First of all, you will notice that there is no photo with this entry tonight. That’s because in all the hustle and bustle of serving the food, trying to squeeze dinner in under the wire of a 7 p.m. meeting tonight, I completely forgot until there was only one meatball left on the plate, positioned next to a sad old tablespoon of crushed pineapple and some leftover curls of ramen. Rather than take a picture of the carnage, I thought we could all just think of tonight’s meal in more appetizing times, before it was decimated.
LeeLee appeared a bit skeptical when I told him the title of tonight’s concoction. “Meatballs with PINEAPPLE?” he asked, his eyes darting around the kitchen in search of the nearest snack food he could save himself with. But I remained steadfast. To me, the pairing sounded intriguing – great, even. And you know what? It turned out to be just that!
I came across this recipe when looking for new ways to dress up ramen noodles while maintaining a low cost. I wasn’t disappointed. I took some shortcuts – since I used Lightlife’s Gimme Lean ground “beef,” I was able to mold the meatballs without having to add additional seasonings, since the “beef” is pre-seasoned. I let the meatballs cook and brown atop the stove while the egg rolls cooked in the oven, and at the last, I gave the ramen noodles a couple of minutes in boiling water to soften. And voila! A hearty, filling meal that was low on calories and cost. You can’t beat it.
And Doubting LeeLee has now requested it again. We can take a picture next time, he says. I’ll do my best to remember!
The stats:
Ramen noodles: $0.29 ($0.15/person)
Meatballs: $4.99 ($2.50/person)
Crushed pineapple: $1.00 ($0.50/person)
Egg rolls: $3.00/four ($0.75/person)
GRAND TOTAL: $9.18 … or $3.90 per person.
:)
Egg Rolls are my favorite thing!! This will soon be an often repeated meal at my house. It works great with our Gluten Free eating as well!! Thanks so much for the great recipe!chowringhee