Recipe: Gourmet Chicken Ramen

Everyone knows missionary crusaders eat a lot of Ramen noodles if they're available in the country they're serving in, and I was no exception. It's cheap, easy, and light on the stomach when you just want a quick, small before-bed meal. But I wanted my miojo (as the Brazilians call it) to also be delicious when I ate it. I made all kinds of variations, from Hot-Dog Ketchup Gumbo to Firemouth Beef. Like all meals I make over and over, eventually I perfected this meal to be so delicious that my wife actually craves it and requests me to make it. I've been really proud of this recipe, since it's so easy and delicious to make when everything else sounds like too much of a hassle.

Gourmet Chicken Ramen

"Poor man's food fit for a king!"

 Ingredients

• 1 package of chicken-flavored Ramen
• A handful of cooked chicken or turkey (leftover is good)
• Broccoli florets
• Dried basil
• Frank's Red Sauce
• Cracked pepper
• 1 egg
• BONUS: Green onions, Parmesan, parsley

Directions

1. Snap the block of Ramen in half, and place the noodles into a pot with enough water to cover it. Turn the heat to medium or medium high.
2. When the water starts to bubble a little bit, add the broccoli florets.
3. When the water comes to a full boil, take it off the heat and drain most of the water. You should be able to see a little bit of noodle-broth pool into the side of the pot when you tilt it. This is the hardest part to get right, but if you drain the right amount of water, the Ramen will be deliciously creamy.
4. Mix the Ramen's flavor packet with the noodles and put it back on the heat. Crack an egg into the pot and stir it up as it boils.
5. Once the egg has set (like egg drop soup), take it off the burner and turn off the heat. Add the chicken, basil, cracked pepper, a couple of spanks of Frank's, and chicken, and stir.
6. Transfer the noodles to a bowl and garnish with green onions, Parmesan cheese, and parsley, and heck, why not some paprika for the heck of it.
7. Enjoy your "I can't believe it's not an entree" meal!

YIELD: 1 bowl
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Washes down well with...  Anything. If you're having a lazy enough night to make this, there's no reason to go crazy with the drink. Iced water is fine.