Food Stock (Recipes)

Let's face it, girls--guys eat a lot. Personally, I generally eat very little (unless I'm PMSing or something). So, it's been a bit of a race to keep enough food stocked in our apartment to keep my husband full. Buying a girl amount of groceries does not last for more than a day or two when you live with a guy.

I finally got smart and started making meals in those tin disposable pans. I can leave them in the fridge or freezer, then just heat them up for him. He'll often keep eating from the pan of food for the rest of the day too, so I don't have to worry if he can find anything or not. The other good thing about this method is that I can make a bunch of food at once, and freeze some so I don't have to worry about cooking later.

So far, my main two pan foods are pasta and a sort-of Mexican casserole.
The pasta is really basic: I just make a bunch of pasta (farfalle, rotini, whatever) and put it in the pan. I season it with spices like Mrs. Dash, oregano, pepper. Then I add a bag of frozen vegetables, maybe another layer of pasta, more spices, a jar to a jar and a half of spaghetti sauce, and some shredded mozzarella cheese. Presto. (I plan to make a similar dish, but with soy beef crumbles in it.)

My Mexican dish is really popular with my husband; he likes to eat it with the multigrain Scoops tortilla chips I buy; I sometimes like to eat it in the multigrain tortillas I buy.

Mexican-style Casserole-ish Dish

• Simple Truth Organic Chili Beans
• Simple Truth Organic Tri Bean Blend
• Soy meat crumbles
• Can of Mexicorn
• (Cooked) Brown rice 
• Ortega taco seasoning spices
• Southwestern black bean and corn salsa
• Shredded mozzarella cheese

First, begin some brown rice to cook (it takes around 45 minutes approximately to make).

In a pan (I prefer rectangular, 9x13 disposable tin pans), pour a can of Simple Truth Organic Chili Beans, and a can of Simple Truth Organic Tri Bean Blend (rinse the Tri Beans in a colander first; they will be slightly smelly).

Next, dump in a bad of soy beef crumbles (I use the Publix store brand, because they contain no dairy).

Add a can of Green Giant Mexicorn (drain the excess liquid before adding).

Add the cooked brown rice. (I like to mix the brown rice and the soy crumbles together to make it more even.)

Season liberally with Ortega taco spice blend (they sell it in an actual spice bottle).

Pour in around a cup or more of Southwestern black bean and corn salsa.

 Sprinkle the top with shredded mozzarella cheese if desired.

Can be frozen, or cooked right then. If the soy meat is still frozen, I like to cook it at around 400 degrees (F), for maybe 40 minutes. Really, all that needs to happen is the soy meat needs to be cooked to the point that it's not frozen, and the cheese has to melt. (Sometimes, if my husband isn't home or ready to eat at that point, I just leave it in the oven with the oven turned to WARM, it's lowest setting. That way, the food stays hot but doesn't burn.)

I've considered adding a can of diced green chili peppers, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.
SUPER, super easy!