Cheater Pad Thai

Cheater alert! Okay, so this isn't so much of a recipe as it is putting my stamp of approval on a boxed dinner. However, the kit only comes with dried rice noodles and sauce, and since I would buy dried rice noodles anyway, its really only the sauce that is cheating. That's what I keep telling myself anyway. Plus, it's not take out.

Here it is: Thai Kitchen Pad Thai Noodle Kit. They carry it in the asian foods section of most stores and its around $3.

Other things you will need:

1 Tablespoon Cooking Oil

1 Egg

Shrimp or Chicken (The box calls for 4 ounces of either. I use about 8 ounces of those tiny, pre-cooked salad shrimp from the frozen aisle since the hubby and I both really like shrimp.)

Garnishes of Your Choice (Peanuts, bean sprouts, chilies, cilantro, limes, whatever)

I deviate slightly from the directions on the box when I cook this. Here are my instructions, but I'm sure the box instructions are fine too.

1. Bright a pot of water to boil. Add rice noodles and turn off the heat (but don't take the pot off the hot burner). Soak noodles for about 8 minutes before draining them.

2. Pour 1 Tablespoon of oil in a wok or skillet.

3. Add frozen shrimp to the oil and stir fry until warm (pre-cooked, remember?). If you use chicken, make sure it is cooked well before moving on.

4. Move the shrimp to one side of the skillet. Crack and scramble the egg on the other side. (Hint: scrambling the egg in the pan where the shrimp already allows it to soak up the shrimp juices to spread out the flavor.)

5. Once egg is fully scrammebed, mix it together with the shrimp and add the sauce.

6. Add the cooked, drained noodles and stir until well mixed.

7. Serve topped with whatever garnishes you like.