Repost: Thai Chicken Pizza

I found this recipe over on Munchin' with Munchkin and boy does it look good. Can't wait to try and recreate it next week.

Sometimes the best meals are complete accidents. This Thai chicken pizza came about from an impromptu fridge cleaning. On Sunday we we’re a little stumped for dinner. We had marinated chicken in the fridge that I had intended to make on Friday, but never got around to it. We also had a ball of pizza dough and vegetables for a stir fry. In an attempt to use all our leftovers before going grocery shopping, I thought of a pizza I used to enjoy in high school.
My friends and I would often stop for pizza after class on Fridays. Our school was sandwiched between a residential neighborhood and and an industrial area which gave us very few food options. There was a Lebanese restaurant, a Tim Hortons, and a pizza parlor. The pizza toppings were fairly standard at this restaurant, however there was one that stood out among the rest; Thai Chicken Pizza. The sauce was a spicy peanut sauce and it had grilled chicken, green onions, carrots, bean sprouts and cheese. The first time I tried it I was hooked and from that day on, it became my standard order.

Relying on fond memories, I whipped this pizza together while Greg grilled our chicken. It was the perfect Sunday night dinner, enjoyed with a cold beer and great company. The leftovers were also a great lunch the next day at work. This pizza can easily be made vegan as well with a few minor adjustments. I would recommend replacing the grilled chicken with the grilled tempeh from my Thai Spring Roll recipe and using almond cheese instead of mozzarella.

What’s your favorite toppings for pizza? Do you prefer the classics or trying something new?  I’ll eat almost anything on a pizza except for anchovies and red onions. How about you?

Thai Chicken Pizza

serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

TOPPINGS:

• 1 14 oz ball of prepared pizza dough
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1 tsp. sriracha
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts
• 1/4 cup broccoli, shaved
• 1/4 cup carrots, shaved
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 red pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 cup mozzarella

SAUCE:

• 2 tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 tbsp. peanut butter
• 1/4 tsp. soy sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2-4 drops chili oil
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 green onion, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a sealable container, combine sriracha, one tablespoon of sesame oil, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes. Toss chicken breast in sauce and marinate for a minimum of one hour.
2. Grill the chicken on a barbecue until internal temperature reaches 170 F. Remove from grill and dice into bite size pieces.
3. Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 475 F.
4. Unroll the dough and sprinkle the bottom with one teaspoon of cornmeal. Transfer to the pizza stone and bake for 7 minutes.
5. In the meantime create the sauce. Combine sesame oil, peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, chili oil, red pepper flakes and green onions in a small bowl.
6. Remove the pizza dough from the oven and drizzle the crust with prepared sauce. Top with cheese, grilled chicken, shaved broccoli, shaved carrots, red pepper slices, diced green onions and bean sprouts.
7. Return the pizza to the oven and bake for 10 minutes more until cheese melts and crust is golden. Slice and serve.

Curry Chicken

To stay in the spirit of my quick meal wave, I decided to grab a packet of curry chicken from Publix. There are so many meal options at Publix that will save working mom on a tight budget. To add some spice to my curry, I add a bit of crushed red pepper and boy was it yummy!

Add a little oil to the skillet and throw the chicken in

Toss until its brown

Add one cup of water or one cup of coconut milk if you want thai curry. Cover and cook for 45-55 minutes on medium heat.

When you remove the cover, prepare to be slapped in the face by this delicious sight

Serve over rice and with some corn on the cob

Jerk Chicken

I was in the mood for something spicy last night and decided a quick trip to the Caribbean was in order. I normally make my own jerk chicken using simply jerk spices and chicken, but I was too lazy to do so I picked up a pre-seasoned chicken pack from Publix. 

chopped up leg quarters with onions and green peppers, seasoned with jerk spices

If you ever need quick meal ideas, Publix has ready-to-cook meals in the freezer/meat section. As a working mom, this comes in handy when you need to get dinner on the table quick. Anyway, I whipped up this dish in an hour using my handy-dandy cast iron skillet. My Instagram hits last night when I posted the final results were ridiculous!

Heat your cast iron skillet (or dutch oven) over medium heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Add your chicken and veggies in. Stir continuously and allow to cook for 7-9 minutes.

You want to make sure you brown the outside of the meat.

Once the meat has been browned, add one cup of water to skillet. You can add half water and have water and flour if you want it thicker. 

Look at it cooking up!

Cover the skillet (or dutch oven) and cook on low for 55-60 minutes.

I let mine cook for 55 minutes until the chicken was done and then removed the cover so that the water could cook down more

Once the water is almost out, turn the stove off and allow it to "rest" for 10 minutes before serving. Doesn't it look good?

Serve over rice and add a bit more spicy to kick it it up a notch. 

Tips:

• If you are using your own jerk spices, rub the chicken with olive oil before rubbing it with jerk seasoning. Let it sit overnight so that flavor is absorbed well. 
• Chicken quarters work best because you can cut it up into pieces, but using other parts of the chicken are good too.

Buffalo Chicken Bites

This recipe is another Pinterest goodie. I did a little more research on it and decided to do a spin on the original recipe I found. Here's how you do it:

Crescent rolls, hot sauce (your choice - just make sure its thick), shredded cheese, cream cheese, diced chicken and green onions

Shred the chicken and green onions up and coat it thoroughly with hot sauce. Let stand for about 20 minutes.

 *NOTE: Do not dice the chicken up too fine. You want it to be a little thick and have some texture.

Add half a pack of cream cheese (more or less depending on how creamy you want it)

Unroll the crescents and spoon the mixture it. Top with shredded cheese and roll up.  Bake according to the instructions.

Fresh out of the oven

Yum

Yummy goodness!

Tips:


Texas Pete hot sauce wasn't good for this. I will opt for Frank's instead next time.
Use the whole green onion when adding.
To save time on chicken, use a rotisserie chicken and season how you want.
You can use biscuits or crescents; both are fine.

The Easiest Chicken Ever

I haven't cooked much this week but I did find this very easy crockpot chicken recipe over on The Larson Lingo.

Get ready for one of the easiest meals ever.
Of course it involves the crock pot!
Here is what you need:

- Bag of frozen Chicken Breast Tenderloins (2.5-3lb bag)
- 8 oz block of cream cheese (don't use Fat Free! 1/3 less fat or regular is fine)
- Can of Black Beans, drained & rinsed. (or Pinto Beans if you prefer)
- Can of Corn, drained.
- Can of Rotel

Directions:
Put frozen chicken in the crock pot.
Put Cream cheese on top of the chicken.
Dump in the Black Beans (make sure they are drained & rinsed!!!)
Dump in the drained corn.
Dump in the Rotel,

Cover & cook in your Crock Pot on low for 6-8 hours.
Every 2 hours, I stir the ingredients.
You can shred the chicken when it is done, or just leave it as tenderloins.
This is what it looks like after 6 hours:

I turn the crock pot off & let it sit for about 30-45 minutes.
It is a little soupy, but letting it sit causes it to not be as soupy.

I serve this over rice. The rice soaks up some of the soupy-ness.

It makes a lot, it feeds 6-8 adults. You could have it for dinner a couple nights & for lunch.
I actually like it better on the 2nd day, when it isn't as soupy.
So, you could make this the day before & then keep it in your fridge overnight.
When we have it on a leftover day, sometimes I combine the rice & the cream cheese chicken mixture and use it for burritos. Add a tortilla, some lettuce, cheese & salsa.
Easy. Good. Healthy.

And, you could use pinto beans instead of black beans.
Make a tostada or a rice bowl.
So many options!
Whatever floats your boat!

I don't even have a name for it.
I call it "Cream Cheese Crock Pot Chicken"
But, it is like Cream Cheese Chicken Goodness.
Call it whatever you want. It is yummy & so easy to make!
Enjoy!

***Edited to Add***
Some of you have said there isn't much of a kick, so if you want to add more flavors, you can add a packet of taco seasoning, or a packet of dry ranch dressing mix, or use Hot Rotel (or Hot Salsa).

Chicken Tacos

Happy Cinco de Mayo! In honor of the day (and the fact that I wasn't  going to wait 2 hours to get into anyone's Mexican restaurant), I decided to make my own bootleg version of chicken tacos. 

The cast. A cooked chicken, sour cream, black beans, peppers, tortillas, tacos, guacamole, shredded lettuce and taco seasoning.

I like using low sodium products. It doesn't matter if the seasoning is namebrand or not. 

Break the chicken up into small pieces. Not too tiny since it's already cooked. Cover it with taco seasoning and brown in a skillet. Once all the meat is coated and tossed, add a splash of water and saute for a bit.

Time to prep! Get your shells ready and fill with chicken.  Not too much because you have alot of ingredients. I like  to use the Stand N' Stuff shells.

Next, add the black beans you heated up in a small pot. Add a little taco seasoning to the beans while they cook. Make sure you drain them before adding to the shell.

Then, add some guacamole and jalapeno peppers.

Once that's done, it's salsa time! 

I didn't show it but add your sour cream. I like to smear mine on the shell instead of drop it on everything else. Top with as much lettuce and cheese as you want.

And now its time to eat!

Homemade Chicken and Rice Soup

I love quick one pot meals that I can set and forget. My homemade chicken and rice soup is just that.





1 pack of chicken legs (about 6 legs)

1 cup of chopped celery

1 cup of chopped carrots

1/2 cup of chopped onions

1 TBSP of black pepper

1 TBSP of seasoning salt (although I'm sure I'm used alot more)

A dash of sea salt

1 bag of frozen mixed veggies

2-3 handfuls of rice





Place the chicken, celery, carrots, onions and seasonings into a crock pot and add enough water to cover the top of the chicken. Place on low and allow to cook for 6-8 hours. Once done, remove the large bones and shred the chicken. Add a bag of mixed veggies and allow it to cook on low for 30-45 minutes. After the veggies are done, add two handfuls (give or take) of uncooked rice and stir. Allow to cook on low for 20-30 mins.

The cast

Yummy chicken and veggies before adding the rice

Adding rice to the crockpot. Yum!

Top with crushed red peppers and eat up!

It is very important that you don't allow the rice to overcook or else it will turn to mush. Add more seasoning to taste and serve! My little guy LOVES this soup/stew.

Chicken Quesadillas

Finely dice chicken (I had a rotisserie

  chicken leftover that I used.)

Finely chop mixed peppers and an onion. 

Mix the peppers, onion and chicken together on a plate and sprinkle taco seasoning on top.

Add a little butter or EVOO to the griddle and sautee the filling.

Keep the heat on low so you don't burn it.

Use your favorite tortillas as shells for the top and bottom

Use a Mexican or taco cheese blend for the tortillas.

  

Brush the tortilla with butter or EVOO and place on the griddle.

Next, sprinkle cheese on top and then cover with the meat filling.

Once the cheese has melted on the bottom, add more cheese on top

of the meat and put another tortilla on top. Flip it over and allow to brown.

Looks good, doesn't it?

Cut into fours or sixes and serve with sour cream and salsa.

Adults love it.

Kids love it too!