Ramen - Basic to Extra! ~ May

So we love our Ramen here, and that is probably an understatement. Having grown up with a Korean mom, we assumed that adding egg and extras to ramen was normal, but now as adults, we have learned most people don't do this. I recently talked to a friend and they asked how I could have ramen so much. When I said how it's always different with all the things I add, they were shocked and asked about all the things that I use so they would have ideas of what they could add.
   I thought it would be nice for us and for others if I made a list of fun things I have added and feel free to comment or add more! I'm always open to new ways to spice up my ramen!

Here is a super loaded ramen I made. I poached an egg over easy so it's runny on top. There are some fresh bean sprouts, pork dumplings, pan fried tofu and spam, and chopped up green onions. YUM!

You can cook most of this stuff right in with the broth or separate and add it in

Ideas!

eggs

shredded chicken

canned tuna

spam

bok choy

onions

bean sprouts

kimchi

cabbage

zucchini

tofu

dumplings/potstickers

mushrooms

pork

bulgogi
sriracha
seaweed

Tips: 

• May's Mister likes to add whatever leftover meat there is from the night before right into the ramen
• Cook your kimichi in the pan first for a little bit before adding water. It helps soften and bring out the flavor more. I like to brown it a bit too if I have the time.

spicy ramen with leftover steak and canned tuna topped with seaweed

leftover pork loin sliced with eggs and seaweed in beef broth ramen

Crockpot Turkey Corn Chowder

I am a big fan of turning leftovers into something new, and I'm glad I didn't pass up this opportunity to use some leftover turkey that I had. I wasn't sure entirely where this meal was heading when I started, but it definitely came together well. Super delicious!

I remembered looking at a recipe a while back that used turkey and it was a turkey corn chowder. I don't remember what was in the recipe, but I like to just make things up as I go when I cook so I think that gave me a good starting point.

I started with prepping the crockpot and sautéing the onions in some butter on the stove. I filled the crockpot with the turkey and all the bones...which mostly was the giant leg bones. I then copped up the celery and put it all in. We really like celery in our soups so I usually put quite a bit in. I wish we had some potatoes to add and I will try to add them next time I try this recipe. Or maybe some dumplings? Or egg noodles? I added a can of corn and some almond milk, because that's what I had in my fridge. I don't usually drink ink, so we don't have it on hand. I'm sure it would taste great with milk, or even some cream...YUM! I added vegetable broth, I was all out of chicken broth, but I think chicken broth might have the better flavor? Or even a combination of the two? Then, I let it all sit in the crockpot for 6 hours on Low.

   

Ingredients
-1/2 yellow onion, diced
- garlic powder
- celery chopped
- chicken broth - I used vegetable
- 8 oz can corn
- salt to taste
- ground pepper to taste
 - skim milk - I used almond milk
- 3 cups of turkey
- shredded cheddar
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- green onion as garnish

If you don't have left over Turkey meat like I did, I'm sure some chicken breasts would work great. Or even some ground turkey?

Note to self for next time ~ try to add a bit more cayenne pepper for a little more spice

Southwestern Alfredo

This was such a yummy experiment! I am definitely going to try this again.



I had some left over Roast Beef that was a little on the dry side in my opinion, so I decided to use to make dinner. I was originally thinking a casserole, but I had a box of linguine noodles tucked away that has been waiting to be eaten.

I started with sautéing half a diced yellow onion in some butter, then I added the chopped up roast beef. I cut it up into little strips. Next, I added some corn. I had half an 8 oz can of corn so I used that, and I seasoned it. I added quite a bit of cayenne pepper because I like a little kick in my food. Once the corn looked a little roasted I added the creamy alfredo sauce and a dollop of salsa. I served with a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese on top with some sliced green onion.

Here are some pictures of it while I was sautéing it, and after I added the sauce and salsa.



Ingredients
- Meat - I used some left over roast beef. Maybe next time I'll try grilled chicken or some steak.
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 8 oz can of corn
- 1 jar alfredo sauce
- 2 tbspn salsa
- ground black pepper taste
- salt to taste
- a little cayenne pepper
- coriander seeds

- pasta noodles - I used linguinie

Topping
- shredded cheddar cheese
- sliced green onion

A note to self for next time ~ I may have made it a little spicier than expected 😅

Try adding red peppers and diced chiles instead of salsa?