Butter Herb Noodle Mix

Years ago I had a male roommate brave enough to live with 3 women and every night he would watch Babylon 5 and eat a packet of Sidekicks (then called Lipton 'Noodles and Sauce') right out of the pot he cooked it in. Now that was fine dining!

I though they were disgusting at the time, but years later a friend made one as a side dish with dinner and I had to admit it was pretty tasty. I took a peek at them in the grocery store but decided against buying any- the chemicals were terrible! I experimented with some homemade versions and recently I came up with this: a copycat version of the popular Sidekicks Butter Herb Noodles...

Butter Herb Noodles Mix (single use)

2 tablespoons powdered milk (optional)
1 tablespoon corn starch
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon marjoram
pinch pepper

The powdered milk is optional. It makes for creamier mix, but I find it tastes better without it. I discovered this because the first batch exploded when I tried to cook it in the microwave so I wasn't sure it was properly seasoned (it ended up being delicious) so I needed to make another batch. But I also realized my poor lactose intolerant stomach wasn't going to handle any more milk in one meal so I gave it a try without and found... perfection!!!

What else you'll need

2 servings uncooked fettuccine noodles broken in half
2 cups water
2 tablespoons butter

It's hard to measure out long noodles so I just held a bunch in my hand and formed a bunch about the size of a quarter, then snapped them in half.

You could do a complete mix with noodles included like you buy at the store, but then you would have to separate each batch in its own container and that just seems like extra work and storage space. It's better to just add the noodles each time and have a batch of seasoning mix to throw in.

In a saucepan bring the water to a boil, then add the noodles and mix and stir well. Add butter and continue stirring as they simmer until the noodles are tender and the sauce thickens.

I served the noodles alongside some honey mustard lemon baked sausages and steamed mixed veggies. Usually when I make a side dish there are enough leftovers for lunch the next day, but despite making 2 batches of these not a single noodle saw morning. I think you can guess how good they were from that alone.