Low Carb Ramen Fix

Ramen noodles! Carb heavy, sodium rich, 25 cent packets of awesome. I have always loved ramen, but my insulin resistant pancreas does not, so I gave up on Inuyasha's favorite "ninja food" until I had a brainstorm. Here's my new favorite fix for my occasional ramen craving. All of these ingredients are super easy to find, and yet the flavor makes you feel like you stumbled into a Tokyo ramen house. It's carb friendly, half the sodium, and loaded with a healthy serving of spinach. Yum.

Jada's low-carb ramen fix

1 packet of any flavor ramen noodles in the bag, (not the cups) I prefer roast beef flavor.
1 or 1 1/2 cups of fresh baby spinach
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup of cubed or sliced super firm tofu
Sciracha rooster sauce to taste, I use a ton

1 drop sesame oil (ONE DROP. No more. I mean it.)

(Optional) about 3 slices of very thin deli roast beef, sliced into 1 inch wide strips (I use a Land o Lakes black pepper beef, and get 6 servings out of the package)


Bring 2 cups of water and 1/2 a seasoning packet from the ramen to a boil. Don't use the noodles, and save the other half of the seasoning for another day. Add the tofu and bring it all to a simmer over medium-low heat 10-15 minutes. Don't let you water evaporate out, but allow the tofu to soak up as much flavor as you want. Make sure the water is super hot but not boiling and remove from the heat, then SLOWLY drizzle the beaten egg into the broth, stirring gently so the egg makes long strands. (This is your 'noodle'). Room temperature egg seems to make prettier strands. Return to the heat, but don't bring to a boil. Your egg will scramble. It's still delicious, but not as pretty. If using the roast beef, add to the hot liquid one strip at a time. Get out a big bowl and toss that spinach in the bottom. Pour your soup over the spinach, add ONE DROP of the sesame oil and however much Sciracha you can stand, then gently mix until the spinach is wilted. Enjoy! It is such a bright and colorful dish, and it is quite good for you, except for the sodium, but it really isn't that bad. If you do not use the beef, it's even less. I crave this when I feel crummy, it's better than chicken noodle soup to clear up a bad case of stuffy nose and satisfies a hankering for Asian flavor when you are too lazy to go out or when you don't want to embarrass yourself at a fried food-filled buffet table. >^.^<

Musings On 'The Next Food Network Star', or "Why Are These Mostly Unlikable People On My T.V.???"

 By day, I work hard to be an awesome mom. When the munchkin is asleep, Bryan, (my fantastic grizzly bear of a boyfriend), and I snuggle up and play video or card games while we catch up on our favorite shows. Thank God for Netflix and Hulu. We just started catching up on the new season of Food Network Star. Last season , we were left with Aarti Party. Despite criticism, (I'm talking to you, Food Network Humor.Com), I loved her. She was cute, looked like she was having fun, and was really creative. This season, I have no idea who deserves it. Penny is a hateful woman who seems to generally dislike all other women, but the bitch can COOK. Orchid is the cutest chick there, but she seems to have peaked a bit too early, and now isn't able inspire the judges anymore. :/ Chris appears to be fresh off of Jersey Shore, and drives me crazy with the frat boy antics. However, for every kitchen fail he produces, he is somewhat of an idiot savant that occasionally (accidentally?) makes some pretty good eats. Mary Beth is adorable and has soccer mom sex appeal, but I'm not sure she's as much a Food Network Star as she is, say, a permanent judge on Iron Chef or something brainy like that. I'd say Vic Vegas, Jeff, and Susie are the sleepers who I expect to hang in for awhile, but they need to earn a bit more of my affection before I can commit to a favorite. As for Whitney and Jyll, well, they are also contestants. We have made it through episode 4, and are eagerly awaiting 5. In another week or two, I'll pick my horse and Bryan will pick his and we'll see what happens, (if I don't get sick of Bobby Flay and Susie Fogelson first. Bob and Giada, I like).

'Lorenzo's' Style Fried Cheese

Fried. Cheese. Holy cow. One of the ultimate comfort foods, and also one of the most guilt inducing. My view is, moderation. And some days, fried cheese is just going to happen. When I was about 4 or 5, my parents used to take me to this Italian restaurant in Nashville called Lorenzo's. It is now a porno shop, (keep it classy, Nash-Vegas), but the memory of an appetizer created by the devil himself still haunts me. They had these famous fried cheese balls. They were made of the most spicy food I have ever eaten. I have no idea where it came from or what type of cheese it was, but when it was fried to golden perfection and gooey, it was divine. And painful. And you couldn't stop eating it. I bought some Cabot's Habanero cheese this week, thinking that it would be naughty to put on a sandwich...but it was a vicious lie. Too hot to even have on a cracker, and still strangely good, I remembered the devil's balls of cheese...(snicker)...and fried these suckers up. Bryan and I are basking in crispy, melty, spicy goodness. Consequences be damned. Make some of your own.


'Missing Lorenzo's' Spicy Fried Cheese
Ingredients

1 egg
1 tsp water
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup store bought breadcrumbs (I used unseasoned Progresso style)
1/2 block of Cabot Hot Habanero Cheddar cheese
Enough oil to fill a pan about 1/2 an inch deep (Hey, it ain't health food. It's a treat.)

Slice the cheese into 1/4-1/2 inch thick rectangles. Slice each rectangle diagonally to make 2 triangles. Beat the egg and water in a bowl. Put the flour on a plate. Put the breadcrumbs on another plate. Cover the bottom of a frying pan of some sort with oil about 1/4 inch deep, and turn it on med high and allow to get really hot. Put each triangle in the flour first, then shake off the excess. Next, dip it in the beaten egg, and finally, the breadcrumbs. Shake off the excess crumbs, and gently place those puppies in the preheated oil. I found it was best to get them all bread-crumbed and then start frying them. They fry up in a second, and by second, I mean about 10-20 seconds. Seriously. So get your tool for fishing them out in your hand before you even put them in the oil. Put them on some paper towels to drain, let cool for a minute, then serve to your grateful friends and loved ones, or eat them all by yourself and don't tell anyone. *^_^*