A good feeling of bad feelings with canned meat

It's been...how long, three months that I've lived here in Georgia. And three months that was estimated until I started missing home. Well Uncle John, you were right. I'm definitely not homesick, but I miss a few things here and there. First being my little brother. Now that I'm not around, it seems he is growing up faster than I can count to seven. I miss a lot of his goofy mannerisms. Another would be my two friends, ha. This is sad, moving on. Lastly, it would probably the convenience of having every type of business. Especially fast food restaurants. I miss taco shop and souplantation. Today after work, Man Friend mentioned he wanted Taco Bell for dinner. I didn't really approve of this because I actually wanted to make some healthy sandwiches, but I was also really tired from having to put in extra work because of a certain manager closing with me. Eventually, I gave in, drove over to Tbell and good lord. There were about 8 cars waiting in line in the middle of the night. I instantly turned around and said hell no. We ended up ordering a pizza and making a delicious salad, but the point here, is convenience. Only one Tbell here in town. Back home, maybe around 5 Tbells. I miss having better access/availability/convenience. You name it.

 I don't approve of eating meat from a can. But I've been doing a good job with keeping pace on my filipino cravings. At some point, I knew I eventually HAD to make this. I remember having to ask my mother to make this dish every other week or so. Some people like to eat it on the side, some like it on top, and some like it mixed with rice. I like it mixed. Man Friend liked it on top of a steamy bed of rice. I honestly think he liked it as much as he did only because I added a few teaspoons of sambal. He likes things spicy. This dish -- originally unspicy. Not a lot of filipino dishes are spicy. Lots of savory, less on the spicy. I usually have to eat everything with a salad. Everything. Especially adobo. I can't explain it. But I can explain the banana in the picture. When I was a lot younger, still being fed by my mom younger, there was always chunks of banana on the spoon. I now understand the point of that was to encourage easier feeding by adding in the mild, healthy sweetness. It worked very well. This makes about...I want to say 6-7 servings, maybe more. We definitely have a day or two of leftovers from this recipe.

Filipino Corned Beef
adapted from All Recipes

1 12oz can of corned beef
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 large potato, cubed
1 tbsp cooking oil
salt and pepper to taste
3 tsp sambal oelek (optional)

Heat cooking oil in a pot over medium heat. Saute garlic and onions. Add tomatoes and potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are about half way done. Bump the heat up a little and add the corned beef. You'll have to simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring here and there. Throw in some salt and pepper, sambal if you decide on that too. Serve with warm rice and enjoy!