On A Budget? 5 Ways to Eat Ramen for Dinner

I always keep Oriental flavored Top Ramen around the house and/or the office. It's cheap, and it comes in handy on those days I forget to bring my lunch to work, or I just don't feel like cooking once I'm home. Below is an article I found w/5 recipes revolving around this 17 cent wonder. They aren't vegan-friendly, so I'll be adding suggestions after each one...

On A Budget? 5 Ways to Eat Ramen for Dinner

• by Babble.com, on Wed Jul 6, 2011 7:53am PDT

• 408 Comments
• Post a Comment
• Read More from This Author »
• Report Abuse

• Email
• Print

Times are tight, budgets are pinched. We had two dollars left in our food budget on Tuesday of last week, so I buzzed to the store and bought the only thing I could think of.  Ramen. At 17 cents a package, ramen has to be the best food deal out there. And, it’s a fun deal, too. Because a packet of ramen isn’t just soup waiting to be made. It’s actually a blank canvas ready to be turned into art. Here are 10 super-simple ways to pimp out your ramen and make it into a simple, satisfying dinner.

1. Veggie Ramen (pictured above) . Toss a tablespoon of butter into a skillet. Add 2 tablespoons each of thinly-sliced carrots, frozen green beans, frozen white corn, and edamame. Cook just until softened. Add a packet of Pork Ramen, 2 cups of water, and cook until the noodles are cooked through, about 6 minutes. Add seasoning packet. Serve and enjoy.

SUGGESTION: Add Oriental Ramen instead of Pork Ramen

2. Egg Foo Ramen. In a small bowl, whisk an egg with 1 tablespoon of water until well beaten. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour egg into the water, then add the noodles. Cook just until tender. Season with seasoning packet. Garnish with sliced green onions.

SUGGESTION: Use egg replacer instead of the egg

3. Chinese Chicken Salad. Shred 1/4 a head of cabbage, 1 breast of chicken, and 1/4 white onion. Add 1 package of crushed Chicken-flavored Ramen.  In a small bowl, whisk together the seasoning packet, 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 tablespoons of white vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Toss dressing into salad, serve and enjoy.

SUGGESTION: Use a vegan chicken breast, as well as Oriental Ramen

4. Ham Fried Ramen. A simple take on Fried Rice, cook a packet of Pork Ramen until the noodles are tender. Drain completely. In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and 1 tablespoon olive oil until sizzling. Add 1/4 cup diced ham and 1/4 cup of frozen peas & carrots to the oil. Immediately toss in the noodles. Crack an egg into the mixture and stir until well cooked and distributed around the noodle mixture. Season with soy sauce, garnish with a handful of diced green onions.

SUGGESTION: Use Oriental Ramen, vegan ham or sausage, and egg replacer.

5. Parmesan Ramen. Cook a packet of ramen noodles. Save the flavoring packet for another day. Once the noodles are cooked, drain the water from them completely. Top with a pat of butter, a bit of freshly-shredded parmesan, and some chopped parsley.

SUGGESTION: Use vegan parmesan cheese & vegan butter.

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/on-a-budget-5-ways-to-eat-ramen-for-dinner-2508159/