National “Eat Your Noodles” Day

What are Noodles?

When we think of Noodles we are very likely thinking very different things from one another. There are over 600 different kinds of Noodles to choose from. We have Asian Noodles, Italian Noodles and noodles in all shapes and sizes. We love noodles here in the PMGK. We have worked long and hard perfecting our noodle recipes and we are so excited to share many of them with you here.

Asian Noodles

Some of the best Asian Noodles come dried and ready for decades of shelf life. 40% of Asia’s flour is used for noodles and they feed over half the worlds population with it’s noodles. If you’re in a Japanese restaurant, don’t forget to slurp your noodles so they know you are happy with your meal. When it comes to Asian noodles there are many PMGK makes such as: Spicy Noodles, Garlic Noodles, Chicken Chow Mein, Rice Noodles, Eastern Chicken Chow Mein, Lo Mein. You’d think with all these recipes that we’d be good to go in the noodle department, right? But there are still some that we love to buy from the Asian Market. We recently discovered a spicy Korean Noodle compliments to our favorite local sushi restaurant. They don’t have noodles on the menu but we’ve seen them eating them at family dinner and we had to ask. The waitress is a fan of PMGK and was nice enough to give us a package to take home. PMGK loved them so much the next day we went to the Asian Market and bought a whole box of them.

Italian Noodles

Italian Noodles are my favorite. I managed a couple of different Italian restaurants in my teenage years and I learned a thing or two about Italian noodles. There are so many different kinds it’s crazy. Many people believe that Noodles were brought to Italy from China by Marco Polo during the 13th century. Others argue that Noodles was already gaining popularity in other areas of Italy during the 13th century so it’s hard to say which is true. One fact remains Italian Noodles are made with eggs and many other types of noodles don’t contain eggs in them at all. According to the FDA it is not a noodle unless it has eggs in it. I personally don’t care where they came from I’m just happy we have them. The first meal PMGK made me when we were dating was his famous Fettuccine Alfredo and his skills don’t stop there. He knows if he really wants to make me happy an Italian pasta is where it’s at. Some of my favorites that he makes are: Egg Noodle Lasagna, Roast Beef Stroganoff, Spaghetti with Meatballs.

Making Your Own Noodles

Noodles taste the best when they are made fresh from scratch. It may seem like a lot of extra work because dry noodles are already so cheep to buy. But if you’ve ever made your own you know that they are worth the added effort.

Garlic Bread Pizza with Texas Toast

Garlic Bread Pizza made with Texas Toast and Spaghetti Sauce.

The Best Garlic Bread Pizza

If you’re like me and you love pizza, you can’t go wrong with this simple Garlic Bread Pizza recipe. It’s practically fool proof. Best of all. You can purchase all of the ingredients pre-made and it’s cheap to do so. I use frozen garlic Texas Toast, which already has the seasoned butter spread on every individual slice and bottled spaghetti sauce. Now all you need is grated Mozzarella cheese and pepperoni or what ever your favorite toppings may be.

Box of Generic Frozen Garlic Texas Toast.

Frozen Garlic Bread Pizza

I always preach about using fresh ingredients when making my recipes but this Garlic Bread Pizza is an exception. Purchasing pre-made Texas Toast isn’t just smart it’s more efficient, for several reasons. It’s cheap and pre-made with a spread of butter that already includes fresh garlic and herbs. Plus, bread freezes so well, after it’s baked you can’t even tell that it wasn’t made fresh. So, you can purchase a french loaf for cheap and fork out money for all of the other ingredients or just pay for one product that costs less in the long run.

You can also re-freeze these Texas Toast Pizzas if you want save the baking for later. That way these are ready go, like a frozen burrito, on demand. I purchase half size zip lock bags and package each one and freeze in batches for my kids, when they want a quick snack. They can be cooked in a toaster oven or baked in a traditional, even nuked in a microwave if you don’t mind the bread a little soggy.

Pepperoni, Spaghetti Sauce and Mozzarella cheese.

Garlic Bread Pizza Toppings

Once you decide what bread you want to use, to make your Garlic Bread Pizza, you’re off and running. I often use bottled Spaghetti sauce in place of pizza sauce but you can use barbecue sauce or even cheese whiz or nacho cheese. If you think I’m kidding, give it a try or look up my Nacho Cheese Pizza recipe and see for yourself. I use mayonnaise for my Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza and it’s phenomenal.

Now you just need to choose and your toppings. I usually keep it simple for my kids and just add pepperoni. But, believe me when I tell you, just the cheese is enough if you don’t want to add anything else. Otherwise the skies the limit.

This recipe was one of the first video recipes I ever filmed and posted. I got the idea from some Pizza Hut adds that were running back in 2012. If you’d like to see the original post, video and recipe, CLICK HERE!

Garlic Bread Pizza Ingredients:

1 box Texas Toast, 8 piece
1/2 cup Spaghetti Sauce, 1 tbsp per bread slice
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated
4 oz Pepperoni, sliced

Bake Texas Toast only at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 4 to 5 minutes, then remove from oven and flip each piece. Add sauce, cheese and pepperoni, then bake again for an additional 7 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Spicy Noodles

The Best Spicy Noodles

If you love Spicy Noodles, you’re in for a real treat. I’ve created a fusion recipe by combining both Italian and Asian ingredients. It’s sweet, spicy and only takes about 15 minutes to prepare and cook, from beginning to end. It isn’t time consuming and the results are tremendously delicious. Plus you can add Chicken, shrimp or more vegetables if you would like to make it an entire meal. It’s totally up to you and your creative control.

Spicy Noodles, Italian or Asian pasta

For this Spicy Noodles recipe, I used Angel Hair pasta but you’re going to have to go with your gut on this one or just use what ever you have. I’ve made this successfully with Fettuccine and Ramen noodles. So, that’s going to be up to you. In the past I have professed, religiously, that it’s a cardinal sin using Italian pasta to make Chinese recipes like Chow Mein or Lo Mein. But, since this is a fusion recipe, those commandments don’t apply. The secrets to cooking your pasta, to attain the correct texture, is explained in my video tutorial.

More Asian noodle recipes I’ve posted include my Garlic Noodle, Restaurant style Chicken Chow Mein, Eastern Chow Mein, Vegetable Lo Mein with Ramen, Rice Noodles(soft or fried), How to make Pasta or Egg Noodles and a whole slew of Italian pasta recipes, too. All of which have the correct Asian Noodles or Italian pasta for each one. So, look into those if you want more options.

Spicy Noodles Sauce and Ingredients

The Sauce for this Spicy Noodles recipe is very straight forward and simple because I just combine 3 pre-made bottles of sauce; ketchup, sweet chili sauce and sriracha. Originally Spicy Sauce only contains the ketchup and sriracha, if you want to try it that way, but the sweet chili adds so much depth it can’t be denied. You can add soy sauce too, if you like but it really isn’t necessary. Even the sriracha might be a bit too much for some because there are already chili flakes in sweet chili sauce. So, that will be up to you. The other bottled ingredient you will need is sesame oil. If you don’t have it, it’s okay. This dish still tastes great with out it. You can even add chicken broth to a bowl of Spicy noodles and eat it more like an authentic bowl of homemade Ramen noodles.

Spicy Noodles Ingredients: Serves 6 to 8

1 pkg Angel Hair or Fettuccine pasta
1/2 gal Boiled Water

1/2 tsp Ginger, grated or chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
2 Green Onions, chopped
5 Fresh Basil leaves, chopped

Sauce
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/2 cup Sweet Chili Sauce
1 tbsp Sriracha, optional

1 tsp Sesame Oil

If you want to add chicken or shrimp to this recipe, I recommend seasoning it first with salt, pepper and smoked paprika and you want to use red onion instead of green. Cook the meat with the garlic and ginger first, then add the red onion and noodles and proceed with the recipe as I have instructed in the Spicy Noodles video tutorial.