I can’t say when it started as I don’t really know. I’ve always enjoyed food, but never at all cared for the preparation process.
So sometime after COVID I got a high cholesterol report from the doctor and decided to research another option. I quickly honed in on oatmeal over the “good berries” of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. I put a little honey on it and that’s it. Breakfast for the last… four years now?
Breakfast of Anyone About to Endure Soul-Crushing Work
It’s quick, relatively healthy, and also (mostly) cheap. Because I buy these specific berries it’s as cheap as it could be, but it’s had a great affect on my cholesterol and the end result is great.
“So what about lunch?” no one is asking. Well I’ll tell you.
Obviously I had a successful plan of bringing leftovers in a vacuum canister for a few years.
After things changed and I was living alone, I ran through leftovers faster and tried to find a few steady options. I went with frozen chopped veggies and a “meat of the week” like pulled pork or taco meat, but eventually decided to try and go meatless to see what that would do. That’s how I ended up with rice and black-eyed peas.
No expenses were spared to capture images of these delicious meals
I boil two cups of rice every Sunday around 5. Boil the water, put the rice in, cover and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. I experimented with boiling it in beef broth and a few other things to try and get more flavor, but at the end of the day it’s just water and rice. When I add a can of Bush’s Black-Eyed Peas (I tried many including Trappey’s) I season with a little rice but that’s it. Every day like clockwork, I reheat a chunk of rice (measured in the loosest since of the word by my hands) in one of these Fiesta Ware bowls.
So breakfast and lunch have been covered for a while. Dinner proved a bit more difficult. I didn’t want to think about anything after a long day of having my soul crushed at work. I did a few different things before returning to something of a classic: baked beans. Specifically, a blend of (what else?) Bush’s Baked Beans with bacon. I created the Bean Pan©.
Merdenia.com is not responsible for keyboards ruined by drool.
This one is great. Two cans of beans (I prefer Brown Sugar Hickory mixed with Country Style) and pack of thick sliced bacon. Sometimes I do the blast of mustard, sometimes not. I let my stomach guide me. 40 minutes in the oven at 375, stirring halfway through. Serve it over a few handfuls of HEB Ridged BBQ chips.
This is my favorite meal right now. I make a pan of this on Monday and it is good for four servings in the week. (No one asked but currently Tuesdays are Sandwich Night with the whole family, and when I have the girls we go out Friday otherwise we do our own meal Thursdays) I love heating up a nice bowl of beans on a Wednesday evening after a nice workout. And by the time Friday rolls around, it’s a great way to start the weekend off right.
I don’t know why I do these this way. Saturdays and Sundays are different, naturally. Saturday is four chocolate chip store brand frozen waffles while watching Kyle Bosman (or NJPW when he’s on his seasonal hiatus). Sunday is some pastry bought on the previous Saturday while watching TechMoan talk about cool audio stuff. Dinner Saturday kinda varies, but it’s mostly something I can reheat from Kroger (Saturday is grocery day).
Listing all this out it’s evidently I have a lot of themed days in my life. This likely says something about me. Maybe I could just give all these to a therapist to analyze? I’ll bring her a serving of beans too just in case.
