HOLY JEEZ, IT'S FINALLY TWIRLING TOWARDS FREEDOM'S (x3) RAMEN WEEK!!!!!

RAMEN WEEK! RAMEN WEEK! RAMEN WEEK!

THIS. IS. RAMEN WEEK. Ramen week is going to be five to seven days (depending on laziness of author) of recipes involving everyone's favorite cheap garbage food: instant noodles!

Ramen week has finally come to fruition, but it is an idea that was conceived 11 months ago by my pal Justin, first mentioned in this entry back in January, when my job at the time used to temporarily lay me off for weeks around the holidays, Sean was just starting his new job, and we pretty much had negative money. If you didn't click or TL;DR, here is an excerpt:

Secondly, you may have noticed a Paypal donation box on the left of the screen. Due to reasons beyond my control, I am almost totally broke! In an effort to save money, unfortunately this expensive hobby might have to be first to go. THE MAN is threatening to take away my very livelihood! Now, I'm not going to beg, but listen to this 100% true story (swear to God):

My friend Justin donated ten dollars last night through Paypal, to help me out and to hopefully fund an upcoming "Twirling Towards Freedom's Ramen Week" (course, now I have to hold a Ramen Week! See? This is what happens when you sell out - controlled content! :P). Anyway, apparently this nice gesture granted him super super karma, as today he got a super super raise at work. Apparently it pays to help me out! :D

So, essentially, I'm pretty much the worst friend ever because I sure didn't use those ten dollars towards Ramen Week, though I was probably eating ramen every day that week. Coupled with the fact that I've lost several bets over the year in which the payoff was "finally do Ramen Week", and he and the woman took me to Medieval Times for my B-Day, and I feel that the statute of limitations for "not be a shitty friend" is probably a year, HERE IS RAMEN WEEK. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

So, I decided to use ramen in five different ways, and the dishes will range from completely-bogus to total-copout. Considering the main idea was to show things you can do with ramen, I tried to make the stuff relatively cheap and low on ingredients, but still awesome and delicious, WITHOUT the use of the blood-congealing MSG packet!

So without further adieu, I present the first entry: Mushroom Ramen Stroganoff!



Here are the ingredients. In case you can't tell, I like to shop at Giant.

Olive oil
1 pint of sliced mushrooms
1 onion, chopped
2 packs of instant noodles
1 T. of flour
1 t. of Dijon mustard
2 bouillon cubes or equivalent (I used beef.)
Water (not pictured!)
1/2 Cup of sour cream
Salt + Pepper

I have to say, one advantage to using ramen in place of noodles is the time saving factor! I started boiling my water for the noodles before anything else, but you could start at any time since the process is so quick!

First, over high, heat enough oil for your mushrooms and onion (I don't measure, so you're on your own!), and add them when the oil is ready. Saute about five minutes.

Add the flour and cook for one minute. Add the mustard and bouillon cubes AND 1.5-2 cups of water. I used 2 cups, and I had a lot of moderately thin sauce, so if you'd rather have thicker sauce, I would say use 1 or 1.5 cups. Basically it's up to you; you can always add more water, you can't really take it away. Simmer for 5 to 8 minutes. Don't forget the noodles, because now would be a good time to make them!

Finally, add the sour cream, salt, and pepper, and simmer for a minute or so until the sauce is proper. Serve over ramen!


Finished product. Serves 2 starving jackals - the portions are as big as you see here.
Recipe adapted from The Healthy Calendar!