Ali Cooks: Rice Noodles with Spicy Tomato Sauce

I made it!

 

It's the weekend, I'm in Indiana, AND I'm settled enough in the apartment to actually cook myself a legitimate dinner. 

 

I must say, I'm one happy camper.

 

The past few weeks have been...busy.  And besides that, I've only had my stuff for a week and a half.  Combine those two factors, and I'm still thinking it's nearly a miracle that the state of the apartment is where it is. 

 

But hey--I made it!

 

Three grad school classes are under my belt, and I've got a lot of reading ahead of me, but it's manageable.

 

My students have completed their first week of classes, too--exciting stuff!  The week before I led them through a retreat of sorts, too.  (I told you I was busy!)

 

No promises on how regular these lovely posts will be, but I'm hoping weekly.  Brian officially moves in Sunday, and I plan to cook/bake something delicious each weekend.  (Haha, I'm already looking forward to that first occasion!)

 

So...Brian's not here, I don't have a vehicle, and yet I managed to have ingredients to cook dinner?!  Truth. 

 

Proof:

 

 

Look like a complete and tasty meal to you?!

 

Yep, I used some pantry goods that Brian brought last week.  Clever, eh?

I totally made up the recipe though.  So I'll wing it and describe what I did...below.

 

 

Rice Noodles with Spicy Tomato Sauce

 

Ingredients:

~1/5 of a package of rice noodles

~1/3 of a can of diced tomatoes in sauce

dried thyme

chili powder

paprika

pepper

dried green onion

dried parsley

 

I've never cooked with rice noodles from the international foods aisle before.  These were some authentic Asian rice noodles that I used, and they had kinda strange directions, so be sure to cook them accordingly.  The ones that I had required you boil water, cook the noodles for about two minutes, stirring occasionally, remove from heat and put them in cold/lukewarm water for a few minutes and then use them as you please.  Unfortunately, my noodles were a little chewy.  Fortunately, I needed to cook them more for the next step in my makeshift recipe.

 

 That next step wasn't really all that complicated, but I was ok with that--we don't want to jump too far into the cooking ventures until I have a fully stocked kitchen again!  I added the noodles back to the pot, added the tomatoes and the herbs with the burner on medium heat, and let it simmer for a few

minutes.  After that, I poured it in a bowl and DEVOURED it!  Might I say again that I'd probably boil the noodles for a bit longer and might add a little less chili powder or paprika (SPICY!), but it was one delicious dinner that I ate alongside a boiled egg and some carrot sticks, followed by a piece of warmed up bread with melted gouda.  (YUM!)

 

 

Salivating a little?  Leave a comment below about what you'd like me to cook/bake next and maybe I'll share a little with you...if you live nearby or if you visit!

 

Happy Friday, all!