hungry? try this.

Chorus was asking about slow-cooker recipes for those nights when you either 1.) don't want to cook or, 2.) really don't want to decide what to cook, which then leads you back to 1.) don't want to cook.

I'm still working on gathering good crockpot literature. I have plenty of options which involve Cream of Mushroom soup, but I'd like to move beyond that.

The recipe below, however, is our household's magic default answer to, "What's for dinner?" Easy, quick, and makes great leftovers for lunch. It's not my recipe: it came from Cooking Light, about four years ago. Skip the chicken, use veggie broth, and feel free to add tofu for a vegetarian option. Enjoy!

Thai Chicken Pasta*

1 carrot, peeled
2 cups less-sodium chicken broth, divided
1/3 cup reduced-fat peanut butter
1 tbl chpped peeled fresh ginger
1 tbl low-sodium soy sauce
2 tbl honey
1-2 tsp crushed red pepper, to taste
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast
5 cups cooked rice noodles
6 tbl sliced green onions
6 tbl chopped, unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

1. Shave carrot lengthwise into thin strips using vegetable peeler. (Edit: this looks cool but is kind of a pain. I just grate the carrot.)
2. Combine 1/3 cup broth, peanut butter, ginger, soy sauce, honey, red pepper, and garlic in small saucepan. Stir with whisk until smooth. Do not heat up until all other ingredients are ready.
3. Place chicken in large saucepan, add remaining broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove from heat; let stand 20 minutes. Drain; cut chicken into small pieces. Combine carrot, peanut sauce, chicken, and noodles in large bowl. Heat sauce until warm, stirring constantly; do not boil. Pour sauce over noodles and toss to coat. Sprinkle with onions and peanuts. Serves 4-6.

*Technically, this is called "Spicy Soba Noodles with Chicken in Peanut Sauce." For one, we prefer rice noodles, so the name doesn't work for us. And we just call it "Thai Chicken Pasta," because "Spicy Soba Noodles with Chicken in Peanut Sauce" does not really roll off the tongue, if you know what I mean.

Also, I confess that I do not always use the low-fat, low-sodium, unsalted, reduced-fat items. I uses what I gots. If that's regular peanut butter, so goes it. Never seems to make much of a taste or texture difference.