20-Minute Recipes: My Own Hunt's Pork and Beans Casserole

It had been another busy Friday for me, trying to catch up with deadlines. But as a home-based online writer, I am not exempted from all the housework I have to do; I'm still a mother after all. And as of the moment, hiring a cook or a house helper is not an immediate priority.

Again, I found myself with not enough time on my hands to cook dinner. But with all the pressure and stress, I think I deserved a pat on the back tonight for managing to come up with a near-decent 20-minute casserole for my husband and my daughter.


Browsing the racks in the nearest Rustan's supermarket, I still had no idea what to serve for dinner. Canned goods, cold cuts, and noodles are obvious choices but it being a Friday night, I thought my mag-ama deserved something more special; more especially so because I am going to be facing the computer screen again after dinner. (Which is not right, I know. I'm working on it, I promise.)

I was struck with the idea of making a special pork and beans casserole, with some real pork. I've always loved Hunt's Pork and Beans so I bought a can and then 1/4 kilo of pork cubes. When I got home, I immediately fried the pork cubes, cutting the larger portions into even smaller pieces to make sure that they will not be hard to chew. After the pork is cooked, I poured Hunt's Pork and Beans (though we all know, they are just beans) onto a small pot and added the fried pieces of pork and left the mixture to simmer.

Now the next challenge, of course, is making the whole concoction taste good. To my consternation, I discovered that we have run out of onions and obviously, it was not on my grocery list. So I had to make do with what's left in the pantry, I added a little water, salt, sugar, pepper, and some Heinz tomato catsup. I stirred and let it simmer and when I tasted the sauce, I actually liked it!

I suppose you could add some peas if you have them. Or maybe some milk. But tonight's dinner cost me only a total of 80 pesos and did not take more than 20 minutes to cook. And judging by the way my husband and my daughter filled AND emptied their plates, I would dare claim that they liked it, too.