Trinculo's Cafe: Exploring the Epicurean with The Stray Gourmet

Just because you don;t want to be a Martha Stewart clone every night of the week doesn't mean you can't enjoy a yummy meal. The following recipe uses easily available, relatively inexpensive ingredients and turns out like a gourmet dish from a good Asian restaurant. This is the perfect meal for those nights when you're hungry for something satisfying and flavorful and don't want to fuss. Have some crispy Chinese table noodles on hand as an accompaniment.

Amerasian Quickie 1 pound ground beef 2 packages Oriental-flavor instant ramen noodles (3 ounce packages) 2 cups water 2 cup frozen Oriental vegetable mixture 1 tsp. finely minced fresh ginger 2 TBSP green onion,thinly sliced In large nonstick skillet, brown ground beef over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking up into fine crumbles. Remove with slotted spoon and drain pan well. Season beef with one seasoning packet from noodles and set aside. In same skillet, combine water, vegetables, noodles (broken into small pieces), ginger and remaining seasoning packet. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 3 minutes or until noodles are tender, stirring occasionally. Return beef to skillet; heat through. Stir in green onion before serving.