Chickpea Ramen Noodle Salad

When I first moved out on my own, I was, like so many other students, broke...all the time. I remember having money to pay my rent but only enough left over to eat rice cakes and yogourt...for a month! When I had a bit more money I added instant ramen noodles to my grocery list! lol My roommates and I became masters of 101 ways to eat them - raw, as per the package,  with frozen peas, with ketchup (don't judge!) and sometimes with hamburger and tomato sauce (gourmet!). 

Fast forward a couple of decades and you'll still see the occasional package of these noodles in my pantry. My 8 yr old son loves them! When we ran out of croutons the other night, he suggested we add them to our salad...they were actually pretty good! 

To make the dressing mix together 1/2 cup sherry vinegar, 1/2 cup maple syrup, 1 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 heaping tablespoon of mustard along with a dash of salt and pepper. Store in the fridge.

Ingredients

1/3 cup salted roasted almonds

1 package instant ramen noodles

1 cup chickpeas

1 handful basil

1/2 small red onions, diced

6 cups arugula or spinach, washed and dried

1 red pepper, diced
2 stalks celery, diced

Dressing
2-3 tbsp maple vinaigrette - just enough to lightly coat salad

Instructions

Toss everything except dressing in a large bowl.
Add dressing and toss again.