Ramen Salad with Tofu adapted from Gimme Some Oven

 Thanks to "The Mind of a Chef" we are obsessed with noodles so when I stumbled upon this late summer recipe on my blog feed I was hooked. Talk about a cheap and easy and likely home grown meal on an early September school night. It was heavenly and I can't wait to have left overs in my lunch box.

Adapted from THIS recipe on Gimme some Oven , I made use of garden carrots, beans, peppers, and zucchini in this easy yummy meal. I also served it with none other than my Rosemary Lemon Tofu for a spectacular kid friendly meal.

Ingredients:

• 1 (16-ounce) bag coleslaw mix
• 2 (3-ounce) packages of Ramen noodles, crumbled (discard the seasoning packet)
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced
• 1 large pepper julienned (or diced)
• 1/2 cup thinly-sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup thinly-sliced green onions (scallions)
• shredded carrott
• shredded zucchini
• Asian honey vinaigrette (see ingredients below)

Asian Honey Vinaigrette ( Whisk all ingredients together until combined.)

• 2/3 cup vegetable oil (or any cooking oil)
• 1/3 cup honey (or agave, to make this vegan)
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
• pinch of salt and black pepper

Directions:

To Make The Salad:

1.  Heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Spread the crumbled ramen noodles and sliced almonds out on a baking sheet, and stir a bit to combine.
3. Bake for about 5 minutes, or until the almonds and noodles are slightly toasted and golden.
4. Remove baking sheet, and give the mixture a good stir to toss. Then return it to the oven and toast for an additional 3 minutes. Keep a very close eye on the mixture so that it does not burn. Remove and set aside.)

5. Add ingredients (including the vinaigrette) together in a large bowl, and toss until combined.
6.   Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

* This salad is much better eaten the first day, as the noodles lose their "crunch" the longer it sits, and the avocado may brown. *