In today’s world, grocery shopping can seem more like a burden than an opportunity to gather supplies for your family’s favorite meals. With grocery prices of everyday ingredients fluctuating almost daily, it’s important for many families to make their dollars go further at the store.
Easy ways to stretch your grocery budget, like using versatile ingredients, can make the grocery shopping experience a little less impactful on your household’s finances. Consider the benefits of mushrooms, which provide a delicious option to enhance flavor in favorite recipes while extending portions in an affordable way.
Budget Friendly Meals
Stretch your grocery dollars by stretching your meals using a process called “The Blend.” Blending finely chopped mushrooms with ground meat can extend portion sizes of your favorite meaty recipes and help your bottom line. Chop your favorite mushroom variety to match the consistency of ground meat, blend the chopped mushrooms and meat together then cook to complete the recipe. For burgers, use a blend of 25% finely chopped mushrooms and 75% ground meat. For tacos or chili, use 50% mushrooms and 50% meat or an even higher mushroom-to-meat ratio.
Savor the Flavor
The savory umami taste of mushrooms means a flavorful experience in blended recipes like burgers, where the chopped mushrooms help hold in the juiciness. Or, you can chop, quarter, slice or enjoy them whole in recipes like Garlic-Rosemary Butter Roasted Chicken Thighs and Veggies with Mushroom Orzo Risotto, Creamy Spinach, Mushroom and Lasagna Soup or Blended Pasta Sauce paired with your favorite pasta.
One Carton, Multiple Dishes
Thanks to mushrooms’ versatility, you can buy one large carton of mushrooms to chop up then bulk up multiple dishes, from a morning omelet to hearty soups to blended burgers.
Serve Up Nutrition
Low-calorie, low-sodium, fat-free and cholesterol-free, mushrooms are nutrient rich and can play a starring role in a variety of meals. With an array of fresh varieties and nearly endless ways to prepare them, they can be your powerhouse from the produce department.
Here are some great recipes to try:
Garlic-Rosemary Butter Roasted Chicken Thighs and Veggies with Mushroom Orzo Risotto
Savory chicken thighs pan-seared in butter and roasted alongside mushrooms and veggies, served with a side of toasted orzo pasta cooked until soft with broth, crimini mushrooms, and Parmesan cheese. This is a recipe that will soon become a weekly favorite. See recipe
Blended Pasta Sauce
In this recipe we let you choose your favorite jar of marinara sauce, and we add the extras to give the recipe that home style meal. See recipe
Creamy Spinach, Mushroom and Lasagna Soup
This soup is creamy and comforting and made with simple pantry-staple ingredients. Enjoy this hearty soup in just 30 minutes from starting the recipe. It’s a great midweek meal when rushed for time. Cozy up with a bowl of soup alongside some fluffy dinner rolls for a scrumptious meal that will warm you from the inside out! See recipe
Find more recipe ideas and ways to make the most of your grocery store dollars at MushroomCouncil.com.
SOURCE: Mushroom Council
