I've been a busy little bee...

...cooking away this week! I've already made tonight's dinner even though we haven't eaten yet. The weeone has a softball game - Go Crickets!- and it's the season finale of The Biggest Loser, so I don't want to have to cook after the game. I had gotten the Rachel Ray Big Orange Book a little before Christmas of last year, but haven't really made much out of it. But one thing that RR is good at is fast meals that even a kid will love.

She didn't fail me tonight either. These Cold Chicken Satay Noodles combine flavors that just about all kids love and do it in about 20 minutes from start to finish. The weeone had a few bites while they were still hot and proclaimed them to be "disgusting and good". I took that to mean that they looked disgusting and tasted good. Mine came out a bit gloppier than RR's look in the photo in the cookbook, but that could have something to do with the fact that I don't have a food stylist lurking in my kitchen trying to figure out how to make the food look "pretty".

So, it's in the fridge now, chilling so that I can have a yummy meal while watching to see who lost the most weight on this season's Biggest Loser. I'm rooting for Tara!

Cold Chicken Satay Noodles
from Rachel Ray's Big Orange Book

• 1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
• 1/4-1/3 cup smooth or chunky peanut butter, softened (eyeball it)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 cup warm water (eyeball it)
• 1/4 cup Tamari (dark soy sauce)
• 1 clove garlic, grated with microplane or box grater
• Juice of 2 limes, zest of 1
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce (eyeball it)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable, peanut or sunflower oil (eyeball it)
• 2 cups store-bought rotisserie chicken meat, skin removed and thinly sliced
• A handful of shredded carrots
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
• 1 cup spinach greens, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped peanuts, available in small pouches in the baking aisle
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro or flat leaf parsley, whichever you prefer

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, salt water liberally, then drop pasta in and cook to al dente. Run cooked pasta under cold water to cool. Drain well and reserve.

While the water is coming to a boil and the pasta is cooking, whisk together softened peanut butter, honey and warm water in a large bowl.

Once they're combined, whisk in the Tamari, garlic, lime juice and zest and hot sauce.

While whisking continuously, pour the oil in a steady stream to complete the dressing. Add noodles, veggies and peanuts to the bowl and toss until everything is mixed well. Place noodles in shallow bowls and top with chicken and cilantro or parsley.

No Nutritional Information Available