We career girls are too busy to eat most of the time, so it’s hard to not always go for takeaway for dinner, and we often end up eating in front of our laptops reviewing notes for the meeting tomorrow. But girls, sometimes we have to take our time to cook a real dinner, even if it’s just a simple one-pot meal. So read on to get some super quick and delicious one-pot meals to nourish you after a hard day’s work.

#1 Spicy Meatballs 

This is for all the career girls out there who like it spicy. Spicy meatballs don’t take long and can all be done in one pot (less washing up!) Here’s what you need:

• 1 red onion (halved and sliced)
• 2 garlic cloves (sliced)
• 1 large yellow pepper (quartered, deseeded and diced)
• 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
•  3 tablespoons of chipotle chilli paste
• 300 ml reduced chicken stock
• 400g chilli tomatoes
• 400g black beans or red kidney beans (drained)
• 1 avocado (stoned, peeled, chopped)
• 1/2 lemon (juiced)
• meatballs (you can use any recipe you like for them)

Method: Put the pepper, onion and garlic into a pan and stir-fry until they are softened. Add the chilli paste and the cumin, then pour in the stock. Then add the meatballs and add a cover to the pan, cook it like that over low heat for ten minutes. Stir in the beans and tomatoes and cook them together for a few more minutes. Mix in the avocado with the lime juice and present your gorgeous meal. (Totally Instagram-worthy #foodporn)

#2 Pumpkin Pasta 

Perfect for the coming season and to get a break from everybody talking about Pumpkin Spice Lattes, here is a creamy one-pot pumpkin pasta recipe. Let’s see what you need:

• 8 ounces linguine pasta
• 4 cups of vegetable broth
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion (chopped small)
• 3 large garlic cloves (peeled & minced)
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (4 ounce) log fresh goat cheese
• 1 small bunch parsley (chopped)

Method: Pour all your ingredients except the goat cheese and parsley into one big pot. So place your pot on high heat and make it boil. As soon as it starts boiling get your handy smartphone and set the timer to nine minutes. Make sure to stir it frequently so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. After the nine minutes, your pasta should be tender. If so, remove the pot from the heat and sprinkle the goat cheese on top. Stir it in until it melted and let it sit like that for five more minutes. Then place your tasty pasta on a plate and sprinkle the parsley on top. (source)

#3 Sweet Potato & Red Curry Soup

Guys seriously this is so easy. There are millions of great soup recopies on Pinterest and they are all waiting for you to be cooked. Who can say no to a delicious self-made soup? And the best of it is, that you can cook a massive pot of it on Monday and warm the rest of it up the rest of the week. Win win situation.

• 1kg (2lb) sweet potato
• 1 can coconut cream or milk (400mL / 14oz)
• 4 tablespoons red curry paste
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• mint or coriander leaves, to serve

Method: Scrub and chop the sweet potato into 1cm thick pieces. Add coconut cream (or milk), curry paste, fish sauce and 4 cups of water in a large pot, add sweet potato and bake for 30 mins on 200C (400F). Stir and continue to bake for another 30 minutes until sweet potato is tender then blend. Taste, season as needed (with salt or more fish sauce) and sprinkle your herbs on top as a garnish. (Source)

So girls take some time to cook once in a while, it will not only benefit your health in the long run but it’s also much easier on your purse! Have you got any go-to one-pot meals? Share them with us, we’ll add them to our recipe books!