Szechuan Noodles

This recipe (and picture) came from my freebie Woman's Day Magazine. Pretty much the only useful thing I found while perusing it. Thank goodness it was free. I was a little apprehensive reading through the recipe as it calls for peanut butter and since I've never cooked with peanut butter I didn't know what to expect. (Baking with peanut butter is a different story.)

Paul and I were surprised to find it quite tasty, even my picky eater Miss Lana ate it!

(ps. Sorry Dad, I know you're not going to like this one!)

12 oz linguine
1 cup chicken broth or water
2 Tbsp lite soy sauce
12 oz ground pork
1⁄4 tsp red pepper flakes
6 scallions, cut in 1 1⁄2-in. pieces
1 large carrot, shredded
1 Tbsp each minced garlic and ginger
3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
Garnish: chopped cilantro

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook linguine as package directs. Stir together broth and soy sauce in a measuring cup.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground pork and red pepper flakes. Cook 5 minutes, breaking up, until browned and no longer pink. Add scallions, carrot, garlic and ginger; cook 3 minutes.

3. Stir broth mixture and peanut butter into pork. Cook until peanut butter is melted and blended.

4. Reserve 1 cup pasta water. Drain linguine, add to skillet and toss to evenly coat with sauce. (I didn't toss with the pasta) (Stir in some pasta water if needed to keep mixture creamy.) Sprinkle with cilantro.