Thai Peanut Chicken in a Slow-cooker

One of the WIC staples which was originally hard for me to use every month was peanut butter. But then I discovered the joys of Thai cooking, One of the trademarks of a Thai dish is peanut, and since peanut butter is usually already sweetened, it works well for a fast, flavorful Asian sauce.  This is the first recipe I found in a slow-cooker cookbook 365 Days of Slow Cooking by Karen Bellessa Petersen.You'll notice I use this book ALOT! Sometimes I wonder if she had WIC in mind when she wrote it, but if not, who cares?! She's got some great tasting ways to use our fabulous food items. It's safe to say, this isn't the last you'll hear from Ms. Petersen.

Now for the recipe(with a few slight modifications which I usually make):

2 cloves garlic (I substitute 1/2 Tbs. garlic powder)

2/3 c. peanut butter (I like the texture of the chunky kind)

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast

1 c. shredded zucchini (but when it's not in season I use french style cut green beans)

1/3 c. soy sauce

1 tsp. sugar (I never put this in, peanut butter is sweet enough for me)

1 red pepper cut into strips

1 Tbs. lime juice (or a splash of lemon juice if that's all you have)

1 C. chopped cilantro (or none if you don't feel like it)

12 oz. cooked and drained linguine or fettuccine noodles (or whatever kind of noodle you like, really it doesn't matter)

Chopped peanuts for garnish (which I usually just use chunky variety of peanut butter and call it good)

Directions: 

1. Combine everything except the noodles, cilantro, lime juice and garnish in the Crock pot.

2. Cover and cook on low for 3-5 hours.

3. 30 minutes before serving, add lime juice and cilantro.

4. Serve over noodles with optional garnish.

That's it! Give it a try and tell me what you think!