$5-6 rice and lentil 'struggle pots' that taste great

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I just threw it against the 'moderator attention' thread. I'm guessing someone will grab it.

This might be a good fit for the In-Depth Adult Life Discussion board, but hardly anyone reads that! I wouldn't have spotted it anywhere else but here.

I had a go at an Indian-inspired pot just now. I realised brown rice, red lentils and green lentils all take about 25 minutes to cook, so I combined those three. Red for mushiness, green for texture, and the rice still has a bit of chonk too. Added tiny pinches of ground coriander, turmeric and cumin plus a cardamon pod.

I added diced carrot 15 minutes in, and I fried up some garlic and whole spices (cumin, fennel, "onion" seed, mustard and fenugreek) in a little oil, which I added at the end for more flavour.

Really enjoyed the results, and literally every ingredient was something I just had in the cupboard. (Some of the spices are a bit elderly.) This was a late-night emergency meal after the day got away from me, too, so it replaced a cheeseburger and chips from the takeaway round the corner.

I made the west African pot last night again, used 2 tbsp tomato paste, my mom had 7 oz of crushed tomatoes (course sauce) that she wanted to get rid of so I added that as well in addition to the 14 oz diced tomatoes. The advice I've gotten when there's a lot of tomato paste is to fry it. I ended up cooking it down with the onions, garlic, and spices for about 20 minutes. Felt like I was prepping a batch of Doro Wat but it did seem to add something to the flavor.

Nice! I've got some too

One Pot Veggie Pasta



2 cloves garlic
1 onion
2 carrots
2tbsp Olive oil
8.4 ounce mushroom
1 zucchini

Step 1: Mince the garlic, dice the onion and slice the carrots. Add the garlic, onions and carrots to a large pot with olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent.

Step 2: While the vegetables are sauteing, slice the mushrooms. Once sliced, add them to the pot with the other vegetables and continue sauteing.

Step 3: While the rest of the vegetables are sauteing, dice the zucchini and bell pepper.

Step 4: Once the bell pepper and zucchini are diced, add them to the pot along with the pasta, basil, oregano and vegetable broth. Stir to combine. Its ok if the broth doesn’t fully submerge the pasta.

Step 5: Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium high and allow the broth to come to a boil.

Step 6: Once the broth reaches a full boil, give the pasta a quick stir, replace the lid then turn the heat down to medium low. Let the pasta simmer over medium low, stirring occasionally and always replacing the lid, for about ten minutes, or until the pasta is tender.

Step 7: Once the pasta is tender, add the pasta sauce to the pot and stir to combine. Top with the shredded cheese then place the lid back on the pot. Let the pasta heat for a few minutes or just until the cheese is melted.


Simple beef stir fry

8.4 ounce beef strips
1 onion
2 carrots
1 head brocoli
1 red capsicum
2tbsp soy sauce
2tbsp oil
noodles 14 or 17 ounces or rice (3 cups cooked) 1 packet / 3 cups

1. Cook noodles or rice and set aside.

2. Heat oil in a large pan or wok.

3. Add beef strips, cook until browned, then set aside.

4. In the same pan, add onion, carrot, broccoli, and capsicum. Stir-fry for 3–5 minutes.

*Soy sauce alternatives:
- 1–2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ beef stock cube + 2 Tbsp water
- 1–2 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp Maggi seasoning

5. Return beef to the pan, add soy sauce (or substitute*), and toss everything together.

6.Serve hot over noodles or rice.