Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I just have to say that I am pretty proud of how well I have been doing on my recipe “clean-up” project. As I mentioned in my first Magazine Monday post, I have committed myself to working toward clearing out my stockpile of recipes that I have bookmarked on my computer and have torn out of the numerous food and fitness magazines that I subscribe to. My pile (both literally from magazines, and figuratively on my computer) is slowly dwindling as I cook my way through dozens of promising recipes that I have saved over the past year.
For my second Magazine Monday post, I decided to cook up another Rachael Ray recipe, this time for Tofu Ramen Soup with Spinach. I made my own adapted version of Rachael’s original recipe, but focused on using the same main ingredients that Rachael’s recipe called for. I must admit that while I was excited about cooking with tofu, mushrooms, and spinach, I was doubly excited by the idea of using instant Ramen noodles in a healthier version than they are traditionally found. I don’t know about you, but I have eaten my fair share of unhealthy Ramen noodles (hello college!), but I would like to think that my taste buds and eating habits have since changed for the better. So without further ado, let’s see how Rachael’s and my attempt to “healthify” instant Ramen noodles went!
Tofu Ramen Soup
Adapted from Rachael Ray’s recipe for Tofu Ramen Soup with Spinach
Servings: 3 to 4
Ingredients
water, for cooking
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 TB fresh ginger, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
4 cups water
4 tsp Better than Bouillon vegetable soup base
1/8 cup Bragg’s liquid aminos or low-sodium soy sauce
1 packet natural sweetener (I used Truvia)
8 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
1/2 package extra-firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cut into cubes
6 oz fresh spinach, roughly chopped
1 package instant Ramen (noodles only)
salt, to taste
Directions
1. Line a large soup pot or dutch oven with a thin layer of water. Heat over medium-high heat until very hot. Once hot, lower the heat to medium and add onions, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Cook for approximately 6 to 8 minutes, or until softened. Add additional water, as necessary.
2. Meanwhile, cook the Ramen noodles according to the package directions.
3. Stir water, soup base, liquid aminos, and sweetener into the large soup pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium-low.
4. Add mushrooms to the large soup pot. Simmer for approximately 8 minutes, or until the mushrooms are cooked through.
5. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, or until the spinach has wilted.
For those of you who are new to tofu, you may be thinking, “wow, that is a lot of tofu!” But for those of you who are like me, you are probably thinking, “um…when can I get my hands on a bowl of that?” 😉
But do not get too excited! It actually does not taste quite as good as it looks :(. This was my first magazine recipe cooking experience that I just really did not love! I enjoyed the tofu, mushrooms, and spinach ingredients in the soup because these are almost always delicious in soup. And the nostalgia of eating Ramen noodles was quite fun! However, the soup was a bit too salty and honestly somewhat bland. It was definitely missing something. So while I thought that the soup tasted good (and ate a large bowl for dinner and again as leftovers), it is likely not a recipe that I will cook again. I really had high hopes for this soup, but I guess not everything can turn out as delicious as I would like.
It is confession time. What is the last thing that you made that did not taste quite as well as you had hoped?
