Jazz Up Your Ramen

My husband and I are avid watchers of Japanese anime and one of the things we always comment on is how good their ramen looks. So, we decided to see if we could make something similar based on what we had on hand.

We used:

1 pkg ramen noodles

2-3 slices lunch meat (your meat and noodles should be of the same flavor, i.e., roast beef meat and beef/roast beef flavored ramen)

chopped green onions

sliced mushrooms (we used baby portabella)

sliced carrots

2 cups boiling water

Place dry noodles in a bowl and top with remaining ingredients. Mix flavor packet into boiling water and then pour over noodles. Cover bowl with a plate for 3 minutes. Enjoy!

Salad Savoy

I participate in a food co-op called Bountiful Baskets. I really enjoy being able to get quality produce inexpensively and it's a great way to meet others in my neighborhood. Occasionally, we get an item we haven't had before and I have the exciting task of figuring out what it is and how we're supposed to eat it.

This last time we got Salad Savoy. I had never heard of this before and to be honest it looks like one of the pretty plate garnishes that you see at fancy restaurants, that are just for presentation.

Since I had never tasted it before and wasn't sure we'd like it, I didn't want to make it the main dish or even the main ingredient. So, I used just enough in a vegetable dish, that we could try it out, but so the dish wouldn't be ruined if we didn't like the flavor.

Here's what I used:

leaves from salad savoy
1 carrot julienned
1/3 head of cabbage shredded
1 diced bell pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 c. chicken broth

I combined them all in a large pan and then steamed them. I served them with chicken over brown rice.

Verdict: It was ok. My husband and I thought it was fine. My children picked out the salad savoy and ate the rest of the vegetables. The salad savoy has a strong, slightly bitter taste and is kinda tough, so I don't know that I would just use it in a salad unless I really wanted to chew. If I made this again I think I would use rice vinegar instead of the chicken broth. This isn't a vegetable I would choose to buy, but it was nice to try.

Tostadas

Last night I made tostadas. Mainly, because they're an inexpensive and fast way to feed my family when 1) I don't feel like cooking and 2) we won't all be eating at the same time.

If you want, you can make these a lot more complicated and longer to make by making your own refried beans and frying your own corn tortillas, but that defeats the whole "fast" part of it.

What you need:

corn tortillas (I buy mine already cooked)
1 can refried beans
shredded cheese
your choice of toppings (We like olives, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and salsa for ours.)

You can also add taco meat if you like.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread beans on corn tortilla and top with shredded cheese. Place in oven until cheese is melted (2-5 minutes). Top with desired toppings.

Spanish rice would make a nice side dish to this.