What's Cooking? Ramen noodles

Instant ramen noodles are a grocery store choice many families make to supplement a low-cost meal. While the popular way to cook ramen is to add boiling water or nuke them in the microwave, there are other ways, more nutritious, to eat them.

Here are some recipes for ramen, chow mein, and other noodles, including:

Broccoli Slaw

12 ounces of broccoli slaw 1 T. oil

2/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds 1/4 c. toasted sesame oil

6 ounces of ramen noodles 1/4 c. honey

6 green onions 1T. fresh lime juice

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar salt and pepper, to taste

Place slaw in a bowl. Crush noodles into pieces and place them in slaw bowl with the sunflower seeds.

Mix oil, vinegar sesame oil, honey and lime juice in a blender or a bowl with a big pinch of salt and pepper.

Blend or whisk together until smooth and combined. Pour half the dressing over the slaw and toss well.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. Serve the extra dressing for drizzling.

Quick Chow Mein

1 lb spaghetti, broken in half

1 chicken breast, cut in strips

Sauce

1/4 c. sweet and sour sauce

1/4 c. stir fry sauce

1/4 sweet chili sauce

1/2 tsp Siracha sauce

Cook pasta according to box directions. In a large skillet saute the chicken in 3 T. of oil until done. Add 3-4 Tbsp of oil, to the cooked and drained pasta, and add all the sauce ingredients. Toss to coat and stir fry for 1-2 minutes over high heat.

Parmesan Garlic Ramen

3 Tbsp butter

2 cloves of garlic

1 c. shredded Parmesan

3 packets of ramen noodles, discard seasoning packets

2 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley, optional

Boil noodles according to package directions. Save 1 cup of the cooking water to loosen sauce later, if needed. Drain noodles and toss with oil so they don’t stick. Melt butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add noodles and toss with butter. Stir in Parmesan. Pour in about 1/2 c. reserved noodle water to create a sauce. Gradually stir in more water if the sauce is too thick.

Garnish with parsley

Easy Chicken Salad

Salad

1 rotisserie chicken, meat removed and shredded

1/2 medium head of cabbage, chopped

4 green onions, sliced

1 (3 ounce) package of ramen noodles

3 T. sesame seeds

3 T. slivered almonds

Sauce

1/2 cup oil

3 T. apple cider vinegar

2 T white sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Toss chicken, cabbage, onion, noodles, sesame seeds and almonds together in a large bowl. Beat olive oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper

together in a small bowl. Pour sauce over salad and toss to coat.

Chocolate Chow Mein Clusters

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

1/2 chow mein noodles

1/2 cup salted peanuts

In a microwave, melt chocolate and butterscotch chips, stir until smooth. Stir in chow mein noodles and peanuts until well coated.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto wax or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

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Annunciation’s St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry provides a grocery store-like setting to shop for food for those needing assistance in the area, including dairy, various proteins, fresh vegetables, fruit, and canned and boxed goods. (Located across the street from the Annunciation Church, on Alabama Street in Brazil.)

What good is the assistance if you don’t know what to cook with the groceries provided? Volunteers at the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry want to provide recipes to help people utilize their groceries.

People in need of assistance – either with food or to check on bill assistance available - call 812-531-3637 or stop by the next food pantry event held each Tuesday.

Tax-deductible donations can be sent to Annunciation Church, 19 North Alabama Street, Brazil, 47834.