Thai Peanut Sauce Chicken Pasta

This is one of my favorite recipes - my family discovered it years ago when it was published in the Dallas Morning News.  It is really easy to make and really good - if you like spicy Asian food, you'll love this.

Ingredients:

• Peanut Sauce
• 4 cloves fresh garlic (or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder)
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. peanut oil
• 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp. onion powder
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
• 2 grilled chicken breasts, chopped into bite size pieces
• 2 cups cooked pasta (I used penne this time)
• sliced green onions

Yield: 4 servings

Gather all the peanut sauce ingredients and place them near the blender. Drop the cloves, one at a time, into the blender while it is on. Turn the blender off. Place the lemon juice, peanut butter, water, ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, peanut oil, ginger, vinegar, onion powder, sesame oil, and red pepper into the blender container. Pulse at high just until combined (5-10 seconds). Turn off. Scrape down the sides of the blender with a spatula, and pulse again until well blended.

Pour the peanut sauce into onto the drained pasta. Add the chopped grilled chicken and green onions. Stir and serve immediately.