Date Night: Umaido- Ramen Restaurant

There are lots of things that make me happy; My kids, husband, pets, wine, cheese, summer, flip flops, lounge chairs, King of Pops Popsicles, – well, the list can go on, really… I am a pretty easy girl to please. One of things on my happy list that always makes me giddy is a good bowl of noodles.

I am aware that there are many types of noodles out there. I am not biased. I nominate all nationalities of noodles for my number one! But there is one noodle who has gotten a bad rap in the past, but has emerged victorious the last few years. Ramen. Ramen makes me happy!

I have lots of awesome memories of eating Ramen from when I stayed at my grandparents house all the way to my vegan college days. Not even the “good” kind of Ramen, like I’m about to show you. It was never really those freeze dried noodles that were the problem. It was those dried “flavor” packets filled with MSG and who knows what else. Really, who knows? I never like to eat things I can never pronounce. Luckily for me, I can pronounce shrimp, squid, and scallops. Oh, and pork belly. Yeah, that is a good one… Well, at least I can pronounce them in English, not so sure about Japanese.
http://www.umaidos.com/

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p.s. Don’t be afraid of the shrimp…they are delicious and succulent jewels of the sea!

Veggie Noodle Bowl

Hey guys! Tonight was another girls’ might for me and my girls. E wanted cheese ravioli, R and K wanted spaghettios, and I wanted to try to clean out the fridge a bit and have something with lots of veggies. I decided to make a noodle soup with some leftover veggies and a pork chop left over from last night. This was pretty simple to throw together in one pot.

I started by chopping up my veggies and cooking them in a bit of olive oil for a few minutes. I used 4 cloves of garlic minced, a few sliced of ginger minced, 10 mushrooms sliced, 1/2 onion chopped, peppers chopped, and broccoli florets. Then I added a quart of beef broth (you could use chicken, veggie, or even water if you want.) Then I added my pasta. I had 1/4 of a container of fettichini noodles left over, so I threw them in the pot. Then I added about 1/2 bottle of white wine-enough to cover the rest of the noodles- a few shakes of sesame oil , teriyaki sauce, and soy sauce. Then I let it come to a boil and cook until the pasta is done. Near the end, I added a few bunches of some spring mix lettuce. Once the pasta was finished and the lettuce was wilted, I added my leftover pork which I sliced up and dropped in the hot broth to warm it through. It was so good! You could use any veggies you have leftover in the fridge, any leftover meat, or even shrimp would be fantastic in this. This is a great meal that you can throw together quickly on a busy weeknight.

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Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry

Good evening! We have not had this is so long! We used to make this all the time back when I was a vegan. I would make tofu and veggies in one pan, and my husband would make chicken and veggies in another pan. I still love tofu, but I haven’t yet introduced this one to the girls. They love all things protein, so I may have to try it one night. Anyways, this is super easy. You need these ingredients…

Cut your chicken into cubes and marinate it in equal parts of these and grate in some ginger…
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Slice/slice up your onion, peppers, more ginger,
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The next part is all dependent on how you like you veggies cooked.
In a wok, heat up some sesame and vegetable oil and put in onions, broccoli, and sliced peppers. Cook for a few minutes. Then add your cubed chicken and mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes. Then I add bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. Then cook for a few minutes. Lastly, add your snap peas and baby corn until warmed through. Add to cooked sushi rice and enjoy! 001

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Chinese Take Out

Crazy week!
Sat.-Monday were my only cooking nights. Tuesday I had a meeting in the evening. I had my leftover oxtail from Date night. Sadly, no mojitos.
https://funfoodiefamily.com/2013/08/17/oxtail-and-mojitos/
Wednesday was gymnastics, another meeting, so we had leftover baked ziti from the freezer.
https://funfoodiefamily.com/2013/07/27/baked-ziti/
Tonight, my husband has a very late night, so the girls and I took a vote and decided on Chinese. Chinese take-out that is; egg drop soup, egg roll, crab Rangoons, shrimp and broccoli, and chicken lo mein. This is what was left over from a ton of food. LEFTOVERS!!! 019