Materials

3 5oz cans of tuna (15 oz total)
1 12 oz package noodles, cooked
1 can cream of mushroom soup
a bit less than a pint of cream, to moisten
brick of frozen corn
brick of frozen green beans
brick of frozen peas
crapton of grated Parmesan that's been sitting in the fridge
convenient breadcrumbs or panko to coat the top

Process

Combine all ingredients but breadcrumbs in a 9 x 13 pan. Or in a bowl if you're smart, which you will then pour into the pan.

Cover the top with breadcrumbs.

Bake at 325 for 25 min or until happy. (you want the veggies to still have a bit of crunch)

Eat and congratulate yourself. And fight the cat for it.

Here's a spoiler: dinner was really good.

This recipe is probably best for wintertime, since it's all about comfort food type flavors. But it's good in summer too if you don't mind raising the temp in your kitchen a few degrees.

Commander Beef Bowl

Mats

2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced (red or vidallia would work well here)
2 tablespoons sake
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons white wine (I used Riesling since I like to drink that)
2 1/2 cups water
6 tablespoons soy sauce (I used 3 tbls soy sauce and 3 tbls ponzu, but not everyone has ponzu)
pinch pickled ginger
4 tablespoons sugar
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound beef, very thinly sliced (I just used pre-cut "stir fry" round since I'm not confident on my knife skills)
2-4 cups hot cooked rice (follow rice cooker directions)
2-4 large eggs (optional)

Process

1. Melt the butter in a large pot at about medium heat.
2. When the butter is foaming and turning brown, add the onion and the pickled ginger. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until translucent.
3. Add the sake and white wine and allow it to come to a simmer. Simmer for a few minutes to cook off the alcohol.
4. Add the soy sauce, sugar, garlic,water, and salt. Allow to come back to a simmer. If your stove is cheap like mine, up the heat to medium-high to get everything heated through. Stir.
5. Add the meat a few slices at a time, stirring to make sure everything is mixed up.
6. The dish is done when the meat is cooked through (a few minutes of simmering) but the taste gets better if you let it cook down for a while. I let mine simmer almost half an hour while I waited for my rice cooker. If you are using a fattier cut of meat than round, don't cook it too long or the fat will render into the sauce and be a little gross.
7. Portion the rice into bowls and scoop the onion/beef/sauce mixture over it. If you are adventurous, you can crack an egg into the mix and stir it around a bit to kinda cook the egg before devouring. You can be a bit generous about adding the sauce-- the rice will absorb it and get delicious.

Serves 2 extremely hungry people or 4 not so hungry people (It's one cup of rice/one egg per person in the mats directions). If you're into wine, Merlot went well with the bowl, or just pour a glass of the white you used in the dish.

I will let you know if it freezes/reheats well.

I made food! Here is the recipe!

Lock Up Your Piggies! Pulled Pork

Mats

2-3 lb boneless pork roast, not too fatty if you can help it
root beer (I used A&W, Barq's is tasty but that "bite" leaves a weird flavor in the pork)
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, minced
rub of your choice (I used a homemmade rub, but anything bbq should do)
BBQ sauce (I used Jack Daniel's sauce, but anything goes)

Process

1. Take your roast out of the packaging and rub it with lots of rub. Make a good crust on there. Then leave it in the fridge to absorb the goodness overnight.
2. In the morning, chop up the onion.
3. Put the roast in a crock pot, fat side down if it's a fatty roast. Top with the miced garlic and onion.
4. Pour enough root beer to coat the roast. Drink the rest.
5. Cook on Low for about 6-7 hours.
6. Take roast out of crock pot and stick it in a pan or bowl with most of the onion.
7. Using two forks, shred the roast.
8. Pour on sauce to taste and stir to combine sauce with roast.
9. Nom. It would be good for sammiches but it's fine by itself with mac and cheese and applesauce as sides. This is also really good re-heated the next day or two.

Yeah, this is pretty similar to the recipe from Not Exactly Bento, but I find that adding a rub in advance really kicks up the flavor a lot.

I did a very Maryland thing today. I made myself a batch of crab cakes! It was that or sulk about missing the Aquarium this weekend. Boo.

There are no pictures for I am jealously keeping their glory to myself.

GIANT ENEMY CRAB CAEK!

Mats

1 lb crab meat
3 slices bread, torn into little bits
1 extra-large egg
4 tbs mayo
1 tbs mustard
1 tbs Old Bay
vegetable oil to coat the bottom of a pan

Process

1. In a large bowl, combine everything but the vegetable oil. Mix well with hands.
2. Form the crab mixture into patties. Make sure they are packed firm-- think the process you use to pack hamburgers. You should get six palm-sized cakes out of this mix.
3. Place the cakes in the fridge, uncovered, to chill and set a bit. A half-hour is good.
4. Coat the bottom of a frying pan in a thin layer of vegetable oil. Heat the oil on medium and add the cakes.
5. Turn the heat up to medium-high and fry for four minutes on the first side. (They should move easily in the pan when done.) Do NOT move the cakes around, since this will encourage them to break into a mess.
6. Flip cakes and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
7. Drain the cakes on paper towels and then eat!