Fancy Ramen

March 8, 2016 2 Comments

I love to cook, but am often working with a tight budget. Ramen is about as cheap as a meal comes, but who wants to eat that? I tried a few recipes on Pinterest to “fluff” the ramen, but all of them fell flat. So I decided to try my own recipe, which is chock-full of veggies and a current family favorite. It’s cheap, easy and soooo delicious! My teens AND my hubby love it – we call it, Fancy Ramen.

Pictured above are the kid-friendly chop sticks my friend gave to me, but sadly, I can’t even work those. Where’s my fork?

There are probably a thousand different ways that you could make this, but this is our favorite recipe.

Saute a 1/2 pound of shelled and deveined shrimp in a tablespoon of butter, in a non-stick stir -fry pan, or any saute pan. Remove from pan once cooked through, about 3-4 minutes. Crack 3 eggs right into your pan, and scramble them up until cooked through, then remove from pan. Please note that if your budget is running really tight, you can omit the shrimp, or add another meat. Eggs are always great way to economically add protein to this dish.

Pick a stir-fry kit from your local grocery store, in whatever flavor you like. This is your no-fail step for success because all of the veggies and sauce for your recipe are in one bag! Also grab a bag of shredded cabbage for this dish.

Throw half of the bag of cabbage and the whole bag of veggies (set the seasoning sauce aside) into your stir-fry skillet tat has been coated with a bit of olive oil.

While your veggies cook, boil two packages of ramen noodles, in any flavor. Trow away the seasoning packets, you won’t need them. You can also buy plain ramen from specialty stores if you desire.

After the veggies have cooked down to your desired tenderness (we like ours a bit crunchy), add in the other ingredients.

The cooked noodles.

The scrambled eggs and cooked shrimp. Also add in sliced green onions, and toss with the sauce packet.

Serve and enjoy! This dish really couldn’t be easier, and if you have a veggie-lovin’ family like I do, then your Fancy Ramen is sure to be a hit! And don’t be afraid to try your own variation – different meats, no meat, a different variety of veggies, or even your own home made sauce. There really are so many possibilities if your feeling adventurous!

Peace & Love,

Carrie

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Fancy Ramen

Ingredients

1 T Butter
8 oz. Shrimp, peeled & deveined
3 eggs
1 T olive oil
1 package of Stir-fry vegetables with sauce
1/2 package of shredded cabbage
2 packages ramen, any flavor (discard flavor packets)
3 green onions, thinly sliced

Instructions

Melt the butter in a stir-fry skillet, over medium-high heat.
Cook the shrimp until pink, 3-4 minutes; remove from pan.
Crack the 3 eggs right into the pan and scramble until fully cooked; remove from pan.
In a separate pot, bring enough water to cover the noodles to a boil; add in the ramen and cook till tender, draining the water when finished.
Add the olive oil to the pan and let it heat up.
Add the veggies and cabbage to the heated olive oil and let them cook down to desired softness, stirring occasionally.Remove from heat.
Add the noodles, cooked shrimp, cooked egg, sauce packet from kit and the sliced green onions to the veggies and toss until well blended,
Serve & enjoy!

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Sweet Onion Chicken Thighs

June 24, 2015 No Comments

I know you all have been chomping at the bit to find out what my next recipe was going to be, and I promise these Sweet Onion Chicken Thighs are worth the wait! I’ve been so busy with our house remodel the last couple of weeks (more on that later), that I’ve been slacking on cooking at all. I was pretty happy to get back into the kitchen this week, and even happier with how this throw-together dish turned out! My family said it was blog-worthy, so here ya’ go.

I often buy chicken thighs because of the price, and because of the fact that I love dark meat. Period. It’s moist and delicious and it’s skin crisps up real, real nice. If this isn’t for you, or you prefer the leaner part of the chicken, then feel free to try this with chicken breasts. I’m guessing that the cook time will be about half an hour longer, so keep that in mind when getting started.

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Then place your chicken in a 9×13 baking dish. Mix together the following in a small bowl:

1 cup of orange juice
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
1 tablespoon of honey (I accidentally wrote “homey” the first time. I wanted to leave it because it made me laugh. :))
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of hoisin sauce

Sprinkle 1 package of dry onion soup mix over the chicken.

Pour the orange juice mixture evenly into the baking pan. Bake for 1 hour, or until cooked all the way through and the skin is crispy.

I served this with an Asian salad and some green beans. Super easy, super delicious! Hope your family enjoys it too.

Peace & Love

Carrie

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Sweet Onion Chicken Thighs

Ingredients

8 Chicken thighs
1 Package dry onion soup mix
1 Cup orange juice
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon hoisin sauce

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place the chicken in a 9x13 baker.
Mix together the orange juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, minced garlic and hoisin sauce.
Sprinkle the dry soup mix over the chicken.
Pour the orange juice mixture evenly into the baker.
Bake for 1 hour.

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Leftover Fried Rice

May 27, 2015 2 Comments

Last week I made some delicious Dr. Pepper Pork Chops that I found on Pinterest. This week, I made fried rice using the leftovers. Really you could use any kind of meat you want (hence, the title Leftover Fried Rice), but I will tell you the sweetness of the Dr. Pepper Pork Chop was quite delightful in this recipe.

Before you begin, make sure that you have already cooked 2 cups of white rice (4 cups after being cooked). You can even keep it in the refrigerator for a few days before you are ready to use it.

Start by melting 2 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add in 1 small onion that has been diced.

Cook the onions until they are translucent (about 5 minutes) and then add in a tablespoon of garlic. Cook for another minute or so, and then add in a 16 oz. bag of frozen vegetables. You can use any combination that you like, or even throw in some fresh if you prefer. Cover and let the vegetables heat through, stirring occasionally.

Once heated through, remove the onion, garlic and vegetable mixture from the skillet to a plate or a bowl; set aside.

Crack 2 eggs into the skillet and scramble until cooked through. Add in 2 cups of the meat of your choice. Don’t get hung up on exact measurements here, you can use as little or as much meat as you want, or even none at all. The name of the game is just using up what you already have. Cover the egg and meat mixture and let it heat all the way through.

Now, add the rice, vegetable mixture, 1/2 cup of soy sauce and a 1/4 teaspoon of sesame oil to the skillet with the meat and eggs. Stir until thoroughly mixed. Cover the skillet, and let the rice cook for a few minutes on one side. Flip the rice over and let the other side cook for a few minutes. It should be a caramel color, but don’t let it get crunchy or burnt.

Serve by itself or with some eggrolls. Add extra soy sauce as your taste buds desire.

Peace and Love,

Carrie

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Leftover Fried Rice

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion - diced
1 tablespoons minced garlic
16 oz. bag frozen veggies
4 cups cooked rice
2 eggs
2 cups of meat - diced (optional)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

Instructions

Prior to starting this recipe, make sure your rice is fully cooked. You can even keep it in the refrigerator for a few days until you're ready for it.
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in in a skillet over medium heat.
Add diced onions to the skillet and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes), and add in the garlic.
After a couple of minutes, add the frozen vegetables to the pan and cover. Stir often until heated through.
Remove the onion, garlic and vegetable mixture from the pan, to a bowl or plate and set aside.
Crack the 2 eggs into the pan and scramble until cooked through.
Add the 2 cups of meat to the skillet with the egg and cover, letting the meat heat through.
Once the meat is hot, add the rice, vegetable mixture, soy sauce and sesame oil to the skillet, stirring until well mixed.
Let the rice cook for a few minutes on one side, and then turn it over. Do not let the rice get burned - it should be a nice caramel color.
Serve the fried rice with additional soy sauce to taste.

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