Move Over, Rachel Ray

I am swamped with school work. I still want to cook, though, and it is how I unwind. Picked up some random stuff from the store on my way home and figured out the perfect thing to make: the noodle thing. I can never remember what my family calls it but it's like a ragu of chopped or ground pork with mushrooms, carrots, onions, dried tofu, garlic, etc... I don't remember exactly what's in it and that's exactly the point- I don't care!

a meal for well under ten bucks with plenty more for the week

This is what I picked up from the store, in total under ten bucks. I don't have dried shiitakes at home, so I figured that the fresh shiitake/crimini/oyster blend on sale would do fine. Ignore the ginger- didn't need that. Also, no dried tofu. Oh well.

Put a pot of water on the stove to boil for the pasta (what ought to have been Chinese egg noodles, sometimes called wonton noodles, kinda like the noodles you get in lo mein). Chop everything up. Start with the garlic and pork. Brown. Add everything else. Cook. Add some dry sherry, tamari soy, cracked pepper and a little sugar. Let simmer, covered, to caramelize a bit. DONE.

the noodle thing with slices of roasted acorn squash

I served it up with some slices of acorn squash I had roasted over the weekend and chopped cilantro. Flavors are great- soy/garlic/meat with a little sugar marries extremely well. Onions and carrots have a natural sweetness, so not much more sugar is needed there. Oh, and I chopped up a Thai chili that I found in the fridge and added that. Talk about awesome improvisation in under a half hour. I can't help but be smug right now.

And now, back to my thermo hw.