Best Comfort Food to Pack On The Go: Peanut Butter Noodles

Our hot lunch recipe wagon presents a hot lunch you can take to work or school.  Our recipes are quick, easy and less than 30 minutes to cook.  Cook our recipes the night before, refrigerate and reheat the next day.  Or, on the other hand, you can cook our meals and freeze them for next week’s lunch.  Our special today is Peanut Butter Noodles

HOT LUNCH RECIPE WAGON: Peanut Butter Noodles

This is a version of the sesame noodle dish that is so popular in American Chinese restaurants.

1 cup pasta (see hints)

¼ cup creamy peanut butter

2 teaspoons freeze dried chives

¼ cup chicken broth

2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon honey

2 teaspoons rice vinegar (See hint)

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

• Cook the pasta according to the package directions and drain.

• While the pasta is cooking, combine the peanut butter, broth, chives, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey and ginger in the processor or blender bowl. Process until smooth.

• Pour sauce over the drained noodles and toss well.  Sprinkle the sesame seeds over noodles and pack warm in a heated lunch tote for a hot lunch to go.

HINTS

 You can use any kind of pasta for this recipe- spaghetti or spaghettini, macaroni, flat egg noodles, spirals, radiator, egg bow ties. You can use short pastas.    Three color pastas ( the green ones are colored with spinach and the red ones with tomato)

Freeze dried chives and sesame seeds are available in the spice section of the supermarket.

Rice vinegar, which has a gentle flavor and is slightly sweet, is available in the supermarket ethnic foods section. You can also buy sushi vinegar. You can also use brown rice vinegar from the health food store.

COOKING AHEAD OF TIME

You can make the sauce (step 2) and refrigerate it up to 4 days.  You might even like to make a larger batch to have on hand for several meals. Then just before serving, cook the pasta and toss with the amount of sauce you need.

STORAGE

These noodles will keep for 1 week in the refrigerator.

You can carry your hot lunch in a heated lunch tote.

HOT LUNCH CHEF