A Little Desert Apartment

So.  My child is obsessed with all things peanut butter.  And chocolate but right now, I am focusing on her peanut butter love.  Her school is not peanut free (but they do have precautions in place) but her summer program is a nut-free zone.  She loves her PB&J sandwiches but she understands and is totally cool with taking a turkey & cheese or ham & cheese sandwich.  Easy peasy.  When she comes home from program, I try to give her a snack with peanut butter or sometimes, for dinner I will make a peanut chicken or a super simple African-Style Peanut Chicken stew.


I have a few neighbors who are from Africa and the Middle East.  They are some of the friendliest neighbors and are always looking out for each other.  I love to hear about their lives in their home country, learning words in their mother language and of course, learning about their cuisines and how to make them.  One of my neighbors is from Ghana and she made a traditional ground nut stew for me.  It had potatoes, okra, tomatoes, and peanut butter.  I am simplifying it but it was such a complex and beautiful recipe.  She said there are many ways to make it as there are people and there is no right or wrong way.  

I've made it many, many times over and each way, a little different.  When I made it the other day, I didn't have any fresh tomatoes so I used a Francesco Rinaldi tomato, garlic and onion chunky pasta sauce and you know what? It totally worked.  I mean, who doesn't have pasta sauce in their pantry? It's a staple, amiright? Gotta love one that has no preservatives and is good to have on hand as a shortcut.  Sometimes, you want something other than the typical pasta dish, right? 




It's so simple but the flavor is "slap yo'self" good! 

It's chicken.
Peanut butter.
Onions, 
Garlic.
Tomato (in this case, tomato, garlic & onion pasta sauce).
And hot sauce. 



Have dinner on the table in 30 minutes (or less!)


RECIPE: Spicy African-Style Peanut Chicken Stew
(printable coming soon)

1 lbs of chicken
1 cup of tomato, garlic and onion pasta sauce (or use a couple of diced roma tomatoes)
1/2 white onion diced
1/4 cup of creamy peanut butter
1 cup of chicken broth (more if desired)
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp. butter (divided)
Sriracha or Sambal Oelek

1. Diced chicken breasts in to bite sized pieces.
2. Saute in 1 tbs butter until browned.  Remove from heat and set aside.
3. In a separate pan saute garlic and onion in butter and remaining tbsp butter until soft. (if using fresh tomatoes, add them when sauteing garlic and onion)
4. Add peanut butter and stir well.
5. Then add the chicken broth and pasta sauce (if using).
6. Now add chicken to mixture and bring to boil.
7. At boiling point, reduce heat to medium and cook for about 6 minutes or until sauce is thickened.  If it becomes too thick, add more chicken broth or water.
8. Top dish with sriracha or sambal oelek (leave it off for those who don't like spice) and serve with rice.

You can find Francesco Rinaldi at Wal-Mart in the pasta aisle (Pssstttt... they're on Twitter!)




What creative ways do you use pasta sauce?

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