Tag Archives: Chicken

Sunny Day Meals

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As the temperatures rise, I find myself less and less inspired to cook.  I neglect the housework until the last possible moment and spend as much time outside as possible. The kids are at an age where I’m bargaining with them on a nightly basis and promising we will be outside as soon as possible the following morning, just to get them inside so I can wash their feet, faces and hands before bed!

With this in mind, I put together this list of my favorite beautiful day meals. Meals I serve because it’s too gorgeous to stay inside at the stove or it’s just too hot to even think about eating a full meal.

Summer Steak Salad: Nothing like a beautiful afternoon to make you want to fire up the grill!  This is our summer go-to date night meal.

Dippin’ Chicken Tacos: Quick and easy to eat in between water balloon fights or even poolside, this recipe is one of our family favorites.

Thai Chicken and Vegetables: I made this last night!  I recently discovered a wonderful rice pasta that cooks up in about 5 minutes and the kids just gobble down.  I love to eat this as left overs, cold, the next day too!

Cheddar-Stuffed Burgers: This is my husband’s pride and joy.  And it just takes burger night to a fun new level with the oozy cheese in every bite. :)

Sloppy Lentil Sandwiches: Sometimes, you need fast picnic-style food that isn’t for the carnivores. This is another one of my cold-leftovers-for-lunch favorites.

Creamy Quinoa and Vegetables: I fully intend to make a large batch of this on a weekly basis and bring it with us as pool-side lunches.

Peanut Butter Fondue: Another poolside option for me.  I like this dip as a meal or a quick snack, but either way it’s loaded with protein and good fats, so it’s practically guilt-free… right?

So there you have my summer’s worth of go-to meals. What are your favorites?  I’m going to be in need to poolside snacks in another month or so, what do you take with you for the kids to munch on during the lifeguard breaks?

Snow and Salads

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This post went live yesterday at the Green Phone Booth, but I thought I’d share it here too! We are finally home and settled back into our regular routine (which I love!!!). Yesterday we were hit with the first major snow storm of the year… I guess 2012 was just too mild that Mother Nature was in a hurry to pack it in for the year. And with 8 inches of snow in a matter of hours, I’d say it was successful.

I don’t plan to leave the house for a few days and that’s ok. The fridge is stocked and we have plenty of coffee. In the meantime, we’ll be having a salad loaded with cranberries, grilled chicken and kale for lunch. I bought some kale on Christmas eve so I’d be ready to detox all the rich foods we’ve been consuming over the last few days! The salad is filled with magnesium, calcium, iron and vitamin C. All of which are beneficial for healing bodies that have been thrown for a loop by eating foods we don’t typically eat while celebrating the holidays!

Cranberry and Chicken Salad with Millet
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast (grilled or baked)
• 2 cups kale, washed and stripped from the ribs
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup millet, rinsed
• ½ cup balsamic vinegar
• ¼ cup. roasted sunflower seeds
• ½ tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. dried mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
Place millet, a tiny pinch of salt and 3 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. When the water is absorbed, remove the pan from the heat, fluff the grains and cover until you are ready to add it to the rest of salad.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a skillet and bring to a medium heat. Add in the onions, kale, and garlic. Sauté until the kale is limp and the onions are tender. Sprinkle with paprika, mustard, salt and pepper. Toss thoroughly. Slice the chicken and add to the skillet. Stir so that the contents are well mixed. Reduce the heat to low and pour in the vinegar. Simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the millet and mix the ingredients well. Serve in bowls topped with the cranberries and sunflower seeds.

October Freezer Cooking

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This past week was one that I was so grateful for a stocked freezer.  Supper prep for the most part involved walking into the kitchen and asking Liam what he wanted to eat. This past week, I needed the ease of a frozen meal, freshly washed lettuce for salads and fruit for the kids. I’m having to make some adjustments with Liam’s routine again and make sure he’s getting a quiet period during the day so he can rest. That boy… just like his mama. Too much busyness and he is a disaster. Thankfully, I’m learning through his needs that I can say “no” to people and activities if it’s just too much. A lesson I really, really needed!

Anyway.  I grocery shopped on Thursday of last week. It took hours because I did Sam’s Club, Kroger, Target, bulk food store, Wayne’s and our butcher shop. But again, I will only have to go to the grocery in the next month for fresh fruit and vegetables and milk. Totally worth it. I did a whole food menu for the month of suppers and made sure to account for leftovers to be eaten on the weekends and for lunches. I also calculated in for a few meals that will not be eaten at home due to birthdays, the tri and Boo at the Zoo. Friday morning, I got up with my list of meals and did the crock-pot prep meals. I started working at 930 and did not put the last dish in the dishwasher until about 830 that night. BUT, I took time out of working to play with the kids, assist in the potty, color, serve meals, read stories, change diapers, answer questions and hand out snacks. If I hadn’t done those things, I think I could have been done in about 5 hours.

  • Taco Soup (2 batches)
  • Tuscan Mac and Cheese (2 batches)
  • Meatloaf (2 batches, meatloaf made and shaped then frozen)
  • Greek Casserole (4 batches… this was a mistake, should have only been 2, but they are in the freezer for a quick meal when needed)
  • Pizza (2 batches of dough made and then frozen.)
  • Chicken Tikka (ingredients in a bag that will easily dump into the crockpot whenever I’m ready)
  • Chicken Parmesan Meatballs (not prepped and recipe to be shared… eventually)
  • Meatballs (2 batches, one for stroganoff and one for bbq meatballs with orzo)
  • Cheeseburger Mac (meat and seasonings cooked, and in a bag with the cheese and pasta… will take 10 minutes to finish)
  • Dippin Tacos
  • Sloppy Janes with ground turkey (not sure how great this will be… I was tired by the time I got to this recipe, so this could wind up being a pb&j sort of night.)
  • Pot Roast with mashed potatoes (Meat will go in the crockpot and the mashed potatoes are made and ready to bake.)
  • Spicy Apple Glazed meatballs (new recipe that I can’t wait to share!!)
  • Beef Pot Pie (this will be made with the leftover pot roast meat so it’s not even prepped)
  • Confetti Chicken Pasta (new recipe, not freezer friendly)
  • Chicken Alfredo and Rice Casserole (new recipe and I’m not certain how freezer friendly it will be… we’ll see)
  • Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup
  • Panini
  • Falafel (not prepped, but the garbanzos are cooked and waiting in the freezer)
  • Sloppy Lentils (also not prepped, but the lentils are cooked and in the freezer)
  • Bread (4 loaves made and 3 frozen)
To be entirely fair, the beans and lentils were already cooked and in the freezer (which is how I picked those meals) and I baked the bread Wednesday. I also decided to bake the meatballs instead of frying them and I may never go back.  I made 2 pounds of meatballs and then just baked an entire pan full while I continued to work. In the next few months, I won’t do as many freezer meals because of the holidays, but I do plan a turkey for next month and look forward to some fun casseroles or quesadillas with the leftovers!
So my freezer is stocked and I’m free to spend my afternoons playing in the still pleasant weather or baking. Although… now that I’m not training for something, I probably shouldn’t bake so much. I hopped on the WiiFit this morning and it yelled at me for snacking. I wonder who told that nosy thing?!

Visual appeal… for soup

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For some reason, when I first started cooking, I was just desprate to figure out a fantastic recipe for Chicken Tortilla soup. And then, I got scared, but I only sort of like Chicken Noodle soup so I quit trying for a while. I’m going to be honest here and tell you that while I was looking for a reliable recipe, I was also looking for a result that looked appealing. I’ve seen a lot of tortilla soups in my search and not one of them, no matter how yummy it sounded, it didn’t look good to me.

As the weather here chills, I find myself wanting to spend my afternoons curled up with the kids, instead of in the kitchen cooking. This recipe is something quick and easy and makes your home smell comforting. I will warn you though, my kids don’t eat soup (I suspect the texture wierds them out a bit in addition to the fact that it takes an awful lot of coordination to get a spoon of liquid from a bowl to your mouth…). Therefore, this is more of a date night or dinner guests sort of meal for us. I made my own tortilla chips from whole wheat tortillas, but they did not keep well at all. Oh well, at least we tried!

Hearty Chicken Tortilla Soup

  • 3 large chicken breasts
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 large green pepper, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, halved and seeded
  • 1 quart tomato puree
  • 1 quart chicken broth
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 Tbsp. cumin
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 cups black beans (optional)
  • 1 cup corn (optional)
Put all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and set it on low for 4-6 hours.  When the chicken is tender, remove it from the pot and shred.  Set it aside. Remove the bay leaf.  I did not add the black beans and corn, so at this point, I used my immersion blender to carefully puree the onions and peppers into the brother. (You could still do this step if you waited until the very end to add the black beans and corn if you like as well.) Add the chicken back into the pot and stir to mix it through.  Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips.
*Note: This soup is good for up to 1 week in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.  If you choose to freeze the soup, leave adaquate headspace or it will expand and blow the top off your container. It’s messy.

May freezer cooking extravaganza

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Perhaps “extravaganza” is a touch overstating things.  I really enjoyed all the freezer cooking I did last year, but hadn’t restarted once Spring hit and my weekends were just too full to set aside time to do more than a few meals.  I don’t know about the weather where you are, but here it is glorious.  Glorious enough that since the backyard is now safely fenced in, the kids and dogs and I can run wild all afternoon and not once do I worry about anyone getting hit by a car!  However, far too many nights we have been outside playing with nary a thought to supper until Matt pulls in the drive and we are all too hungry to wait for me to cook and off to Burger King we go.  *hanging head in shame*  No more.  I knew my grandmother was going to be in town this week, so I asked if she’d come over and help out; chopping veggies, browning meat, doing dishes.  Turns out, having the extra body in the house made my cooking experience a breeze.  We finally collapsed on Monday afternoon with a freezer full of food and only a little bit to do the next day.

Beef meals:

http://onceamonthmom.com/italian-flank-steak-pinwheels/ (not frozen… Mother’s day meal that I will make again and again… this is the recipe I used for inspiration)

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/cube_steak_milanese.html (not prepped at all, it’s a very quick meal though)
Chicken:
http://www.slenderkitchen.com/slow-cooker-thai-peanut-chicken/ (meal over the weekend, ingredients from this shopping trip… tasty, but not Earth shattering)
http://www.thyhandhathprovided.com/2009/07/bang-bang-chicken.html (not prepared, all ingredients together in a bag for when I am ready to make, though)
http://www.sweetpeasandpumpkins.com/2009/02/next-to-boiling-water-this-could-be.html  (this is how I cook the whole chicken for the pizza and tikka masala)
Pork:
Ground pork and sweet potato tacos from Clean Eating
Vegetarian:

Meals for the next 2 weeks in the upstairs freezer. The rest are stored in my deep freeze.

This month’s cooking will last until the middle of June.  I have planned for 2 out-to-suppers and a few vegetarian meals that will have to be made the nights they are planned for.  This I suppose is important to note: I ONLY cook for suppers.  I know a lot of the monthly planners calculate in for breakfast, lunch and supper, but I don’t.  Reason being that it’s just me and the kids most days.  I plan lunches on the weekends, but they are typically very simple since we are either playing or traveling.  I made a few breakfast casseroles a week or so ago and froze individual pieces so for breakfast here we’ll do that or cereal or muffins and yogurt.  I usually do french toast or  pancakes on the weekend.  Lunches here are typically whatever Liam is wiling to eat that day, eggs, mac and cheese, leftovers… pretty much whatever appeals to us.

This shopping trip cost me $221.57.  This is all the meat, staples, frozen veggies, dairy products and fruit.  I did pantry/freezer dive right before with the goal of using as much of those items as I could.  I will have to go back to the store in between and buy fruit, salad greens, milk, eggs and cheese, but those trips aren’t too bad.  Once I get my garden going, I will only have to go for the dairy products since I am still not allowed to have a cow or chicken.  I’m hoping to keep the food budget under $350 for this time.  All the meat is from MaryAnne’s (local, grass fed, etc.) except for the chicken which I got at Kroger’s ON SALE.  I do ask Matt to drive out to Planktown for the eggs every other week since the holy grail of eggs is only $1.89 and 15 minutes from his office and they are almost 4 dollars here in town.

I’m thrilled with how this went and fully plan to continue this throughout the summer.  I will soon be canning the garden’s bounty (if I ever get the plants in the ground…) and will be extra grateful for meals all ready prepared!

**In case you are interested, here’s the timeline for Mondays’ cooking:

630: up and taking care of house/kids/self for day…
830: Slow cooker Asian Pork meals prepped and packed into ziploc bags, instructions for cooking taped to the outside of the bags.  Whole organic chicken (Krogers!) in the crockpot for 5 hours on high.
845: Bang bang chicken ingredients organized and frozen.  Recipes printed.  Action plan written out.  Drama with children.  3 trips to potty. 2 Diapers changed.  Laundry in wash.
1000: Grandma arrives.  I’m browning the ground beef for The spicy beef lettuce wraps.
1030: Beef for wraps cooling, I make the meatball mixture and hand it to Grandma to make… 6 dozen meats from 4 pounds of ground beef.  I freeze the other 2 pounds of unused meat for later.  I make the filling for the eggrolls and set aside to cool.
1130: Lunch for Sylvi.  Bag and label the spicy beef wraps filling.  Sylvi for nap.  Grandma still rolling meatballs.
1200: Lunch for Grandma, me and Liam.  I hang laundry.
100:  Grandma begins cooking meatballs.  I prep for the pork and sweet potato tacos.  Veggie mix made for Sweet and Sour Meatballs.  Sweet and sour sauce made.  I make all the egg rolls.
230: Egg rolls in the oven.  I made beef taco mix.  Pack the meatballs with veggies, label and freeze.  Pork taco mix cooked, cooled and frozen.
315: Egg rolls cooling.  Sylvi up from nap.  Snacks made.  Grandma shreds up the chicken.  We decide we are done for the day and go outside.

More quinoa love

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I’ve been having a rough time coming up with a good lunch plan for me and the kids.  Liam is on a peanut butter and jelly only diet and I’m not quite ok letting Sylvi eat that day in and day out.  And me?  Well, I’m keeping an eye on my caloric intake.  Not in the sense that I’m cutting hundreds of calories, but in the sense that I want what I eat to count.  I hate eating a healthy meal and then being hungry 30 minutes later.  That being said, I’ve spent a great deal of time scouring Pinterest looking for inspiration.

I happened upon a recipe that I thought would be excellent but when I tried it out, it was awful.  So I scrapped it and started it again.  This result was amazing.  Sylvi and I ate it right up, but Liam turned up his nose.  There wasn’t any jelly involved so I let it go.  I can’t say that this recipe is the quickest to put together, but the time was worth it.  This recipe makes enough to serve 4 as a main dish or 8 as a side.  I would omit the chicken if I were to make this as a side dish.  But that’s just me.  I’d also eat this straight out of the pan…

Creamy quinoa and vegetables

  • 1 1/2 cups uncooked quinoa
  • 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh chives, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 1 crown broccoli, cut into small pieces
  • 2 carrots, shredded
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1 small zuchinni, shredded
Rinse the quinoa and then add it to a medium saucepan with 3 cups of water.  (I add 1/2 tsp. sea salt to the quinoa and then don’t add any later since the base ingredient is already seasoned.)  Bring the quinoa to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer.  While the quinoa cooks, heat a skillet over a medium burner and add the olive oil.  Place all the vegetables and garlic in the skillet and cook until the broccoli is a crisp tender and still brightly colored.  Stir frequently.  Add the yogurt, chives and a few cracks of pepper and mix well.  Finally add in the broth and the cooked quinoa and stir so that the vegetables are spread evenly throughout the quinoa.  If you are using chicken, add it now.  As an added bit of flavor when you serve, grate some Parmesan over the top.

 

My favorite

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I’m glad I got back into making my own yogurt again.  Now, I have a fresh quart of plain yogurt whenever I need it to do neat things like marinate chicken.  For months, I’ve had to make a note and a specific trip to the store if I wanted to make a lot of the dishes I’m dying to try.  Sunday afternoon, while the Pear butter was simmering, I grabbed some chicken out of the fridge and coated it in a thick bath of yogurt and spices, fully intending to grill it up for supper.  But then, we got company and company that doesn’t like Indian food.  Well, company that hasn’t ever had Indian food and I’d love to challenge their opinion of it.  I let it marinate overnight and we had this on Monday night and my goodness, I didn’t make enough of this to share.  As it was, I wept a tiny tear when I gave up the leftovers so Matt could take them to work this morning. 
Chicken Tikka Masala one of my absolute favorite Indian dishes.  I always order it when we go to an Indian restaurant and whenever I see the sauce jarred in the grocery, I buy it to try.  I haven’t had any since about a week before I had Sylvia so I was just dying to savor every bite.  And this dish did not disappoint.  Creamy and with just a hint of spice this is a dish that even the 7 month old licked her fingers over.

Chicken Tikka Masala
  • 1 c. yogurt
  • 1 c. fresh cilantro or coriander
  • 3 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger
  • 3 Tbsp. fresh minced garlic
  • 3 Tbsp. garam masala
  • 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1 lb. chicken
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 jalapeno, minced  (this makes a fairly mild sauce, feel free to add more if you desire)
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 tsp. cumin
  • 2 tsp. paprika
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 8 oz. pureed tomatoes
  • 1 c. whole milk
  • Cilantro for garnish
  • Naan
 Mix the yogurt, cilantro, ginger, garlic, garam masala, and red pepper flakes.  Cover the chicken in the marinade.  Allow to set for at least 4 hours, but preferably over night. 
In a large saute pan, melt some ghee and saute the onion, garlic and jalapeno until tender.  Sprinkle the cumin, paprika and salt.  Saute until fragrant.  Pour in the tomatoes and simmer 5 minutes.  Add the milk and cook over low until the sauce thickens.  In the meantime, grill the chicken until cooked through.  Cut the chicken up into small pieces and add to the sauce.  Serve over brown or basmati rice and with warm naan.  

** For the Cheflets:  Liam ate this just fine, but I’ll admit he was more interested in the naan.  I gave Sylvia the rice with a small amount of sauce on it.  She got the flavor, but none of the zing.**

Butter!!!!!

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My uncle bought me a cookbook for Christmas a few years ago entitled Fat. Right on the cover it proclaimed itself as “an appreciation of a misunderstood ingredient, with recipes”.I couldn’t have asked for more. The book is broken up into 4 parts: butter, pork fat, poultry fat and lamb/beef fats. There are a number of recipes that I am anxious to try, especially since I rarely find anything that calls for the fat to stay in the recipe. 

Photo Credit: AGlugofOil.com

For this meal, I chose from the chapter on butter. I took some liberties with the actual cooking process since I was hungry and wanted to eat sooner. The book’s version takes a smidge longer and is slightly more authentic to the traditional dish. Either way, this delightful dish is simple and accessible for any weeknight meal. This recipe calls for both ghee and butter, so we get to really experience the full range of flavors. Matt isn’t a fan of the smell of ghee  when it is heated, but I love it. One whiff and I am standing in the streets of Calcutta again. 

Murgh Makhani (butter chicken)
- 2 onions, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
- 1/4 cup peeled and coarsely chopped ginger
- 8 cardamom pods
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 2 tsp. toasted cumin seeds
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 2 green chiles
- 1 dried red chile
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 lb of chicken pieces
- salt
- 2-3 Tbsp. Ghee
- 14 oz. canned tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, diced
- 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro or parsley
- 1 lime

Place the first 10 ingredients in a food processor and whirl until a smooth, soupy sauce. Heat the ghee in a skillet and brown each of the pieces of chicken. (Add more ghee if necessary.) When the chicken is sufficiently browned, remove it from the pan and salt. Pour the chili sauce into the skillet and heat to a quick bubble. Stir in the tomatoes and paste. Add in the cream a little bit at a time, stirring to incorporate. Put the chicken in a casserole dish and dot the tops with butter. Pour the sauce over the top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for half an hour. Serve over rice or orzo and squeeze some lime juice over each plate. Finally, sprinkle the chopped herbs and enjoy!

Dippin’

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Whenever I’ve mentioned that Liam is turning into a rather picky eater, people always suggest that I give him things to dip.  As in, dip things into ketchup or ranch or honey mustard.  Well, he isn’t a big fan of the ranch dressing, save the occasional finger painting, he won’t even try mustard and as far as ketchup goes… he won’t eat anything that has been in contact with it.  Not kidding.  I can’t say I’m all that heart broken over this, but it does rule out any of the “tricks” that are always suggested for getting kids to eat. 
I made this dish with the intent to use it as a dip for Matt and I and then to offer Liam the chips as a side so he could eat it with a spoon.  He was content to eat like this for a while until he noticed I wasn’t using a spoon, but a chip to feed myself.  He asked for a “tate” and was hooked.  Not only was he devouring this meal, I diced the chicken so finely he didn’t even notice it was there (we’re currently on a strike against any meat that isn’t ground beef) and he was so proud of his new skill that he kept showing Daddy how he could take a bite with a chip.  This recipe just found it’s way onto my standby list for menus.  Finally.  Something other than meatloaf for supper.
Dippin’ Chicken Tacos

  • 1 recipe Mexican Rice
  • 1 pint salsa
  • 1/2 half an onion, diced
  • 1 cup shredded chicken (I had cooked my chicken in the crockpot, shredded it and then diced it to be close in size to the rice.)
  • 1 cup shredded cheese
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup vegetable puree (I used squash in mine)
Saute the onion until tender and then add in the chicken to heat through.  Mix the puree and the sour cream together and pour into the pan, reducing the heat if necessary to keep from bubbling.  Add the salsa and the rice and stir until combined.  Pour the mixture into an 8 by 8 baking dish and top with the shredded cheese.  Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, depending on how dark you like your cheese to be.  Serve as a dip with small tortilla chips.

A Simple Thai Supper

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I’m going to be honest and tell you that cooking is not top priority for me these last few weeks.  I made and froze several meals, we’ve eaten sandwiches and I’ve been playing around with a master recipe for homemade hamburger helper.  You’ll notice on the counter at the bottom of this page that I’m 4 days overdue with Baby #2.  I refuse to dig into the freezer stash too early so I posted a plea on facebook to ask people for suggestions for meals that wouldn’t take too much effort.  One such suggestion was this website, Give Every Night New Flavor.  I’ve played around with it a lot and it’s a good resource for those nights when you have absolutely no inspiration and no plan.  This meal right here was inspired by one of the suggestions that came up when I searched under half an hour.  I was a little hesitant to serve this to my toddler, but he gobbled it right down and my husband even said that I “finally” got the peanut sauce right.  Success!  Not bad for the giant pregnant lady, right?

Simple Thai Chicken and Vegetables
  • 1 pound chicken
  • 2 cups broccoli, chopped
  • 3 small carrots, matchstick chopped
  • 1/2 cup onion, diced
  • 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (I had JIF natural in the cupboard)
  • 1/2 cup Soy Sauce
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  • red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 lb. whole wheat spaghetti

Cook the chicken until tender over medium heat in an oiled skillet.  I had chicken tenders on hand so it just took a few moments and I diced the chicken after it was cooked.  If you are using chicken breasts, I’d dice them before cooking.  Remove the meat from the pan and replace with the vegetables and more oil if necessary.  When the onions are translucent and the carrots are just becoming tender, whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, water, garlic powder and a few red pepper flakes, and then add the sauce to the pan.  Reduce the heat to low, add in the chicken, and allow the sauce to simmer for 10 minutes.  If you haven’t already cooked your pasta, now is the time to do it!   To serve, pour the sauce with the meat and vegetables over the pasta and garnish with red pepper flakes to taste.