Simple, Cheap, Delicious, Peanut Ramen Noodle Salad

So this is going to be a super simple one.  I am going to tell you the veggies that I use, but please feel free to clean out your fridge and use all the weird little ends of any veggies in the bottom of your crisper.  You can also use whatever brand of oriental/ vegetarian ramen you want.  This dish takes about 15 minutes to make from start to finish and is DELICIOUS and super healthy!  Ready go!

Things you will need:

·         1 Pack of Vegan Oriental Ramen Noodles

o   Top Ramen is vegan and only costs about 20 cents per pack so I highly recommend it.

 

·         1 large Carrot (Sliced very thin)

o  
If you have a mandolin (not the musical instrument it won’t work well) get it out and use it for the carrots, broccoli stalk, and the onion.

·         1 Broccoli Stalk (Sliced Thin) – this seems weird but gives great crunch and is a GREAT veggie use up.  There are lots of vitamins and minerals in the stalk!

o   If you have any broccoli florets go ahead and dice them small and add them as well.

·         ½ small sweet onion (Sliced Thin)

·         2 stalks of Celery Heart diced

·         2 cups of sliced red cabbage

·         ½ of a yellow, red, or green bell pepper julienned

·                                                                                                                             1 green onion (both green and white parts) slice thing and on an angle (just it is pretty)

  ½ cup of sliced, raw, unsalted almonds (if you don’t have almonds used whatever kind of nuts you have in the house, cashews and peanuts would both work well in this recipe)

·           

      2 tablespoons of Bragg’s Amino Acids (if you don’t have brags 1 table spoon of soy sauce will do)

·         3 tablespoons of crunch or smooth peanut butter

·         1 teaspoon roasted seasame oil

·         2 teaspoons of fresh grated ginger (if you are using dried only use 1 teaspoon)

·         2 teaspoons of garlic powder

·         3 tablespoons of agave nector (if you are not vegan and have honey in your house feel free to use honey instead)

It’s Cookin’ Time:

Start by crunching up the Ramen while it is still in the package while you bring 3 cups of water to a boil.  Add the seasoning packet to the water while you are waiting.  Add all of your sliced, diced, and chopped veggies (except for the green onions) to a large mixing bowl.

After the seasoned water is up to a boil add the Ramen for 3 minutes, and then strain the seasoned water off.  SAVE the seasoned water. Set the noodles aside to cool.

In a smaller bowl add the peanut butter, garlic powder, agave, ginger, and sesame oil to 1 cup of the seasoned cooking water.  The warmth from the water will melt the peanut butter and allow you to mix it together easily.  Pour the peanut butter mixture over your veggies and mix together.  Let the peanut veggies sit for a couple of minutes to let the veggies take in some of the flavor.

Mix in the Ramen noodles.  Be careful to not over mix and break up the noodles or make them mushy. Lastly mix in the Almonds and top with the green onions.

If you use left-over veggies for this it will only cost you about 1 dollar for 3-4 servings.  This meal is not only cheap and easy, but it also healthy AND DELICIOUS.

This is a GREAT salad to take to picnics because it will keep at any temperature for hours and only get better as it sits.

To really impress fancy guests buy rice paper wrappers and roll this mixture up to make an AWESOME summer roll!

ENJOY!