Cheap Eats: Vegetable Rice, tomato version 05/17/2025

I am experimenting with creating more cheap, easy meals and came up with this based on my basic rice recipe and inspired by my most recent Cheap Eats post.

Reverse meal planning once again: creating a meal to use what needs to be used first and with only what I have on hand. I found two very sad little green onions, wrinkled with some papery exterior layers, that were hidden in the wrong part of the frig when I put away groceries last night. I also had a few left over carrots from my last grocery buy so I needed to clear out the old to make room for the new.

I sorted through the freezer and realized I had used all my stored tomato paste. I opened another can of tomato paste and used 2 TBSP for this recipe. The remainder of the can of tomato paste will be frozen in tablespoon size chunks in my freezer for later use. I was also reminded of a bag of frozen corn kernels I needed to make a dent in. I toss these into recipes to add some variety. Frozen kernel corn is not my favorite but it was on sale in July.

Yield: Over 6 cups

Bonus: One Pot. Microwave option to save on home cooling costs. Over 20 grams of protein. Works as a side or an entrée. I think this would also taste good tossed into plain tomato soup but skip the salt if you opt for this.

1 Cup uncooked Rice

2 chopped Carrots

1/2 cup of frozen Peas

1/4 cup of frozen Corn kernels

    If the frozen veg has frost on it, just rinse it off.

1/4-1/2 TSP black pepper

My 2 sad, lonely Little Green Onions, chopped and the papery skin removed.

1 TSP of Salt

1 TSP of your favorite spice for veg. I used a no salt curry powder. I have a half pound+ waiting to be used. Consider Italian seasoning blend or smoked paprika or thyme and oregano. Taco seasoning or chili powder would also work well. Honestly, there are so many options to complement the tomato and veg.

2 TBSP of tomato paste dissolved in

3 Cups of Water

Microwave for 18-20 minutes. Fluff the rice before serving.

This also works in a rice cooker. Adjust the time according to your rice cooker. Or cook stovetop in a single pot according to your rice package cooking times.

Simple and easy. Over 20 grams of protein from the rice and peas. Over two cups of veg. Salt can be adjusted for those needing low-sodium options. 

I also recommend changing up the veg to create different cultural approaches. Green Bell Pepper chopped with onions would bring out the Caribbean or Creole potential. Toss in a 1/4 tsp of chopped chilis for a bite. Celery and peas and carrots with Herbes de Provence for a French twist. A dash of lemon and harissa paste instead of tomato paste for a North African slant. Red and Yellow bell pepper and spring veg with Italian seasoning for an Italian Primavera approach but replace the tomato paste with a seeded chopped tomato as a topping after cooking.