Stir-Fry with Peanut Sauce

A few of my friends came over one evening in November for a recipe swap.  We sat at down at a table with our favorite recipes and meal ideas and shared our ideas with each other.  I ended up with quite a few new recipes.  My friend Wendy gave me a great recipe for Shrimp with Thai noodles and peanut sauce.  I harvested some bok choi from the garden and decided to make a stir-fry.  I get tired of teriyaki sauce, so I wanted to try something new.  I decided to try the peanut sauce from Wendy's recipe.  We loved it!  I made mine mild for the kids, but you could easily increase the amount of red pepper flakes or add some chili paste if you want a spicy peanut sauce.  One of my favorite things about stir-frys is that you can use whatever vegetables you have around the house.  Feel free to substitute any of the vegetables in this recipe.  I usually add broccoli, but we didn't have any at the time. Thank you, Wendy, for this awesome recipe!

Chicken Stir-Fry with Peanut Sauce

(serves 4)

Peanut Sauce

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used Jif)

1/4 cup Italian dressing

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon grated ginger root (1/8 teaspoon if using dried ginger)

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes.

1) In small saucepan, combine water, peanut butter, salad dressing, brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger root, and red pepper flakes.

2) Cook over medium-low heat until smooth and creamy, stirring frequently.  Set aside.

Chicken Stir-Fry

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow squash or zucchini, cut in half, lengthwise and sliced

2 bell peppers (color of your choice), cut into 1-inch pieces

4 carrots, sliced

1 rib of celery, sliced

1 head of bok choi, chopped

1) Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook about 5 minutes per side, until done.

2) Add yellow squash, bell peppers, carrots, celery, and bok choi.  Stir-fry for about  4 minutes.

3) Add the peanut sauce and toss well.

4) Serve over rice or noodles.