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PSA: I used to think you needed fancy ingredients for good soup, but a $2 bag of lentils changed my whole kitchen
For years, I'd buy a rotisserie chicken just to make stock, spending like $8 before even starting. Last winter, I was broke and tried a recipe using a bag of brown lentils, an onion, and some old carrots. Simmered it for an hour with water and basic spices. The result was a huge pot of thick, filling soup that cost maybe $3 total and fed me for days. Now I keep a bag of lentils in my pantry at all times. What's your go-to 'pantry hero' ingredient that saves you money?
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eva_thompson105mo ago
Got a bag of red lentils that turn into soup so fast it feels like cheating. Throw in a spoonful of tomato paste from the tube in your fridge door, makes the whole thing taste like you tried.
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noranguyen3mo ago
Wait is that really true about the tomato paste tube, @ramirez.blair? I have been putting mine in the fridge door for like two years now and I swear it's still good (and I'm still alive, so there's that). But you're probably right, the door is definitely warmer than the shelf. I guess I've just been lucky? Anyway, back to the lentils - I do the same thing with red lentils and chicken bouillon (the powder kind, not the cubes, they dissolve better) and it tastes like I slaved over the stove for hours. It's kind of embarrassing how little effort goes into making them taste amazing, honestly. I even add a pinch of cumin sometimes and people think I'm some kind of soup wizard.
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ramirez.blair5mo ago
Okay, the "tomato paste from the tube in your fridge door" part is a little off. Tomato paste in a tube doesn't go in the fridge door. You keep it in the main part of the fridge after you open it, for sure, but the door is the warmest spot. It's where people put condiments. The paste can spoil faster there. I always put mine on a shelf. It lasts way longer that way.
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