Thai Chicken Pizza on Homeade Naan

   This pizza was unlike anything I've ever made before....and it was DELICIOUS! Brian always likes it when I make pizza, but of course I always want to try something new and interesting besides the normal pepperoni. I'm not a huge fan of store bought pizza crust, but making it homemade can be a real chore. Then this recipe for homemade naan caught my attention. This makes 8 (6 inch) flat breads. I made four pizzas and saved the rest for another night. The flat breads come out soft and chewy but get crispy in the oven. These flat breads would also be great for wraps, quesadillas, or just by themselves.

    I got the pizza recipe from Simply So Good. It is originally from the CPK cookbook. I've never ordered the Thai Chicken Pizza from CPK, but if you like it, this is the recipe for you! The sauce was easy to throw together and the toppings were simple. I sprinkled some chopped Thai Basil on top of the pizzas after taking them out of the oven. I have Thai Basil in my herb garden, but cilantro would work just as well. The recipe is for 8 individual pizzas. I think this was a successful dish and a nice twist on traditional pizza. Nothing about it is complicated, but it does take time to prepare the flat breads, so I would probably only make this on the weekend.  Give it a try and tell me what you think!

Homemade Naan
(from Budget Bytes )

2 tsp dry active yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup water
2-3 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 large egg

In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water. Stir to dissolve then let sit for a few minutes, until frothy. At that point, stir in the oil, yogurt and egg until evenly combined.
In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour with the salt. Next, add the bowl of wet ingredients to the flour/salt mixture and stir until well combined. Continue adding flour a half cup at a time until you can no longer stir it with a spoon (about 1 to 1.5 cups later).
At that point, turn the ball of dough out onto a well floured counter top. Knead the ball of dough for about 3 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. I ended up using about 3 cups of flour total. The dough should be smooth and very soft but not sticky.
Loosely cover the dough and let it rise until double in size (about 45 minutes). After it rises, gently flatten the dough and cut it into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a small ball by stretching the dough back under itself until the top is smooth and round.
Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and spray lightly with non-stick spray. Working with one ball at a time, roll it out until it is about 1/4 inch thick or approximately 6 inches in diameter. Place the rolled out dough onto the hot skillet and cook until the under side is golden brown and large bubbles have formed on the surface. Flip the dough and cook the other side until golden brown as well. Brush with melted butter.

Thai Chicken Pizza
( adapted from Simply So Good )

Spicy Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp honey
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp roasted sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp siracha
2 Tbsp water

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring, until well combines and slightly cooked. (Sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated until ready to use.)

Pizza Toppings

2 chicken breasts, chopped
1 Tbsp siracha
3 cups shredded mozzarella
4 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup shredded carrots
3 Tbsp roasted peanuts
4 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
fresh Thai basil or cilantro, chopped

Saute chopped chicken breast in a little olive oil over medium high heat until cooked through. Stir in siracha.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
To assemble pizzas, spread about 1 Tbsp peanut sauce over each flat bread. Sprinkle 1/8 mozzarella over top of each pizza. Continue topping each flat bread pizza with about an 1/8 of the remaining toppings; cooked chicken,  green onions, carrots, and peanuts.
Place pizzas on pizza stone or directly on oven rack. ( I only made four pizzas which fit nicely in my oven, but you may have to do it in batches if making all 8)
Bake for 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

Remove from oven and drizzle with sweet chili sauce and sprinkle with fresh chopped herbs.

Enjoy!

Homeade Baby Food

I have several projects that we have done (my husband and I) over the past few months that I will be posting periodically. This is one of those.

I decided while I was pregnant that I would make all of Ethan's baby food from scratch. I figured I cook delicious food for us, why shouldn't Ethan get the same? And besides, who would want to eat that nasty garbage they call baby food? What is actually in that stuff anyway?

So I did some research. It is actually very simple and you can make enough food in a couple of hours for 1-2 months if you freeze it. I didn't buy one of those expensive baby food makers. I already had a food processor and knew I wanted to make it in large batches. All I bought was a steamer and some silicone ice cube trays. Here's what you need:

Steamer (I used an electric one, but you could use a steamer basket)
Food processor or blender
Ice cube trays
Large freezer bags
Fruits and vegetables

The first batch I made, I bought 2-3 fruits and 2-3 vegetables. I think they were apples, peaches, pears, yellow squash, green peas and carrots.  I sliced them up and put them in the baskets of the steamer.Most things steam in 15-20 minutes. They need to be pretty soft the first couple of months, because you want a smooth puree.

I also steamed some fruits on the stove with a small amount of water in a large pot.

Once everything was tender I pureed them one at a time in the food processor and poured them into the ice cube trays. I covered each tray with plastic wrap and put them in the freezer overnight. The next day all I had to do was empty the cubes into freezer bags and label each one with the food and date.

This has been one of the easiest and best things I have done for Ethan. I feel good to know I am feeding him only the cleanest and freshest foods. He will eat anything and everything and has a great appetite. I can't help but think it is partly because he is eating food that actually tastes good and is good for him. I highly recommend it!