Chicken and Pasta with Peanut Sauce

Almost every time I ask Jon what he wants for dinner (this doesn't happen very often--usually I just make whatever sounds good) he says, "That peanut butter pasta with chicken!" Invariably his eyes light up when he says this and he asks me about ten times when dinner will be ready while I'm making it. If you don't like peanut butter, don't make this, but if you do--give it a try! I got this recipe from my trusty Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. The original recipe is quite a lot different from the way I make it, but the important part is the sauce.

6 oz. spaghetti or fettucine
1 cup cooked chicken, cut in strips
Vegetable of choice, in quantity of choice (I usually use broccoli or cauliflower or both)
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tlbs. peanut butter
1 tlbs. soy sauce
1 tlbs. lemon or lime juice
1/4 tsp. crushed red peppers
1 clove garlic, minced

Cook pasta, adding vegetables for last 5-7 minutes. Cook chicken in pan with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Drain pasta and vegetables, and mix with chicken. For sauce, stir chicken broth into peanut butter in small saucepan. Heat and stir with a whisk until peanut butter melts. Stir in soy sauce, lemon/lime juice, red pepper, and garlic; heat through. Add sauce to the pasta mixture. Gently stir to coat pasta with sauce.

Alterations
The original recipe calls for 2 cups of pea pods and 1 cup of pineapple chunks, but I don't usually have either, so I just omit both and put in whatever vegetable I have on hand that sounds good. For chicken broth, I usually use 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 tsp. chicken bouillon. Also, if you don't have a clove of garlic, you can just throw in a bit of garlic powder or garlic salt.

The Verdict
We really like this dish, but like I said, if you don't like peanut butter or Thai-style food, I don't think you'd like it. The picture doesn't give it justice. I will have to figure out how to take better pictures of my food. :)