It was my turn to host "girls night" last night, and I've been dying to try some new, healthier recipes out on my girlfriends! I found a great Thai peanut chicken recipe for the crock pot on Pinterest (from www.bhg.com) and thought I'd give it a whirl! It was delicious! Warning: there are a "butt-load" of ingredients!

Hot and Spicy Braised Peanut Chicken 

2 medium onions, cut into thin wedges
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1 small red sweet pepper, cut into bite-sized strips (I omitted)
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 cup chicken broth
3 Tbl. creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp. finely shredded lime peel
2 Tbl. lime juice
2 Tbl. soy sauce
2 Tbl. quick-cooking tapioca
1 Tbl. grated fresh ginger (I omitted)
2-3 tsp. red curry paste (I omitted)
4 garlic, minced (I used dried, minced garlic)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup frozen peas
chopped peanuts (optional)

Place onions, carrot and sweet pepper in a slow cooker.  Top with chicken.  In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, peanut butter, lime peel, lime juice, soy sauce, tapioca, ginger, curry paste and garlic until smooth. Pour over all in cooker.  Cover and cook on LOW setting for 5-6 hours or on HIGH for 2 1/2-3 hours.  Stir in coconut milk and peas.  Let stand, covered for 5 minutes.  Serve chicken mixture over hot cooked rice.  If desired, sprinkle each serving with chopped peanuts.

I started my crock pot out at HIGH for one hour, and then LOW for 4 hours. I have a WARM setting on my crock pot, so I left the chicken mixture on WARM for two hours until it was time to serve. I also felt it was not "zesty" enough (perhaps because I omitted the curry paste and ginger), so I added more soy sauce and some bottled peanut sauce before serving over warm brown rice - so yummy!

As if that wasn't enough food for my guests, I also made roasted sweet potato cube skewers with a Cilantro Aioli dip. I also found this recipe on Pinterest, it's originally from http://rx4foodies.wordpress.com, and it was AWESOME!

Roasted Sweet Potato Cube Skewers

3 medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled
extra virgin olive oil
Paprika
salt and pepper
bamboo skewers

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Dice the potatoes into 1-inch cubes.  Place the cubes in a medium-sized bowl, drizzle with olive oil and season with paprika, salt and pepper. Toss with hands to coat evenly.  Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Stir the potatoes once or twice during roasting.  Roast for about 30 minutes, or until tender but slightly crispy on the outside.   Remove from oven and allow to cool just enough to be easily handled.  Skewer the cubes and enjoy with your favorite dip!

Cilantro Aioli 

1/2 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped, or 3 Tbl. Cilantro cooking base (found in the Hispanic food section of the supermarket)
juice of one lime
salt, to taste
2 jalapeno chiles, seeded and chopped (optional)

In a food processor, combine the mayonnaise, cilantro and jalapeno; pulse until smooth.  Pour into a bowl. Add lime juice, and salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate for one hour before serving, to allow all the flavors to develop. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.