Ultimate Quick Ramen

Ultimate Quick Ramen

3 qt. stock pot

Ramen noodles

Add 1/8 c better than bouillon (chicken)
1/8 c miso paste
1 T ginger
1 T Gochujang
1 tsp worcestershire
1 T Hoisin sauce

diced green onions - whites and green parts

mint

cilantro

Pot stickers

Fried egg

Fill stock pot 3/4 of the way with water. Add bouillon, miso, ginger, gochujang, Worcestershire and hoisin. Bring to a boil. Whisk ingredients to make sure they are all incorporated. Add Ramen noodles and cook per package directions (3 minutes). 

Add additional toppings. Tonight we had potstickers, fried eggs, green onions, mint and cilantro. 

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Game nights are back - only we're on over drive!! M has practice 3 x a week after school as well as 2 games a week. I and P both practice twice a week with games usually on Saturday. J is in his Senior year with all that entails - as well as swim team and working - so we're lucky to sit down together around 8pm - or eat as we can. 

Eating around our dinner table has always been very important to me but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do!

I've tried a few different recipes for 'sweet and sour' dinners without a winner - but this one is a keeper!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Frozen meatballs (as many as you need)
1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks with juice
¾ cup water
¼ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Seperately:
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Serve over rice (my fave new find is the Uncle Bens or Golden Star Jasmine rice that come in 90 sec. microwave packets.)

Add all components together EXCEPT meatballs and the cornstarch/water slurry.

Heat up the sweet and sour liquid. With an immersion blender - blend until smooth(ish) THEN add the slurry. Stir until combined and then add the meatballs.

Depending on your schedule - cook on low for a couple hours - or high for a couple. With my schedule tonight, I put it on high for a bit (anticipating hungry teenage boy packing his dinner) and then flipped it to low for the rest of the family that would be eating later this evening. 

Soup's On!!!

This is something I've done every fall & winter for many years - but as with the breakfast burritos - friends are asking me to publish what I do. These are actual recipes - that I'll link in - but you can use it for many different meals - not just soup.

This came about a few years ago when the older our kids got - the more running around I was doing and the temptation of the drive through was real. Not saying the drive through isn't a life saver - but with a little planning you can give your family more nutritious meals - and stop spending money on fast food - so you can spend money on a pedicure without feeling guilty!! LOL

I've waxed philosophical about my love of soup plenty of times on this blog - so I'll skip it. The only thing I will say is that making a huge pot of soup is CHEAP. It also is generally nutritious. My soups almost always include some form of protein and lots of veggies. I much rather having my kids heating up home made soup as an after school snack, a small pre-practice dinner - or after practice snack - than any alternative (something portable from a box in a bag).

I take one day during the week to buy everything I need for the soups I want to make. I always check what I already have on hand and usually work around those ingredients.

I take another day to make the soups. In this particular instance, my shopping trip and my "cook" day were about 1 1/2 weeks apart - life is busy YO!

It took me about 5 hours to get these soups going from start to finish. Keep in mind - with soups - most of that time is totally hands off - just letting all the ingredients marry - and while that is happening - I'm doing several other different things I've got on my "do it" list - also keep in mind that I ran a few errands and had a full house of people I was engaging with.

Today I asked my 6 yo if she thought she could make one of the soups all by herself. She's used to helping in the kitchen but she was so excited to make a meal all by herself. White Bean Chicken Chili.  The pic you see is of my now 13 & 10 yo girls...

I also recruited my 15 yo to open all the cans I needed opened and to brown the sausage and ground beef for the chili he, his dad, grandpa and Uncle will enjoy on the upcoming hunt. Running Ute Tailgate Chili 
http://breakingthereciperut.blogspot.com/search?q=runnin+ute

My 13 yo spent the day with cousins, but as soon as she walked in the door to see what was going on she asked if she could make her fave soup as well. Tomato Basil Soup the link goes to a deluxe version - which is the only one I can currently find on the blog - but usually we omit the pesto and sundried tomatoes bc we don't have them on hand as often.

I also TOTALLY revamped my Chicken Noodle Soup recipe  AND I took my first stab at Zuppa Toscano.

I separate the soups into 16 oz Tupperware containers for quick snacks/dinners OR bigger containers for a meal for 2 OR one large container when I know we'll be eating it together as a family. A few of the containers go into the fridge - most go into the freezer.

Cheater Pho

This is one of my go to week night meals. With all the different sports and extracurriculars we have going on during the week, I try really hard for everyone of us to have a hot meal - this soup is perfect for just that.

I've made this several times with many different proteins and then let everyone decide what garnishes to add. This recipe serves a family of 6. My soup pot is a 6.5 Quart cast iron pot - so if you aren't feeding as many people as I am cut the recipe in half - unlike most soups - it just doesn't keep overnight - or at least - I've never tried... 

Cheater Pho
16 oz Rice Noodles (I used 3 packs of ramen on this day - just the noodles - not the flavor packet)
96 oz chicken stock (3 boxes)
4 - 5 Tbsp minced garlic
2 - 3 Tbsp minced ginger
3 Tbsp minced shallot (find all 3 of these next to each other in the produce area)
Salt and Pepper to taste
15 oz can Bean Sprouts
3 - 4 Tbsp Hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp fish sauce (I omit bc of a food allergy)

Protein options:
Costco rotisserie chicken in the vacuum sealed pack - this is a SERIOUS time saver for SO MANY MEALS!
Shrimp
Ling Ling chicken and vegetable pot stickers OR Bigio pot stickers
OR you can just add frozen stir fry veg if you are keeping it meatless

Garnishes:
Green onions
Cilantro
Mint
Jalapeno thinly sliced
Limes

Put a couple of Tbsp of olive oil in the bottom of a large soup pot. Add garlic, ginger and minced shallot and cook until fragrant - 3 -5 minutes. Add chicken stock, salt and pepper, Hoisin sauce and fish sauce.

Let it come to a boil and then turn down to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Add noodles and cook as long as the package says. If you are adding frozen stir fry veg - add them now. When the noodles are cooked - now it's time to add your protein. If you are using rotisserie chicken - add now just so it can heat through. If you are adding pot stickers - use the microwave method suggested and then add them to heat through. If you are using shrimp - add very last - they take no time to cook. They are done when they are pink.

My foodie girl and I add all the garnishes - so good. My picky eaters try something new every time to figure out what they really like.

There really isn't anything that compares to authentic Pho - but this is a quick substitute. AND it's something different to add to your recipe rut :)