My $20 Instant Pot turned week old veggies into 3 meals

I had a bag of sad carrots, half an onion, and some wilted celery sitting in my fridge for 5 days. Threw them in my cheap Instant Pot with a can of diced tomatoes and some dried lentils I got for $1.50 at Aldi. Made a decent soup that covered dinner, lunch the next day, and another portion I froze. Anyone else found a go-to recipe for using up random leftovers?

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wren2302mo ago

That Aldi lentil trick is smart, @phoenixmarten40 called them pantry sponges and honestly yeah, they soak up whatever sad flavor you throw at them. The bell pepper regret you mentioned makes me wonder how long you let that stuff cook - I accidentally scorched a batch of soup once by leaving it on slow cook for 8 hours instead of the 30 minute pressure setting. How long did you let yours go before you tossed it?

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phoenix_martin402mo ago

and people call me crazy for keeping a bag of sad veggies in the back of the fridge for a week. like, that's not hoarding, that's meal planning with extra steps. $20 instant pot and you're out here doing alchemy with wilted celery. i once tried that same trick with some shriveled bell peppers and a half-empty jar of pasta sauce, ended up with something that tasted like regret and garlic powder. you got lucky, your soup sounds edible. mine went straight to the trash after one bite. bet the lentils saved you, they're like the sponges of the pantry.

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