UTAH TECH UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE | March 29, 2024

Ramen noodles perfect ingredient for any meal

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There is good news for all you low-budget, packaged-food eating college students—ramen noodles have been revamped.

Long gone are the days of the same old bowl of beef- or chicken-flavored noodles and juice. Recipes are popping up in cookbooks and online that turn this typical college staple into (almost) gourmet meals.

New recipes and ideas have turned ramen into a breakfast, lunch, dinner or even dessert option for students on a budget. Ramen mixes well with almost everything, and at a buck and some change for six packages, it is a great option for guilt-free grocery shopping.

For breakfast, try rolling ramen, an egg, a little salsa and some cheese into a warm flour tortilla. Or, for those of you who are more veggie friendly, boil a block of ramen with an egg and a couple of tomato and onion slices on top. Ramen for breakfast can be a nice change of routine to the typical Pop-Tarts morning.

If you have enough time to make ramen for lunch, then you have enough time to transform it into ramen noodle mac and cheese.

Simply make the ramen according to the directions, add a couple handfuls of your favorite cheese, and stir for gooey ramen goodness.

If you have a little more time, grab a bag of mixed frozen veggies and soy sauce for your own ramen noodle stir-fry.

Dinner was the meal I was skeptical about. How can you possibly make a filling meal out of one package of noodles?

All you have to do is add a little more bulk to ramen for something worthy to be called dinner. Adding meat to ramen is a good way to make it more filling without having to work too hard.

Beef or chicken can be added to cooked ramen, along with your favorite pasta sauce, for a dinner with some substance.         

If you are a fish fan, try tuna casserole in a bowl by mixing cooked ramen noodles, cream of mushroom soup, a can of tuna and the crumbs from the bottom of a potato chip bag.

If meat isn’t your thing, try adding tofu or veggies and sauce to cooked ramen noodles for an option that will still fill you but allow you to stay animal friendly.

The best part about all of these dishes is all of the ingredients are relatively inexpensive, and most of them can be used in multiple ramen dishes—versatility at its finest.

For more ramen meal ideas, Google “ramen recipes” online. Several of the first results are actually from college websites and are full of easy recipes that are kind to your wallet.