refried Beans: 10, 16 ounce cans for $6.59; Kirkland Signature Shredded Cheddar/Jack Cheese: 5 pounds for $11.99.

McCormick Soup Bases

McCormick Beef and Chicken Base -  This is something that my mom turned me on to.  It is basically concentrated chicken or beef flavoring (I have no idea how they actually make this stuff) that you can use to make stock or add some flavoring to just about any dish; same concept as bouillon cubes but have a better taste I think.  And if you like to make soup and haven’t tried this, you’re going to want to run immediately to your Costco and get some.  At Costco, you can get either beef or chicken flavored base so you can keep all of your options open. You can use the base as a seasoning straight from the jar in sauces, gravies, dips, marinades, and cooking liquids for rice, pasta, or veggies.  Of course, if you do this you’ll want to skip the salt because this stuff is plenty salty.  The way that I mostly use it though, is to make stock.  You add a couple of tablespoons to hot water and you’ve got stock without any fuss or long cooking time.  And it is certainly way, way cheaper than buying a comparable amount of stock in cans or cartons.  It’s great for when I make risotto because I need a lot of stock and this way I can whip it up in no time at all, any time I want  (I could say how this is envrironmentally the better option because you don’t have all those cans to recycle too).  Did I mention that you can only make what you will actually use?  So you won’t have to worry about what to do with the half used can of chicken stock that you had to open just so you could use a 1/2 cup.  It’s definitely about convenience and speed and sometimes that is certainly a good thing.  Once you open the container, you will have to store it in the fridge, but it’s small and you can squeeze it in.  1 pound of base for $2.99.

Red Star Active Dry Yeast

Red Star Active Dry Yeast -  I must confess, I actually bought this before Thanksgiving but didn’t want to write about it without using it first.  You might think buying 2 pounds of yeast is totally crazy but for the price it’s totally woth it.  It’s priced at probably less than three of the little strips of yeast packets that you’ll buy at the grocery store and this is for TWO POUNDS!  You can make bread, and then make some more without having to bother to go buy yeast again.  I like to make bread but I’m always running out of yeast because one strip of three packets only makes one batch of dough and then I’m stuck with the one packet….not enough to make more bread, just mocking me from the fridge.  In any case, this one package at Costco is in the neighborhood of 128 packets of yeast, so that is 64 times that I can make my basic bread receipe!  The nice part is that if properly stored, in an air tight container in your fridge, you can have this stuff for well over a year.  The expiration date for the package I just bought is June 2010.  This might actually get me in the habit of making bread a couple of times per month now.  And, I’ll always have plenty of yeast around to try out some other receipes; like maybe I’ll finally get around to trying brioche again.  2 pounds for $3.69.