Good but not cheap

Marinated Mushrooms
Taste of Home More Fast Fixes With Mixes Copyright 2009

2 pounds fresh mushrooms
1 envelope (.7 ounce) Italian salad dressing mix I used the zesty variety
1 cup water
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Remove mushroom stems (discard or save for another use). I the stems on. Place caps in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and cool.

In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the salad dressing mix, water, oil, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and seasonings; shake well.

Place mushrooms in a large bowl; add dressing and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Serve in a lettuce-lined bowl if desired.
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I love marinated mushrooms but the jarred ones are often too vinegary for my taste or too expensive. These had just the balance I was looking for in the marinade but they weren't cheap to make, even though I only needed to pick up the Italian dressing mix and mushrooms to make these. Mushrooms aren't cheap. Even in Costco they were over $3/pound I believe. Those mushrooms were too big though. Great for many things but not what I wanted for this recipe.

I was hoping to find smaller mushrooms in the grocery store. They weren't as small as I would have liked but they worked a little better. They were 2 for $5 for 10 ounce containers. I bought 3. Not a cheap recipe but I will definitely eat every last mushroom and I did make a lot of mushrooms. Hopefully I will soon be going to Friday night auction (the farmer's market) again and maybe I will find cheaper mushrooms. I would love to make these again.

Dry Italian dressing mix is one of those lucky ingredients for me. I've had a few winners with that ingredient. Easy Italian Spiced Pork, Sautéed Shrimp and Vermicelli, and Zesty Cucumber Dip were all good recipes that used Italian dressing mix.