Little Rascals

I have found that, when you reach a certain age, from time to time you will invite friends over for dinner and a few of these little monsters end up tagging along as well.



As I have a kid-friendly policy, I'm happy to have them along, but trying to cook a meal that will keep both adults and children happy is a bit trixy. Basically, you have two options: (1) make a real meal for the adults and mac & cheese or the like for the kids or (2) dream the impossible dream and attempt to put together a single meal that is both interesting to adults and, at a minimum, tolerable to children. Not being one to shy away from a challenge, I picked option #2. Of course. I suspect that even though this is my third entry, you aren't surprised.

The solution? Thai food. Wait! Before you make that face, think about it. Thai food has a lot of peanut dishes or, more accurately a lot of peanut butter dishes. And, aside from children with violent peanut allergies, peanut butter is loved by all. Actually, I'll even argue that such children would love it, were they able to try it.

Recipe for child-friendly food after the jump!

Thai Peanut Chicken

Chicken & Veggies
1 Medium sweet onion (or two large green onions)
1 Carrot (julienned)
1 Medium zucchini (cut into strips)
1 1/2 lbs Boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into strips)
1 Tbsp. Vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. Minced ginger
3 Cloves garlic (minced)

Sauce
1/3 cup Soy sauce
1/2 cup Creamy peanut butter
3 Tbsp. Chili sauce
3 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar
3/4 cup Water

1 package (16oz) thin spaghetti

In a large non-stick skillet, cook the chicken until golden brown and cooked through. It will likely need to be done in two batches. Remove chicken and set aside.

In the same skillet, warm oil and saute ginger, garlic, and carrot until lightly browned. Add in onions and zucchini and cook until tender. Remove vegetables and set aside.

Now would be a good time to boil some salted water and start the spaghetti.

In, once again, the same skillet combine all of the ingredients for the sauce and stir until well blended, adding more water if necessary to achieve desired consistency. Return chicken to sauce and heat through, simmering in the sauce. If you keep the heat very low, you can leave the chicken there long enough for your pasta to catch up if it is taking its time cooking.

To serve, place linguine on the plate, layer the chicken and sauce next, and top with vegetables.

When I'm cooking for myself, I tend to cut the size way down and replace chicken with a lot more veggies, makes for better leftovers. This pairs well with a salad, but I trust that you can handle that.

If all goes well, you should end up with a couple of these by the end of the night: