Costco Mushrooms: Cooking with Bulk Ingredients

Cooking with bulk ingredients can be a challenge. A while back I bought one of those large containers of mushrooms at Costco. Even living alone, I am tempted! But I was determined to use them up without wasting any and not eat the same thing over and over.  I thought it might make an interesting series (and a challenge to myself) on how to use up those large containers of produce even when you’re only cooking for 1 or 2 people.

How Do You Store Mushrooms?

First, you need to know how to store the mushrooms so they don’t go slimy. There’s a mix of advice on the Internet, of course. Isn’t there always? Everyone seems to agree that you don’t want to wash them before storing. Moisture is the enemy and you don’t want to add any. I’ve had good luck keeping them in the original package (which typically has some air holes). When I first cook some, I make a small tear in the plastic wrap and take out what I need and put the rest back in the refrigerator on a shelf, not in the crisper drawer.

I’ve also tried taking them out of the original container and storing them in a paper bag in the refrigerator. Again, I store them on the top shelf, not in the vegetable crisper drawer.

Both of these methods seem to work for me and I vary according to how crowded my refrigerator is and where I have space. Sometimes the original container is just too bulky.

Cooking Up Lots of Mushrooms

First I made beef stroganoff with some of the mushrooms. I served it on toast rather than egg noodles, which was quite good!  My sauce broke so the picture isn’t very pretty but it was quite good. You could also make hamburger stroganoff.

Then I made this Cream of Mushroom Soup. That was fantastic! Marlo’s already asked when I’m making that again.

A day or so later I made a Mushroom, Spinach and Bacon Salad to go with a fresh speckled goose breast Marlo brought over when he got back from hunting.

The next meal with mushrooms was a small dish of chicken tetrazzini.

Finally, on pizza night I made one with a lot of sauteed mushrooms on it. So all the mushrooms were used and I never felt like I was eating the same thing over and over.