MONDAY RECIPE POST - HEALTHY BEEF NOODLE DISH

This recipe came from What's In The Pan hosted by Olya.  You can see Olya's original recipe here.  We enjoy noodle dishes very much and this one was delicious, another to go in our make-again folder.  In all my recipe posts I recommend going to the blog to see any tips that I didn't post on my blog, also the food photographs.  I enjoy looking at what else is offered also, and there were many recipes I would like to try eventually.

Healthy Beef Ramen Noodle

Serves 4 - Approximate 394 calories per serving

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 large onion chopped

1 red bell pepper chopped

½ head broccoli cut into florets

1 lb. ground beef

6 oz ramen noodles (2 packets with seasoning packets discarded)

Salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:

¼ c. soy sauce (we used low-sodium)

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

2 tsp. sriracha

1 clove garlic minced

1 scallion (chopped)

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. 

Add onions, peppers, and broccoli and cook until tender, 5 minutes. 

Remove from the pan.

Add ground beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook until no longer pink, 5 minutes more. 

Drain fat and return vegetables back to the skillet

Make sauce: 

Whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, Sriracha, and garlic.

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. 

Add ramen noodles and cook until tender, 2 minutes. 

Drain.

Add cooked ramen noodles to skillet and pour over sauce. 

Toss until completely combined. 

Taste and season with more salt and pepper, if necessary. Then garnish with scallions and serve.

What did we think of this recipe, and what changes were made?

It was another excellent dish and one I wouldn't hesitate making for company.  

The changes we made were as follows.

Instead of the Ramen Noodles we used a packet of fresh noodles (an equivalent amount) that we already had in the refrigerator.  

Additions were a packet of button mushrooms that we sliced and added along with the onion, red peppers and broccoli.

There was no apple cider vinegar as we had thought but did have sherry vinegar.  Gregg thought the sauce seemed a little too acidic because of it and he added a smidgen of peanut butter and agave syrup. That did the trick.  However, next time we will use the Apple Cider Vinegar, or perhaps a Rice Wine Vinegar.

For garnish we added sliced green onions and Thai basil.  There is an Asian supermarket not too far away.  We pop in quite often as we both enjoy Asian cuisine and this is where we buy our Thai basil.  The other supermarkets rarely ever sell it.

This recipe would be good with any of your favorite veggies.

There were leftovers which we will have for lunch tomorrow.