thai ginger peanut noodles

does that name sound like a mouthful? i agree. i kind of made it up. the real name is 'ginger peanut noodles with chicken.' but that's kind of a mouthful, too, right? also, i can never remember what it's called, so i always say, "you know...that thai ginger peanut noodle recipe? you know which one i mean?" and that's what we call it at our house. so that's what we'll call it here.

so once upon a christmas, my mother-in-law decided to remind me of how awesomesauce she is and give me a subscription to the magazine of my choice. although can said i should choose "people" (we love us some celebrity gossip), i went with "real simple." i know, i know. i'm quickly maturing from a gossip-loving-teen to a trying-to-figure-out-how-to-cook/clean/organize/parent-twenty-something-er. let me put a plug in for this magazine. i love, love it! i always find some good tips and tricks in there to help me simplify my life. if you don't get this magazine, you should! and if you don't want to, you should check out realsimple.com!

okay. where was i? oh yes. ginger peanut noodles and "real simple". i found this recipe in the recipe section (go figure!) of the magazine and was eager to try it. as i've mentioned before, we love thai food. also, once in a while i get in a cream of chicken soup/cream cheese rut (i know! it's normally my fave!) and want to change it up.so when i found this recipe, it seemed right up our alley. i love that it's different from what we usually eat, yet it's still quick, simple, yummy, and easy on the budget. i made a few minor changes. you can find the original recipe here if you don't trust my changes :)

 
image from realsimple.com
you need: 
1 c. water

1/2 c. peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
3 tbsp. rice vinegar (if you have it, use it. but it smells like regular vinegar. so you can use the regular)
3 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. grated fresh ginger (the recipe calls for 1, but i use 2 because i love it)
8 oz .spaghetti

1.5 cups shredded rotisserie chicken (i don't like rotisserie chicken, so i just put a couple of boneless, skinless breasts in the crock-pot all day on low and shred them)

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 small cucumber, cut into strips

2 Tbsp. chopped peanuts

cook the pasta according to the package directions, drain it, and put it in a large serving bowl. 

while the pasta is cooking, combine the water, peanut butter, rice vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, and ginger in a blender and blend until smooth. when it is smooth, pour the sauce mixture into a pot and heat on high until boiling. once hot, pour the sauce mixture over the noodles and toss. add in the chicken, bell pepper, and cucumber, toss to combine, and serve with sprinkled peanuts.

mmm. i think we will be having this tomorrow. just thinking about it makes my mouth water! it is a really yummy dish, and the cucumber and pepper make it taste really fresh and refreshing during the summer.

enjoy!

ps, we realize that we've been seriously neglecting this blog lately. but it's summer. that in itself is a good excuse, right? we have been spending our days swimming and camping and eating popsicles with our kids. so we're staying busy and having fun.
you can forgive us, right??