Peanut butter chicken in the crock pot

I love peanut-based Thai sauces.  I love how their peanut buttery and sweet and spicy all at the same time.  So when I recently ran across this recipe, I knew I had to give it a try.  Because I also love great meals made in the crock pot!

I ended up tweaking the recipe quite liberally to suit my family’s tastes and dietary needs.  This is the version I used.

Peanut Butter Chicken in the Crock Pot
(net carbs: 22g for whole recipe)

• 1-1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in chunks
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter (I used the grind-your-own PB you can get at most stores now since I only needed enough for this recipe – it cost less than a dollar, so it’s a great way to go!)
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (La Choy’s low sodium had 2/3 less carbs than the generic!  always read those labels)
• sprinkle of cumin
• sprinkle of crushed red pepper
• 1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream
• liquid sweetener (I used sugar-free vanilla syrup for me and real maple syrup for the kids)*

Spray the crock pot with nonstick spray and add chicken and mushrooms.  Place PB on top in dollops (I may have used a bit more – I just eyeballed it).  Add broth, soy sauce, cumin, red pepper and stir a bit.  The PB won’t mix in, but that’s OK.  Set the crock pot to low.

After about an hour, once the PB has melted, give it a stir to incorporate things better.  Cook on low for another 5-7 hours.

Stir in cream and let cook for 20-30 more min, until warm through.

Scoop into dishes and add sweetener to taste (I used approximately 1 Tbsp for a 1/2 cup serving), then stir well before eating.  You can add a bit more red pepper here if you wish, too – I was very conservative with the spices when I mixed it all up so it wouldn’t be too hot for my kids.  So when I served it to my husband and me, I added more pepper.

* If you aren’t using different sweeteners for different family members, you could probably add it at the beginning, but I’m not sure how much – 1/4 cup, maybe?