Oodles of Noodles

When I was a kid my mom cooked a grand total of six different meals. Spaghetti, stir fry, frozen pizza, sloppy joe's, turkey tacos, and noodles. Then eventually in high school I started cooking these same meals. I liked the activity of cooking but didn't understand the whole "try something new!" thing yet. Thank goodness I figured that out.

I now appreciate the meals that fed four and cost just a few bucks, and sometimes I do feel nostalgic for these foods. None of them are super bad, but none are really super interesting or delicious. Sometimes I also feel nostalgic for my grandma's chicken fried steak, but then I remember that I like my heart to beat every time it's supposed to. 

So, in honor of those yaki-soba noodles that we so often consumed in my youth, I bring you this meal:

Chicken and Vegetable Noodles
for four+


For sauce:
juice of 2 oranges
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. seasoned rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp crushed garlic
2 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 tsp chinese hot sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp crushed garlic
3 chicken breasts, sliced
1 white onion, sliced
2 portabella mushrooms, sliced
1 cup shredded carrots
6 cups shredded cabbage

1 package pre-cooked japanese style noodles
4 green onions, diced

Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pot (yeah, i don't have a wok - trust me, a pot works great!) and stir fry chicken until just cooked through. Remove from pot and set aside in a bowl.

Slice up your veggies!

 Add 1 tbsp of oil in said pot, and stir fry garlic for a few seconds. Toss in veggies and stir fry!

Once onions and mushrooms are soft, add cabbage.

Add 3 tbsp of sauce mixture and stir fry the veggies up. Once the cabbage is wilted, remove veggies from pan and combine with chicken.

Prep your noodles by package directions. It works well to soak them in water and let them loosen up.

Dump noodles in hot pan and add the sauce. The noodles will suck up all that yummy flavor. Stir fry 2-3 minutes or until noodles are hot.

In a big bowl, layer veggies, chicken, and saucy noodles.

Serve in a big glass bowl so your company can see all the goodies! The saucy noodles will drip down over the veggies and create a flavor explosion.

Top with green onions!

Those noodles really suck up all that flavor. The good part of this meal is the veggie:not veggie ratio. It's pretty high! This meal would be excellent with beef, but the mom doesn't eat that business. However, I encourage you to try beef, tofu, or whatever protein you like with this. Or leave out meat, add more mushrooms, and make it vegetarian!

Another Roady classic: Cucumber onion salad.  Sliced cucumber, super thinly sliced red onion, and a lot of seasoned rice vinegar. I add sesame seeds. Let it chill for about 20 minutes before serving.

Sorry for calling you out, mom.