Cheesy Ranch Ramen

Recipe
2 packages finely chopped ramen noodles (any flavour)
1 cup ranch dressing
2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Cook noodles in water according to the package directions and drain. Add ranch dressing and cheese to noodles and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until cheese is melted. Makes 2-4 servings.

Running Commentary
That's the recipe right there. it sound's idiot proof doesn't it? I'm going to half it though because I don't know how eager my brother will be to have any and we're not good with left overs either so there is no sense in cooking more than I can eat. I also am going to add bacon to it at the semi-request of my friend Andrew and because bacon makes everything taste better.

While I had planned type as I cooked this recipe moved way too quickly for that. I probably also should have measured out my ingredients before beginning but I thought I would have had time to do all that while the water was boiling. I also didn't get many photos either for the same reason.

The book says that unless directed otherwise you are to follow the directions on the package to cook the noodles. I don't know if it is just me but I found that a litte ambiguous. I boiled the noodles and did not add any flavouring to them because based on my understanding of cooking the noodles were cooked. I don't know whether or not the author intended for flavouring to be added and I suspect not because the flavour mostly affects the water anyhow. So I boiled my noodles and in no time they were done, all this while I was trying to microwave my bacon to avoid having to fry it. Then I added the noodles and let them cook until tender. While this was happening I grated the cheese (I used Edam cheese) and struggled to open the brand new bottle of ranch dressing that had been sitting in the cupboard.

I drained the noodles and left them on low heat while I opened the dressing. I quickly added the cheese and not so carefully measured dressing (it was still approximately 1 cup) and stirred continuously. Then I remembered that the bacon was still in the microwave so I got that and scattered it over my very creamy looking noodles. The aroma of it drifted up towards me and it smelt relatively bland (this may be the Jamaican in me coming out) so I went for my black pepper and started to apply liberally.

End Result
Then it was finished. I looked on it and all I saw was a mess of blah looking food. I decided let me add some of the seasoning anyway to hopefully spice things up a little. It helped some but the final product was still not fantastic. In a pinch this is a good one to cook because it's easy and really filling and the ingredients are things that are easy to find and very likely already in the house. I halved the ingredients and I'm struggling to finish half of my cooking. The other half is already in the fridge.

Remedying the Situation
Had I remembered before hand that I'm not a big fan of creamy foods then I may have not bothered to try this recipe as my introduction to the book. That being said, it was a simple recipe and the end product was not the best thing I have ever tasted but that could just be because of my specific tastes. I love salty, spicy and/or sweet foods and this was none of the above. I think I should have added more bacon to it, a lot more actually and possibly some other kinds of meat. I am pretty much a meat fiend so more meat is always a good thing. I also probably should have used a different kind of cheese, or even a combination of cheeses. Edam isn't my favourite cheese ever so it was probably a bad idea to use it for such a recipe, I don't know that I would have preferred using all cheddar either. I think based on my comments anyone can see that if I do this recipe again it's going to get a major overhaul.