Asian Chicken Salad

Ramen noodles? Yes, ramen noodles. I had promised myself that I would never eat ramen noodles again after graduating college. Every broke and starving college kid understands that ramen noodles are a means to an end while in school. Graduating college means a lot of things–getting a degree, a real job, paying bills and never eat ramen again!

So I was kind of opposed to this recipe at first. My sister had learned it from a friend and wanted to share it with me…and more importantly, she wanted to cook it for me.

To my surprise, the ramen was just pan-fried. No seasoning. No microwaving. They’re just the crispy noodles in the salad and they are actually the best part of the salad!

We pan fried the noodles with almonds and Sesame seeds until everything was crispy.

Next, we pan-fried chicken–just the precooked stuff that’s meant for salad and the like. Later, we added that to the noodles and tossed it with lettuce, coleslaw lettuce, and carrots.

The Asian dressing we made was soooooo good. I want to put this on everything! Just put the ingredients in a saucepan and boil until the sugar is boiled out.

1/2 cup sugar
1/8 cup rice vinegar
1/8 cup  apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup of vegetable oil
2 tsp of soy sauce

And bam! There you have it: the least authentic (but very tasty) Asian salad of all time!

Lazy in the Kitchen

Last night I had grand plans of cooking up some Fettuccine Alfredo but I got lazy and didn’t have all the ingredients and would have rather watched CSPAN for 5 straight hours than go to the grocery store. I changed into sweats, got my Kindle fired up and settled in for an enthralling night of salad and leftovers.

Full disclosure: I am aware this post is not my finest work but it is indicative of my life and my relationship with the kitchen. Most food bloggers are posting fresh recipes and ideas every day but for me, it’s just not realistic. I LOVE food and love trying my hand at making new things and writing about them, but if I have to force myself to cook all of the time, I will just end up hating and resenting it.

I admire those who can spend hours upon hours in the kitchen and not tire out but that is just not who I am. This salad was the best thing to happen to me yesterday and it required no imagination, only 4 ingredients and all of 2 minutes to put together.

Oh, and would you want to leave your house for the grocery store while you’re watching your dog having a ball rolling in the grass? Me neither. I’m such a sucker for my little guy!