Friday: Ecuador Food Day, a 12-Pound Costco Ground Beef Haul & Maple Balsamic Chicken

We started this morning with a pretty easy breakfast.

Some of the Costco bagels I’d sliced and frozen, leftover bacon, and cereal.

Then we got to work on a little bit of homeschooling before heading out for something different.

A geography co-op!

A couple of Fridays each month, our family participates in a small geography group where the kids study different parts of the world.

This year, we’re focusing on South America.

And today’s country was Ecuador.

I had volunteered to bring some food, so I had a little cooking to do.

Geography Co-op and My Traveling Electric Skillet

Normally, our geography group meets in the afternoon, but today we had a morning session.

One of the other moms was doing some teaching, so while she was working with the kids, I slipped into the kitchen to get our food ready.

And I brought one of my favorite kitchen appliances.

My electric skillet.

If you’ve followed along for a while, you know I love this thing.

I take it everywhere.

Hotels.

Vacation rentals.

Friends’ houses.

Anywhere I might need to cook something without having access to a full kitchen.

Leftover Pork Tenderloin for Lunch

After geography co-op, we headed home, and I needed to get lunch on the table.

Thankfully, I had leftover pork tenderloin from Thursday night’s dinner.

I’d roasted two Costco pork tenderloins with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and Italian seasoning.

And I’d deliberately made extra.

So today, I sliced some of that leftover pork and put it into a skillet with a little bacon fat.

Then I added some barbecue sauce and warmed everything through.

So easy.

The bacon fat helps keep the meat from drying out and adds a little extra flavor.

And the barbecue sauce turns it into something that tastes completely different from last night’s roasted pork.

I served the pork with vegetables, hummus, and a little vinaigrette.

Kind of a build-your-own bowl or platter situation.

A Costco Trip With a Couple of Kids

After lunch, I headed to Costco with a couple of the kids.

And naturally, we came home with a few things.

Including a new bagel experiment.

The kids convinced me to buy Costco’s pretzel bagels.

Have you seen these?

They look really good.

I can’t eat them because they contain gluten, but the kids were excited to try them.

And I have one question.

Where is the salt?

Seriously.

A pretzel bagel sounds delicious.

But part of what makes a pretzel a pretzel is that wonderful crunchy salt on the outside.

And these don’t have it.

Which seems like a missed opportunity.

Costco already sells everything bagels that are absolutely covered in seasoning.

So clearly they’re not opposed to making a messy bagel.

Why not put some crunchy pretzel salt on these?

I don’t understand.

Why I Bought Twelve Pounds of Ground Beef

Now, the more significant part of my Costco trip was the meat.

I bought two of those big six-pound packages of ground beef.

Yes.

Twelve pounds of ground beef.

And before you think I’ve completely lost my mind, I actually have a plan for all of it.

First, I’m running low on cooked ground beef in the freezer.

And that’s a problem.

Because cooked ground beef is one of the most useful things I keep on hand.

I use it for taco bowls, burger bowls, pasta, casseroles, and all kinds of quick dinners.

It’s one of my favorite forms of Dinner Insurance.

So I need to restock.

But that’s not all.

I also want to make more meatloaf for the freezer.

And I’m planning to make some homemade beef summer sausage.

Plus, I want to make burgers for dinner Saturday before we head out trick-or-treating.

So while twelve pounds sounds like an enormous amount of ground beef, it’s actually going to disappear pretty quickly once I divide it among all those different projects.

Chicken Thighs and a Carver Ham

I also bought chicken thighs and one of Costco’s Carver hams.

I love having different proteins available, especially heading into a busy weekend.

The ham will be useful for quick meals, sandwiches, and all kinds of leftovers.

And I decided to cook the chicken thighs for dinner tonight.

But first, we had one more little Costco adventure.

My Four-Year-Old Bought Herself Another Christmas Present

While we were shopping, my four-year-old found a toy she absolutely loved.

And here’s the funny thing.

She is perfectly happy to pick out her own Christmas presents.

I’m not kidding.

She’ll find something she wants, and I’ll tell her we can put it on her Christmas list.

And sometimes we actually buy it right then.

She carries it around the store.

We bring it home.

And then it just sits there.

In the package.

In plain sight.

For weeks.

Or months.

And she’s completely fine with that.

She knows it’s for Christmas.

She knows she can’t open it yet.

And she is absolutely thrilled about the whole arrangement.

I think part of the excitement for her is the anticipation.

She gets to look at the toy and think about how much fun she’s going to have when she finally opens it.

And then, when Christmas comes, I’ll wrap it up and she’ll get to open it.

It’s like she gets to enjoy the excitement twice.

Once when she picks it out.

And again when she finally gets to play with it.

Now, I realize this would absolutely not work for every child.

Some kids would lose their minds if they had a brand-new toy sitting in the house that they weren’t allowed to open.

But for her?

It works beautifully.

Maple Balsamic Chicken Thighs for Dinner

When we got home, I unloaded the groceries and got started on dinner.

I decided to use the chicken thighs I’d just bought.

And I made that fall-inspired maple balsamic marinade I’ve been loving lately.

It’s a little sweet, a little tangy, and has such a delicious fall flavor without being overpowering.

My Maple Balsamic Chicken Marinade

For 2½–3 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs:

• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme

Instructions

1. Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, kosher salt, black pepper, and dried thyme.
2. Pour the marinade over the chicken thighs and toss until thoroughly coated.
3. Cover and refrigerate for 2–8 hours.
4. Grill, pan-sear, or roast the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of at least 165°F.

I originally made this recipe for one of those big 5½-pound packages of boneless, skinless chicken thighs from Costco, so I doubled the marinade.

Because you know I’m not going to all the trouble of making delicious chicken just for one dinner!

I grilled mine, but this marinade is fantastic for roasting or pan-searing too.

If you’re using the oven, I like to crank the heat to 425–450°F so the chicken cooks quickly and gets those delicious browned edges.

You can even finish it under the broiler for a little extra color.

And because the marinade is so flavorful, this chicken is wonderful served in all kinds of ways.

Which is exactly what we did tonight.

Boneless Chicken Thighs That Aren’t Actually Boneless

But I do have one complaint.

Costco.

We need to talk.

Because I bought boneless, skinless chicken thighs.

And I found four pieces of bone in the package.

Four!

This has become a recurring issue for me.

Apparently, “boneless” is more of a suggestion than a guarantee.

I understand that mistakes happen during processing.

But four pieces of bone in one package seems like a lot.

And it’s a good reminder to check your chicken carefully, even when the package says boneless.

Especially when you’re cooking for children.

So I removed the pieces I found, finished prepping the chicken, and got dinner going.

Two Ways to Serve the Same Chicken

For dinner, I did what I usually do.

I served the same main protein in different ways.

Some of the kids wanted a simple platter.

So I warmed up some of those new pretzel bagels with butter.

Then I served them with chicken, vegetables, and fruit.

Easy.

Nothing mixed together.

Just the foods they wanted.

Meanwhile, I made myself a big Greek-inspired salad with the maple balsamic chicken.

Lots of vegetables, flavorful chicken, and a nice salad base.

It was delicious.

And that’s one of the things I love about cooking a big batch of protein.

You don’t have to make a separate main dish for every person.

More Chicken for the Weekend

And because I cooked a generous amount of chicken thighs, I have plenty left over.

Which is exactly what I wanted.

We have a busy Halloween weekend coming up, and I’m very happy to have cooked chicken ready in the refrigerator.

I can slice it for salads.

Warm it for bowls.

Serve it with rice or potatoes.

Or just put it on a platter with vegetables and let everybody make their own lunch.

So now I’ve got leftover chicken, a Carver ham, and twelve pounds of ground beef waiting for me.

I think we’re going to be eating pretty well this weekend.