One of the biggest problems I encounter while trying to cook on a budget is what to do when you either like to eat a lot yourself or live with someone who needs big portions. If you have a big family you might also struggle with finding ways to cook in bulk.
By having a boyfriend that eats a lot, I taught myself a few recipes that allow me to cook huge portions that feed both of us (for both lunch and dinner), taste good, and are definitely budget friendly.
The first recipe I would like to introduce is one that I would like to call “Vegan Mish-Mash”. If you are looking for another recipe, you can find all vegan recipes here.
Vegan Mish-Mash
This is one of my original recipes inspired by a dish called Jambalaya (a popular dish of West African, French, Spanish and Native American influence, consisting mainly of meat and vegetables mixed with rice.)
The Mish-Mash is quite simple and apart from having to cut up some vegetables it is also a fairly quick meal that you can do on a work night.
Ingredients:
- Oil of choice
- 1 onion
- 1 red pepper
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1-2 carrots
- any leftover vegetables you may have? (if you have leftover vegetables you can put them in this meal to avoid throwing out food).
- 3 spoons soy sauce
- any spices you like (cumin, paprika, oregano, basil, whatever you like with rice), as much as you like
- 2 cups rice
- 1 can beans
- 1 can chickpeas
- water or vegetable stock, up to you, you need enough to cover the pan with rice
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
Note: If you don’t have beans but have chickpeas or vice versa, you can do it with whatever you got! Remember to be creative, what I offer here is just 1 example. This meal is versatile so if you change up vegetables and beans you might find new amazing results.
How to make Vegan Mish-Mash
- Heat up oil in a big wok pan or whatever big pan you own.
- Add all vegetables and stir for as long as you like (I do for around 5 minutes)
- Add the canned tomato and cook for 5-7 more minutes.
- Add the soy sauce and spices and then stir around.
- Add the rice and stir it around.
- Add water/stock just enough to cover the rice and let it simmer until the water disappears, stirring occasionally.
- Check if it tastes good, if the rice isn’t done, add a bit more water and stir.
- When the rice is done, add the chickpeas and beans and stir around for 1 minute or 2.
- Then you are done! Enjoy!
Health tips:
- You can use real tomatoes instead of canned.
- You can also add lentils or whatever you got in the cupboard to experiment.
For the ultimate lazy meal – check out easy vegan rice.