I love Costco.

Before we joined, a friend of mine used to go on and on and on about how much she loved Costco. And it drove me nuts.

“Shut up about Costco!” I wanted to yell. (But I didn’t. Because I love her and that might just have hurt her feelings.)

And now? I totally get it. Two summers ago I found a skort there for $9.99 that ended up being my season staple. Last year they brought back the same brand and style and I bought four more.

What else? Big containers of feta cheese, Amylu’s chicken sausage 4-pack (even though the gouda usually squirts out while eating dinner and nails a fellow family member in the eye), Baking Essentials gluten-free bread, G.H. Cretors Chicago-style mix in gigantic bags (which last about three days, tops, in our house), Starbucks Refreshers by the case and random stuff that pops up that you didn’t know you needed. And books. Reasonably priced books.

As I was perusing the book section just a couple of weeks ago, I came across Against All Grain, a book I’d heard about from the author’s website. (I have plenty of her recipes pinned on my GF boards.) It was just $19.97, which seemed a pretty decent price for a book that seemed to have a lot of tasty recipes within.

And as soon as I bought a couple of items that I was lacking, I mixed up these DONUTS. (She spells them doughnuts, but I’ve always been a fan of the shorter version.)

When I mentioned trying the recipe, Dev was thrilled of course. But I wasn’t sure if he’d like them. He’s a big glazed-donut fan, and these are more akin to cake donuts. I shouldn’t have worried, though, because he loved them. As you can see below. (The chocolate frosting probably didn’t hurt.)

I had canned pumpkin coconut milk leftover from the recipe. I was determined not to let them go to waste. So I used the coconut milk in a peanut chicken recipe. And then I found a great use for the pumpkin. Another tasty treat – pumpkin chocolate chip oat bars!

These, too, were awesome. Which might lead you to believe that pumpkin is a fine ingredient to bake with. I’d certainly agree.

The baking was from January, but these nachos I actually made today. (I can’t remember the last time I snapped a photo and blogged about it in the same day, much less the same week!)

These nachos are definitely a bit unorthodox. (And for some reason I only make nachos on Super Bowl Sunday. Must remedy that!) Yes, there are tortilla chips. And salsa (although I use pineapple salsa). And chicken. And cheese. The typical shredded Mexican cheeses and FETA. Because feta rocks, as I mentioned above in my Costco rundown. There is also spinach and one of my favorite ingredients – pineapple tidbits. (They perfectly complemented the salsa, of course.) So it ends up a sweet-salty taste treat.

You may notice that one half of this dish of nachos contains pepperoni. That was a special ingredient to please the 9-year-old. He was indeed pleased.