Mrs. M: Pork and Bean Casserole

GUEST POST: My mom has always enjoyed writing (must be where I got it from) and she has happily expressed interest to write a guest post for Savvy about Nothing. Very cool! Here's her very first post, one about a simple everyday household recipe. SaN finally has recipes! Haha. - Joaquin

During all my years as a stay-at-home mom to 3 little boys and wifey to a guy who appreciates good food, I was always challenged to come up with tasty but simple day-to-day dishes. I would indulge them on weekends with special dishes but it was on the weekdays that I ran out of ideas. I figured they deserve better than just fried foods and canned goods. With all my domestic duties and family/personal errands at the time, I did not always have time to linger in the kitchen.

That’s when I came up with this dish, especially dedicated to busy bees who do not have more than 30 minutes to spare. I decided to pump up a Filipino favorite, Pork and Beans.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Yield:  7 servings depending on appetite!
Total Cost: about P225 to P265

Ingredients:

Oil for sautéing 

Onion, 1 chopped coarsely (P5)

Garlic, 1 head crushed or chopped (P5)

Lean ground pork, 500 g. (P135)

Pork and Beans, 2-3 (390 g.)cans (P40 each)

Tomato catsup, 3 tablespoons, optional

1. Sauté onion in little oil until slightly caramelized or brown in color.

2. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.

3. Add in the ground pork and cook until it loses its pink color.

4. Add in the pork and beans and catsup. (I usually use those catsup sachets from fast food restaurants. 2-3 are enough or according to taste)

5. Cook until slightly thick. Serve hot with rice.

The pork and beans is well-seasoned so salt and pepper are optional.

There are many ways to make this dish special. Jazz it up with grated cheese, spice it up with hot sauce or chili flakes or sliced hotdogs for a kiddie version.

Enjoy the dish in no time at all!

- Ellie