Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles

This past week I found myself unexpectedly out of town with only one of my five kids at my grandmother's funeral in Wyoming. My grandmother was a beautiful lady who would have been 94 next week. She raised 11 children and left a legacy of love, faith, service, hard work, and handiwork that I will never forget. While, of course I still miss her very much, my heart is full when I think of the happy reunion there must have been when she was finally reunited with my grandfather. I was thrilled to be there to honor her life and legacy.

So now I'm back home after a week away completely surrounded by (and enjoying) all the rambunctious noise and chaos that goes with having five kids, but realizing that with all my traveling and readjusting back to reality that I haven't typed up any recipes for a couple of weeks. Generally I try to have at least a week or two cushion of recipes made, typed, and scheduled to publish every other day, so I don't have to stress when life gets crazy that I don't have time to post. But here I am now with a pretty substantial stack of recipes that I've made but still need to be typed and I can't seem to focus...so without further ado....Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles (typed and published the same day). :)

This is another one of those recipes I tried from the awesome Sisters' Cafe that I really enjoyed. I made it one time at home for my family and then made it again for my extended family in Utah while we were there last week. The first time I made it I added one whole cup of water as indicated on the original recipe and thought it made the sauce just a little too watery, so the second time I tried it with only about a third of a cup and thought it was perfect. My family (especially my Dad) went gaga over the slightly spicy savory sauce. I highly recommend adding the water slowly until you get to your spiciness level.

I actually had enough natural light at my parents' house that I didn't have to go outside to take the picture. :)

CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE RECIPE

The ingredients:
1 lb. whole wheat thin spaghetti noodles
2 Tbs. sesame oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs. rice vinegar
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/3 - 1 cup water (the original recipe calls for a whole cup, but the second time we made it with only a 1/3 cup and we much preferred the spicier flavor)
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup white onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup red or orange bell pepper, finely chopped
3 cups chicken breast, cooked and shredded (One time I sauteed it on low heat and the other time I stuck it in the crockpot)
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped
2 Tbs. toasted sesame seeds

Set the water to boil and cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile prepare sauce in the food processor (or blender). Place garlic and ginger in food processor until well chopped. Add peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, and red pepper flakes. Pulse until well combined and slowly add hot water (to taste). Set aside.

Place olive oil in hot skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and bell pepper for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in cooked chicken breast, cilantro, and salt. Stir until heated through.

Add sauce and chicken mixture to noodles. Toss to coat and garnish with peanuts and sesame seeds, if desired. Makes 6 servings.

Enjoy!