Now We’re Cookin’

This recipe is one of my daughter’s favorites, and is a great (and easy!) way to break up the monotony of every day dishes — not to mention introducing new types of food to your family.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup peanut butter (shown with creamy, use chunky if desired)
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon chili powder
dash cayenne pepper (optional)
2 cups uncooked pasta
2 boneless chicken breasts

Directions:

Take two cups of your favorite pasta and cook according to package instructions. I made mine with thin spaghetti. While that’s cooking, chop the chicken breasts into bite size pieces and cook until meat is no longer pink in the middle and the juices run clear.

To mix up the sauce, combine the peanut butter, water, soy sauce, lemon juice, honey, garlic, chili powder, and cayenne pepper (optional) in a medium sized bowl. I found it easiest to mix with a small wire whisk to combine the peanut butter and wet ingredients first, then use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl and fold in dry ingredients.

When the chicken is done, toss in with peanut butter mixture until well mixed. Drain pasta, toss in olive oil (if desired).

Serve in a bowl with pasta topped by chicken and peanut butter mixture.

Suggestions:

I think next time I may make this with chunky peanut butter to add a bit of texture to the sauce. My daughter suggested topping with cashews — which I would have done if I had any.

I ran across a similar recipe earlier tonight that added crushed pineapple (drained), so I’ll keep that in mind for future alterations to this recipe!