Ramen noodles

[plgrn]

Love 'em or hate 'em you gotta admit they are extremely cheap! What are some creative and cheap ways to prepare them besides the usual? Looking forward to some unique ideas.

 

[Todd&Copper]

I haven't touched them since I graduated college, and then I usually just made them as directed. You can probably prepare the noodles, slice leftover chicken or pork and veggies, and stir fry everything in sesame oil for a quick lo mein?

 

[Katie]

my kids love them.
Eat them for afterschool snacks!

Even I eat them some days :

 

[gigi1313]

they're a fave here in our house... although i rarely use the entire pack of seasoning, that's where all the "bad" stuff is (fat, sodium, etc)

the way i enjoy them most is to crunch 'em up w/in the package... melt a little butter in a saucepan and dump the noodles and most of the seasoning packet in... brown them in the butter for about 10 minutes and serve them over salad... YUMMY!

 

[mickeyfan2]

We make the noodles but discard the salt packet. We add meat and mixed veggies and some seasoning.

 

[lyzziesmom]

We make them sort of as directed... except I drain them after cooking, and then add the seasoning and serve them as a side dish. My DD2.5 is very into soup right now, and I plan to try crunching them up to make them smaller, and then making as directed and adding some meat (I used canned chicken or pre-cooked chicken strips cut up) & veggies to beef it up a little.

 

[jendon1997]

I like the nut salad (spinach and cole slaw mix) with the ramen noodles crushed as a topping. This is a cheap salad topping. YUMMY SALAD!!

My DD 2 loves the beef noodles. SO FATTENING THOUGH!!

 

[tadamom]

My 2 year old DD loves for me to put shredded cheese over hers. I also keep leftover chicken breast and put in with it when I eat them. Sometimes I can't stand to look at them but for .25 cents - I'll get over it!!

 

[plgrn]

I like the nut salad (spinach and cole slaw mix) with the ramen noodles crushed as a topping. This is a cheap salad topping. YUMMY SALAD!!

My DD 2 loves the beef noodles. SO FATTENING THOUGH!!

That salad sounds delish! Yes, I'm with your daughter...just had 2 packs for lunch. I drained them though and only used half a seasoning pack!

 

[got2travel]

They make great stir fry noodles. I drain the water after cooking but leave about 1/4 cup then add the seasoning. Then add whatever vegetable/meat combination I'm in the mood for. Beef & Brocoli, Chicken & Snow Peas, Shrimp & Carrots, etc

I also have done a Ramen Stroganoff

1 Package Beef Flavored Ramen
2 Tablespoons Sour Cream
1 or 2 Tablespoons Flour for Thickening
3 oz of beef
1 1/2 Tablespoons Margarine

In a small saucepan cook the beef with one half tablespoon of margarine until no longer pink. Add 1/2 cup of water to the pan and the beef seasoning packet. Cook for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the noodles, drain well, and stir in 1 tablespoon of margarine. Add the sour cream to the beef mixture and thicken with flour. Serve sauce over the noodles.
Serves 1


Just a side note, I saw earlier this week that the creator of Top Ramen just died last week.

 

[Natalie77]

I am not exactly sure what she did, but a friend of mine use to make ramen and then add an egg to it. It was sort of like egg drop soup. I thought if I posted this then someone else might have done this before and remember how to exactly.

 

[got2travel]

Forgot about Cabbage Crunch.

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Flavor packet from ramen noodles
1/2 head of cabbage, shredded
4 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 package ramen noodles, broken and uncooked
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
4 oz cooked chicken breast, chopped

Combine vegetable oil, sugar, vinegar, salt and flavoring from ramen noodles.
Pour over shredded cabbage.
Add green onions, sesame seeds and chicken
Toss together. Just before serving, add ramen noodles, almonds

 

[Philadisney]

oh man, i love ramen. I'll ususally got through a few weeks where I eat it for lunch all the time, then I don't want to touch it for about four months. I'm boring though, I always make it as directed, although I'm another one who only includes half the seasoning packet. Sometimes I do throw some frozen peas into the soup, yum.
Did you know the inventor of ramen noodles died just last week?

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Those things are so bad for you!! I admit, they are tasty though.

 

[cvrapclark]

I use these in just a green salad and they are great!!! Just crunch them up and place in salad with mandarin oranges and such. It needs to sit for just a little while in frig to soften them up.

 

[tyboyz]

its not the noodles that are so bad is it?? isn't it really the seasoning??

when i make them for my daughter i put half the seasoning packet and then i drain them again.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

No, I think that the noodles are really bad for you too. I heard that they're deep fried before they're dried out and packaged or something to that effect

ETA - Yep, they're fried...here's a link that explains them:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_noodle

 

[mommiepoppins]

I have never eaten them however I do have a cheep meal ida
drain the noodles of all water
use ground turkey from aldi 79cents- cook it
add the noodles to the ground beef add buter and the season packet.. my dh loves it and so dose the kids and cheep!!!!

 

[java]

Oh when we want to sodium up... we cook several packs drain the water add the spice pack and then add sauted chicken and broccoli to it*just cooked in butter and garlic with some oyster sauce*for added sodium... It is so yummy .but I need to drink about a gallon of water after and my bp shoot up... so eat at own risk...

 

[2angelsinheaven]

From that article posted above:

"Ramen and similar products are often criticized as being unhealthy or junk food. A single serving of instant noodles is high in carbohydrates but low in fiber, vitamins and minerals. Noodles are typically fried as part of the manufacturing process, resulting in high levels of saturated fat and/or trans fat. Additionally, the broth contains the controversial ingredient monosodium glutamate (MSG) as well as a high amount of sodium, usually in excess of 60% of the U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowance.

While many processed convenience foods leave much to be desired nutritionally, the particular concern over ramen is a response to its use as a dietary staple for many Americans. College students in particular consume large amounts of instant noodles; the wide availability, very low cost (often below 25¢; cost was 10¢-12¢ at Wal-Mart stores on November 18, 2006), ease and speed of preparation, and portability of the product make it appealing to young adults with little money and time to spare. A popular college urban legend states that a student gave himself scurvy by living on nothing but ramen for an entire year.

The most recent controversy surrounds dioxin and other hormone-like substances that could theoretically be extracted from the packaging and glues used to pack the instant noodles. As hot water is added, it was reasoned that harmful substances could seep into the soup. After a series of studies were conducted, this concern was found to be baseless."

However bad for me they are they are still yummy and cheap. I especially like the Creamy Chicken kind, yum!