Ramen: Cheap and Easy Ways to Change it Up

If there's one thing college students are known for, it's Ramen. Ramen is, for a number of different reasons, a favorite on college campuses and in homes everywhere. It's a basic food that is cheap to buy and easy to make, and it comes in a variety of different flavors. Unfortunately, because Ramen is so commonly eaten, sometimes there is a need to spruce it up a bit and change the normal routine of cooked noodles and flavor packet.

If you're having a hard time getting creative with your Ramen dish, here my 5 favorite ideas that I've tried over the years. The great thing about Ramen is that it is a very pliant food to work with. It's easy to make and you can add a few extra easy steps and get a completely different dish.

1) Cheesy Ramen. For a quick and easy way to change up your Ramen, you can just add some cheese (whichever you prefer: shredded or sliced) to your cooked Ramen. I have found that this will had just a little extra flavor and texture to your everyday Ramen regimen. I prefer to add cheese to the chicken flavored Ramen, but you can experiment with your own favorite flavors to find what you like the best.

2) Cream of Chicken Ramen. Cream of Chicken Ramen holds true to the idea of Ramen being easy to make, but it gives it a little something extra. After you cook the noodles and drain the water, add in some cream of chicken soup and your flavor packet, and you'll have a creamy, delicious new dish. To spruce up this Ramen a little more, you can top with a little cheese.

3) Ramen Stir-Fry. I like this one because it can be considered a whole meal, rather than just a snack, and it's still pretty simple to make. All you have to do is fry up some vegetables in a couple tablespoons of olive oil, then add in your spice pack and your cooked and drained noodles, and you have a delicious alternative to your package of Ramen Noodles.

4) Ramen Chicken Pot Pie. Another easy alternative to your regular Ramen is what I like to call a Ramen Chicken Pot Pie, because that's sort of what it is, but without the crust. After cooking your Ramen noodles and draining them, you add in your cream of chicken soup and flavor packet, and then cook some fresh or frozen vegetables and add them to the mixture.

5) Ramen Salad. This Ramen idea is a little less traditional, as it doesn't involve cooking the noodles. You can either add the crunched up noodles to the top of your favorite salad for a little extra crunch, of you can make a salad around the crunched up noodles, using your favorite fresh vegetables. To use the entire packet of Ramen, you can even use your flavor packet to create a dressing to go over the top.

If all else fails, and you need a snack but the idea of cooking up yet another package of Ramen doesn't appeal to you, you can always crunch up the noodles in the package and then sprinkle it with your favorite seasoning packet.