Steven Helmer Publications

  I decided to keep things simple tonight and just make some Hamburger Helper for dinner. As I dug through my freezer for ground beef, I was reminded of the Honeysuckle White All-Natural Ground Turkey I purchased at Costco last month and decided to get a pack of that out instead. Even though I've heard ground turkey is supposed to be better for me, I've been reluctant to buy it after the last pack I purchased ended up having a lot of bones in it. After using this brand however, I am more willing to use it more often. One of the first things I noticed with this brand was there wasn't much grease. I cooked this up like I would with ground beef and had almost nothing that needed to be drained. The turkey did give the Hamburger Helper a different look because it came out gray in the frying pan rather than brown. However, I admittedly didn't notice any real difference in taste once it was seasoning. If I wasn't the one making dinner, I probably wouldn't have even not...

  Everyone had Friday off from work and school, so we took a family trip down to Madison and on the way back, stopped by Costco. I saw Rana Southwest-Style Linguine near their meat section and thought it looked interesting enough to give it a try. Overall, I wasn't disappointed. Fortunately, my kids decided they wanted something else because there really wasn't enough in the packaging to make much more than a meal for two.  However, as far as convenience goes, it was one of the easier meals for two I've ever made. All I had to do was open the package, combine the ingredients in the container provided and cook in the microwave for eight minutes. I started this after my wife got out of the shower and it was done by the time she got dressed. I thought the linguine had a unique flavor. The andouille sausage gave it a bold taste without being too spicy and certain filled the kitchen with its aroma as I was cooking it. There was also plenty of chicken and vegetables to go with th...

  My wife and I made a trip to Costco this past weekend (our first in weeks) and, when we were in the freezer section, I made a beeline just to purchase this particular frozen lasagna (sold in a 2-pack for $16.89). I ended up making one of them last night and once again confirmed it was a great choice. I try to keep dinner relatively simple on Mondays and Wednesdays because my wife and daughter have martial arts classes until almost 8. Since I like lasagna, I tend to buy quite a few frozen varieties. Most of them aren't worth the money. This one is. The thing that really stands out for me when it comes to this brand is how filling it is. The lasagna is thicker than most frozen brands I've come across and has a lot more cheese (though maybe not as much shown on the box) and plenty of sausage and beef. I usually feel full after only one serving and we have yet to make one of these and not have leftovers. Anytime I can get two meals out of one purchase, I feel it helps justify the...

To tell you the truth, I had to debate whether or not to renew it this year. I like Costco, but the closest one is more than 30 minutes away and going there always requires some pre-planning (or remembering to check out their website). As a result, we don't go nearly as much as we probably would prefer to. Then, on top of it, the cost of the membership increased recently too. However, after some reflection and a bit of math, I did decide it was worth spending the money on it again. Actually, when it came right down to it, the decision wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. All I ultimately had to consider was my wife's contact lenses. She wears them daily and has the one-and-done kind (wears them once and throws them away). I can buy a 6-month supply of those at Costco for what it would cost me for a 1-month supply at any of our local vision places. That savings alone pays for the membership for us and any deals we get at the store later are just icing on the cak...

Product Description: Pre-made frozen sandwiches consisting of a chicken patty and cheese in flat bread. The sandwiches come individually wrapped and are cooked in your microwave oven for about 90 seconds. My wife and I purchased this product at Costco a couple weeks ago to take with us to work as a lunch option. You can read my review here:  https://wizzley.com/review-of-sandwich-bros-frozen-chicken-melt-sandwiches/

My wife and I made our monthly trip to Costco yesterday morning and, since we didn't have to worry about buying school lunch items, had a little extra wiggle room in our budget to try some new things. This happened to be one of the items that ended up in our shopping cart. I made this purchase primarily for my oldest daughter, who isn't a big fresh fruit person but will snack on dried fruit when it is put in front of her. At first, the $9.99 price for this bag was a little bit of a turnoff and I had to think it over for a minute or so. Then, realizing I usually pend about $3 on a much-smaller bag that lasts her one sitting, I decided it was a good deal. And, after trying them last night, I have to say I don't regret the purchase. I usually have two major concerns when it comes to dried fruit products like this one. The first is the flavor. While most claim not to add sugar, I've purchased more than my fair share of dried fruit that was way too sweet to be natural...

Product Description: Frozen chicken and vegetable dumplings from the Bibigo brand. The dumplings are prepared in the microwave in a special steaming tray. I purchased a box of 36 dumplings for $7.99 while shopping at Costco this past weekend. My wife and I made a tray of the dumplings to go with our dinner last night. You can read my review here: https://wizzley.com/review-of-bibigo-chicken-and-vegetable-steamed-dumplings/

I came across this product while shopping at Costco late last month, when it happened to be next to another item I had planned on buying. Since it sounded like something I would eat and was only $8.99 for 120, I decided to make the purchase. Even though I liked the price of this item, I did have some doubts about it when I put the box in my cart. While this might seem like something that would be hard to screw up, I've had a few similar products (mostly bargain brand) that were actually quite disgusting. And, because of that, I honestly wasn't sure if I was getting a great deal or wasting money on something I wouldn't enjoy. As it turns out, it was a good purchase. I actually forgot I even had these until coming across them in my freezer yesterday morning. I decided to have some for lunch and was actually pretty impressed with them. I don't hate pepperoni, but it normally isn't my favorite option either. However, this pepperoni had a decent taste to it. It ...

When my wife and I did some shopping at Costco several days ago, one of our objectives was to re-stock our freezer with meat. This included finding items we could prepare in our slow cooker so, when I came across a 4-pack of their Kirkland Signature Swift Premium Pork Sirloin Tip Roasts, I didn't hesitate to throw them in our cart. There were two reasons for this purchase. The first is roasts are easy to make (especially in the slow cooker). The second was the $1.75/pound price was very reasonable, essentially giving us four meals (plus leftovers) for less than $20. And, after trying one of these a few days ago, I have to say I was very pleased with our purchase. To tell you the truth, I'm actually not a huge fan of pork roast. Yes, it is convenient. But, more often than not, the roasts we purchase come out tough and dry and just aren't overly enjoyable as a result. This roast, however, was definitely different. The one my wife ended up preparing was tender and jui...

We leased our new car through Costco's auto program and, as part of the deal, we ended up getting a $700 Costco cash card. That finally arrived today! I'm not sure when we are going to use it though. I'm tempted to drive to Sun Prairie this weekend and use it for some last second Christmas shopping. But, I might end up waiting until next weekend and driving down there to get stuff for New Years and to stock up on school lunch stuff.

I am a Costco member and there are quite a few things at that store that I will make the 30-minute drive just to purchase. Their meat section, however, really isn't included in that statement, mostly because I can usually find better prices (by shopping on the right day) at our local stores. The one exception to that is this product, which I have now purchased (in bulk) on a couple separate occasions for a little less than $2 per pound. We actually go through a lot of chicken drumsticks in our house (they are an easy-to-prepare meat on days when I need to use our slow cooker) and made this purchase because we saw a benefit in stocking up. We continue to buy this product because the chicken drumsticks are well worth that money. To tell you the truth, the price on this product really isn't the main selling point for me. I can actually find fresh chicken drumsticks locally for around the same price. However, the Kirkland Signature brand does score some extra points with m...

Normally, when my wife and I make a Costco run (like we did this past Sunday), it's not unusual for me to see something interesting on the shelf and throw it into the cart as a spur-of-the-moment purchase. However, that was not the case with this particular product. Instead, I happened to see this in the monthly flyer we receive as part of our membership and, thinking it looked good, purposely looked for it when we were shopping. And, after I saw it was just $6.99 (it's normally $9.99), I decided to buy it for dinner. After having it last night, I have to say I was pleased with this decision. I'm always a little skeptical when it comes to pre-packaged meals like this one (which is found in the refrigerator section). Most offer relatively decent convenience but very few offer quality as well. This was one of the few that did offer both. When I first looked at the package, I wasn't sure if it would be as convenient as I hoped it would be because, at least from th...

I am a soda addict and, even though I have pretty much given up being able to kick the habit completely, I've been making an effort to at least cut back on how much I drink. And, as part of this, I have been trying to take healthier alternatives with me to work. This included a drink box of Kirkland Signature Organic Apple Grape Juice. I purchased this product during a recent Costco trip because (bought in bulk), I thought it was a good deal and would be something my daughters could take with them to drink during skating or dance lessons. After trying it this morning, I probably will end up needing to buy more of them. One of my biggest concerns when trying this juice this morning was the flavor. Since it was still early, I wasn't in the mood for anything that was too sweet or too tart and I have had other discount juices that fit into that description. This juice, however, was what I was hoping it would be. There was enough sweetness in it to give me some of the sugar...