UNCOMMON RAMEN STIR-FRY

RECIPES THAT WOULD MAKE YOUR MOTHER PROUD OF YOU BECAUSE YOU’RE GOING THE EXTRA MILE AND STARTING FROM SCRATCH

Everyone knows about Ramen soup, the staple for starving students and anyone who wants a quick lunch without much fuss and even less nutrition, but if you do it right, you can turn Ramen into a delicious meal that is not only inexpensive (okay then, cheap) but packed with lots of nutritious veggies and very light on the meat, just enough for some protein. It's something you can do when you don't have a lot of time but you still want to put something together that's more than just a bowl of soup that will satisfy a hungry eater and make you look like you're doing something exceptionally marvelous when all it is is a few packages of Ramen with a few other things thrown in. There is a trick to serving Ramen as a meal and having it come across as more than what it is--a quick way to put something on the table without spending an arm and a leg or slaving on it for hours and hours. One is to make sure you set the table with nice dishes and cloth napkins and the second is to serve it in a nice serving dish, and not just dish it up on the plates straight out of the pan. This gives the impression that you have something really special coming up, which of course you do, but it's not quite on the level of Chicken Cordon Bleu. Be that as it may, it's good and it's hot and it's fun and easy to make and it would make your Mom proud that you're doing something more than just making a pot of Ramen soup, so here's how you do it:

1 T. grated fresh ginger

1 C. chopped cooked meat (can be ham, chicken, beef or whatever you might have on hand but it needs to be pre-cooked)

1 small onion

1 small bell pepper, any color

1 small zucchini

1 C. matchstick carrots

1 C. mushrooms

2 C. broccoli florettes

4 stalks celery

2 T. EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

2 packages Ramen soup, crumbled into small pieces

2 C. water

2 packets of seasoning from the soup

2 T. corn starch

1/2 C. low sodium soy sauce

1 C. sliced cashews

1. Cut off a piece of ginger, peel it and then grate it on the largest side of your cheese grater. Set aside. Don't skip the ginger as it is an important part of the recipe. It gives the stir-fry wonderful flavor that you won't get otherwise.

2. Chop all of the veggies in thin slices except the carrots that are already cut up for you.

3. Heat the oil until very hot in a large skillet. Add the veggies and ginger. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or paddle, until the onions are translucent.

4. Add the crumbled Ramen noodles and stir until they turn light brown.

5. Add the cooked meat. Keep stirring.

6 Combine the water, seasoning packets, corn starch and soy sauce in a large measuring cup. Add to the veggies. Stir well.

7. Cover the pan, lower the heat to medium low and steam until noodles are cooked. This takes about 5-7 minutes. Don't overcook or the noodles will become mushy.

8. Serve hot with cashews sprinkled over the top. Serves 2-3.