Thai Chicken Pasta Salad

I tried PB2 tonight for the first time!  It tastes okay, and was a great substitution for regular peanut butter in our dinner recipe.  I'm not sure that it would be very good on a PB&J sandwich or spread on crackers, but for recipes, it worked fine. 

Thai Chicken Pasta Salad  

Recipe from here.

Ingredients 

• 3/4 cup reduced-fat creamy peanut butter
• 3 tbsp. water
• 3 tbsp. lime juice
• 3 tbsp. molasses (I just used sugar free maple syrup)
• 4 1/2 tsp. reduced sodium soy sauce
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp. rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/3 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 12 oz. uncooked whole wheat spaghetti
• 2 large carrots, julienned
• 8 cups finely shredded Chinese cabbage
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
• 2/3 cup minced cilantro
• 3 tbsp. unsalted peanuts, chopped

Directions

1.    For dressing, in a small bowl, whisk the first nine ingredients until smooth; set aside.

2.    In a large saucepan, cook spaghetti according to package directions, adding the carrots during the last 2 minutes of cooking; drain.  Transfer to a large bowl; stir in cabbage and chicken.

3.    Whisk dressing and pour over spaghetti mixture; toss to coat.  Sprinkle with cilantro and peanuts.  Serve immediately or chill before serving.

This recipe was just okay.  I will make it again, but I think it needs numerous changes.  It seemed a little bland to me, but I did forget to add the cilantro before we had dinner.  I will add some before we have it for leftovers, and hopefully that will help.  It definitely needs salt and maybe some other seasonings.  Also, I wasn’t happy with the pasta to veggie ratio.  I think it would be much better with AT LEAST double the veggies called for in the recipe.

Happy Friday!