I Heart Costco

There are many reasons I love Costco. I will only list a couple:

1. Zebra Popcornopolis Popcorn

2. Costco Muffins -  whitehouse.bradywhite.net

3. Carter's Baby Clothes

4. Magnum Ice Cream Bars - magnumicecream.com

5. ModBod Cap Sleeve Tshirts

6. $1.50 Lunch - the909.blogspot.com

7. Lucky Brand Jeans for a fraction of the price

8. Discounted See's Candy Gift Certificates
biddingforgood.com

9. Discounted Movie Tickets (IMDB)

And most recently:

10. Breaded Frozen Chicken Breasts

While the top 9 reasons could deserve their own post, I will simply say I love getting a good deal (which Tyler may or may not agree with me on the definition of 'deal'-but he eats the Magnum bars too!)

But as for the breaded frozen chicken breasts, I think they're changing my life! So far I've made them twice.

The first time I made fried rice (which I'd never done before and turned out way better than I was expecting) with honey garlic chicken. I took the recipe for the sauce for the chicken from a blog called "Rock Recipes" which I simplified by using the frozen chicken breasts and not having to bread it myself. It was delicious!

Rock Recipes "Double Crunch Honey Garlic Chicken"

My version:

1. Preheat oven to 450. Place frozen breaded chicken breasts on a baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes, then flip and continue cooking for an additional 12 minutes. 
2. While chicken is cooking, heat 2 T olive oil and 3-4 cloves minced garlic in a medium saucepan.
3. Add 1 cup honey, 1/4 cup soy sauce, and 1 tsp ground black pepper.
4. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. (Be sure to watch as mine almost boiled over after about 3 minutes)
5. Take chicken out of the oven and place directly into the sauce, coating all sides. Remove from saucepan and serve over rice or noodles (think Chinese take-out)

Cheryl's Homemade Fried Rice

1. Heat 2 T olive oil in large skillet over medium heat.
2. Beat 2 eggs in small bowl. Add dash salt and pepper.
3. Pour eggs into hot oil and scramble.
4. Add 3/4 cup uncooked rice and saute just until it starts to brown. (Don't let it brown!)
5. Carefully stir in 1 cup chicken broth (or 1 cup water and a bullion cube) and 1/4 cup light sodium soy sauce. 
6. Add any frozen or fresh vegetables you would like. I just used frozen peas, but I think I'll try adding some carrots and onion in the future.
7. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. (Do NOT take the lid off the pan until the 20 minutes are up, or the rice will NOT cook. Seriously, do not peek.)

My second attempt at cooking with Costco's frozen breaded chicken breasts resulted in the best chicken parmigiana I think I've ever made.

Chicken Parmigiana 

1. Preheat oven to 450. Place frozen breaded chicken breasts on a baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes, then flip and continue cooking for an additional 12 minutes. 
2. While chicken is cooking, boil water and cook linguine noodles according to package directions.
3. If desired add frozen or fresh broccoli florets to boiling noodles about 3-4 minutes before draining. (If my noodles are supposed to boil for 11 minutes, I'd add the broccoli about 7 minutes into the boil time.)
4. Heat a can of spaghetti sauce over medium-low heat.
5. Prepare garlic bread/salad/any other delicious sides you would like!
6. Separate broccoli from noodles. Place noodles on individual plates. Top with chicken breast. Then cover with spaghetti sauce and garnish with favorite Mozzarella/Parmesan cheese mix. Be sure to add cheese while sauce is hot so cheese will melt nicely on top.
7. Add broccoli, garlic bread, and any other sides to the plate and enjoy!