Ramen noodles and peas for dinner was surprisingly a hit and everyone seemed satisfied.
Day One of the Live Below The Line Challenge was pretty successful, I think. Our shopping trip was a success, and the meals were well received. The ramen and peas was surprisingly a hit.
Here’s what the dinner consisted of:
- 2 packs of beef-flavored ramen noodles, prepared as directed except only one flavor packet so not as salty
- 1 bag of frozen peas
I was planning to cook the peas in with the ramen, but the girls like their frozen peas just the way they come out of the bag: frozen. So their peas were served in a bowl, frozen. Weird kids. I like my peas cooked (or at least not frozen), so put my peas in my bowl, and then I served out my broth. The peas warmed right up.
The nice thing about this dish is that it is flexible. One daughter had the broth; the other two didn’t, and they were perfectly happy. One of the two who didn’t start out with broth did end up mixing her peas together with her noodles and asked for broth; she wanted what I was having. That same daughter said at the end of the meal that she wanted to have it again. Everyone was sufficiently full (they had 4 oz of milk to drink and water).
The cost of this dish, while not overly nutritional (the peas and milk were the only real nutritional value) was only $1.42 for 4 servings plus the milk ($0.37 for 3 servings). My kids were fed and happy for less than $0.48 each. I skipped the milk because I’m not a big milk drinker, although I should have had it considering the nutritional value of the meal.
I’m thinking that the extra ramen packet could be saved to make a soup with broth, pasta, and carrots if we’re desperate for some extra food later on in the challenge.
After a day of trying to live at the poverty level, I need a glass of wine. Too bad it isn’t in the budget.
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We grew up on tuna noodle casserole with peas. Very filling though I can barely stand the smell of it now.
I like tuna fish, but I don’t love the smell of it. We makes a modified Rachel Ray tuna noodle casserole that is so tasty!