Chinese Noodle Salad With Roast Beef And Fresh Vegetables

At the end of a busy day, you’ll want to kick off your shoes, relax, and enjoy a delicious meal. As hungry as you are, you don’t want to spend a lot of time cooking. Frozen meals may be the answer, but they tend to be loaded with fat, salt, and preservatives.

How can you get a quick and delicious meal on the table?

Pre-cut vegetables an answer. If you’re cutting off the tips of fresh green beans, for example, and cutting them into pieces, you can add more as well. The same goes for carrots and mushrooms. Weekends are a good time to prepare vegetables for the days ahead.

Cooking extra is another answer. When I’m cooking spaghetti or any other type of pasta, I cook twice the amount I need. I drizzled a little olive oil over the drained pasta to prevent it from sticking. Extra pasta is refrigerated or frozen in zip-top plastic bags.

A few days ago I bought a package of Chinese noodles. These curly noodles are packed in separate packages and cook in a matter of minutes. One package was plenty for the low lo mein I was making, but I cooked the entire package. I put the extra noodles in a plastic container, closed the lid tightly, and put them in the fridge.

It was not extremely the next day, and since I did not want to stand in front of a hot stove, I decided to prepare a salad. The Chinese noodle salad looked good to me and I checked the crisper drawer in the fridge to see what items I had on hand. I found half a red bell pepper, a piece of red onion, and leftover green beans. I also had some roast beef left over.

All of these ingredients would go well in a salad. Cutting the beef into matchstick pieces took only a couple of minutes. Chopping up the red bell pepper and green beans took a few more minutes, and before I knew it, dinner was on the table. Although I considered a soy sauce dressing, I chose a bottled Italian dressing. The result was one of the best salads I’ve ever had.

You can use a packet of Ramen noodles for the salad. Shredded chicken can be substituted for the roast beef. Other vegetables, such as sliced ​​fresh mushrooms, green bell peppers, and pea pods, would also work well. Follow the instructions on the package of Chinese noodles to avoid overcooking them. You can also use a different bottled dressing.

2 cups of cooked Chinese noodles
1 cup cooked green beans, cut into one-inch pieces
2 tablespoons very thinly sliced ​​red onion
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 cup or more cooked roast beef, cut into strips
Bottle of Italian Salad Dressing with Basil and Romano Cheese
Small head of red-leaf or green-leaf lettuce

Put the cooked noodles and cut vegetables in a salad bowl. Drizzle with the dressing, toss gently, and refrigerate for 15 minutes to blend the flavors. Cut lettuce into bite-sized pieces and divide among plates. Pour the salad mixture over the lettuce and place roast beef strips on top. Pass on additional dressing if needed. Make four servings.

Copyright 2011 by Harriet Hodgson