My friends Chris and Kelly, who live in Albuquerque, turned me on to the mystery and magic of green chile when we visited them last summer, and while I fear they might scoff at my use of Rotel (for it is decidedly NOT local to New Mexico!), the fondness I have for green chile remains.
I never even thought of pairing Rotel with ramen noodles until I came across this recipe, which pairs the two with aplomb. Further, this recipe gets straight to the heart of another constant issue in the Recessionista household: time, or lack thereof. On this particular evening, we were trying to make it to Maundy Thursday church service in half an hour, and so dinner had to be prepared on the double.
From beginning to end, this meal takes 10 minutes to make. Most of that is cooking time, which leaves plenty of time for setting the table and even resting for a few minutes after work (imagine that!). And the end result? Fantastic! The Rotel adds a nice spicy kick to the ramen and Boca patties, and it doesn’t leave us wanting more the way that other ramen recipes sometimes do. All in all, it’s a winning combination. It may not have been served at the Last Supper, but it was a Maundy Thursday feast for us.
The stats:
Ramen noodles: $0.29 ($0.15/person)
Rotel: $1.69 ($0.85/person)
Boca chik’n patties: $3.50 ($1.75/person)
GRAND TOTAL: $5.48 … or $2.74 per person.
:)