{Dinner Last Night: Thai Chicken Pizza}

Last night was pizza night at the Hansens. But not just your average slice of pie, I tried my hand at a Thai-inspired recipe I found in an old issue of Eating Well! Take that, Pinterest. It was quite a stretch from our typical pizza combos, but delicious nonetheless and certainly one we'll make again. A nice change up and definitely a hit with our little one, who licked the crust clean of its savory peanut sauce!

Thai Chicken Pizza
Recipe from Eating Well Magazine circa 2007

Ingredients
20 ounces prepared whole-wheat pizza dough, (or you could prepare from scratch)
1/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter
3 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon canola oil
8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 scallions, thinly sliced
2/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Method

1. Place oven rack in the lowest position; preheat to 450°F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Roll out or stretch dough on a lightly floured surface into a rough 16-inch oval. Transfer to the baking sheet. Bake on the bottom rack until puffed and lightly crisped on the bottom, 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, whisk peanut butter, water, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger and garlic in a small bowl until well combined.
4. Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring, until cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add bell pepper, scallions and 1 tablespoon of the peanut sauce to the chicken; toss to combine.
5. Remove the crust from the oven; spread evenly with the remaining peanut sauce. Top with the chicken mixture, then sprinkle with cheese. Return the pizza to the oven and bake on the bottom rack until the crust is crispy and golden and the cheese is melted, 11 to 13 minutes.
6. I also added a touch of crushed red pepper and fresh cilantro just before serving. Enjoy!

Dinner Last Night: Windy City Pie

Do you ever just crave a delicious slice of Chicago style pizza? What if I told you it was possible to have one (or two) and not feel so guilty? Yep, this is a certified clean eating recipe! Go ahead, jump for joy!

The first time I tried this recipe Chris went crazy for it and now, two months and four attempts later, we have near perfected it and most definitely added it to our favorites! Of course it only seemed appropriate to share it with you. So go ahead, plan a Friday night in, whip up this pizza, grab a glass of wine and a movie. You will thank me later!

And just a note, a springform pan works best with this recipe (like this one).

Windy City Pie
adapted from Clean Eating

2 links lean, all-natural, spicy chicken or turkey sausage
2 T olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, sliced thin
1 each small red and green sweet bell pepper, sliced thin
1 1/2 cups button mushrooms, roughly chopped
1/8 t each sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 frozen, prepared whole wheat pizza crust
6 oz low-fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup of your favorite all-natural, low-sodium pizza sauce

Preheat oven at 450 degrees.
Cut a slit along the length of the sausage, remove and discard the casing, place sausage meat into a small bowl and refrigerate until needed.
In a medium saute pan, heat 1 T oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for 2 minutes, until tender. Add bell pepper and mushrooms and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and transfer vegetable mixture to a bowl and set aside.
Return pan to burner over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, breaking up meat with wooden spoon until meat is firm, opaque and fully cooked, about 4 minutes. Pour sausage meat into a paper-towel lined bowl to drain excess fat. Mix vegetables and meat together in a bowl.
Brush inside of pizza pan with 1T remaining oil. Roll out dough to about 14 inches in diameter. Place rolled dough directly into pan. (diameter of dough should be wider than the bottom of the pan). Press dough into the bottom and sides of the pan gently, carefully stretching the dough about 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the pan.
Sprinkle half of the mozzarella over the bottom of the crust. Pour vegetable and meat mixture over mozzarella. Pour pizza sauce evenly over the top and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.
Place pan into oven and bake about 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown, cheese is bubbling and filling is hot throughout.
Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes to let filling set. Cut into 8 slices and serve with pie server.
Serve immediately.

Pizza Perfection

I've just got to tell you about dinner last night! Don't be fooled by the name because it might sound a bit unconventional, but it's a combination of two foods that are close to my heart: pizza and Mexican food! Naturally, it's called Chicken Taco Pizza and whoever put this combo together was pure genius!

With that said, this recipe will definitely be added to my favorite combos, right alongside this one and this one! Can you tell we have a slight addiction to homemade pizza?

Chicken Taco Pizza
1 frozen whole wheat pizza crust, thawed
1/2 cup tomatillo salsa, plus more for serving
1/4 pound part-skim mozzarella, shredded, divided
1 cup no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen yellow corn, thawed
1 frozen boneless, skinless grilled chicken breast (such as Nature's Rancher brand), thawed and chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 425°F. Arrange crust on a pizza stone or large baking sheet. Spread salsa over crust and sprinkle with half of the cheese. Top with beans, corn, chicken and remaining cheese and bake until crust is crisp and cheese is bubbly, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro, cut into 8 pieces and serve with more salsa on the side.

Just a note~

*I substituted the mozzerella with sharp cheddar, something I would definitely recommend!
*The recipe isn't clear, but I recommend grilling the chicken beforehand and only cooking the pizza for about 15 minutes and not the 25 they suggest (unless you like a REALLY crispy crust!).
*Don't forget to use whole wheat crust to boost the nutritional content! Whole Foods makes a fantastic dough that can be found in the frozen section. Not only is it less than $2, but it is one of the best pizza doughs I've found (I don't mess with homemade in this case)!

Happy Friday and don't forget to turn your clocks forward as daylight saving begins this weekend.

Completely Refreshed

I feel so refreshed on this beautiful Monday morning! Amazing what an extra day off can do to lift your spirits and prepare you for a brand new week!

The laid back nature of the past few days gave me an opportunity to catch up on things, get in a few good workouts (including a fantastic run last night!), have a lunch date with a lovely friend, lots of magazine reading and some quality sleep. I heart weekends!

Oh yes, and the Chicago style pizza I made Friday night was AMAZING! My husband was so impressed that he requested I make it again. I love when that happens! Check it out on pg. 33 of the March/April issue of Clean Eating!

I hope your weekend was wonderful and got you started on the right foot this morning! Merry Monday!

Mental Health Friday

Even though this week was a short one, I most definitely needed a "mental health day" today. Since I am still working my full time job in addition to building my training clientele, I've been a tad bit exhausted the past few weeks and needed a little breather from my 4am alarm. Thank goodness this is only a temporary situation until I have enough regular clients to just train, which doesn't even feel like work to me!

The day is already off to a magnificent start! After I finish my yummy breakfast, I think I'll take Abby for a walk to the park and then maybe to Starbucks for a soy chai...yum!

Tonight I'm whipping up a Chicago style pizza for dinner (from Clean Eating) complete with a bottle of wine and a few candles to set the mood! I predict it to be quite a lovely evening!

As for the rest of the weekend, we have not a care in the world. We spent yesterday afternoon talking about fun things we could do and sadly, a day trip to San Francisco is out because it's raining there all weekend. But I feel sure whatever we come up with will be wonderful, even if it's just hanging out at home together!

Happy Friday! Hope your weekend is lovely!

Inspiration: Pizza Garden

A huge reason Chris and I look forward to having a house one day is the endless possibilities for a garden! Just imagine: fresh herbs, plants, flowers and of course, a Meyer lemon tree!

For now we are perfectly content with our potted plants and little, overflowing herb pot, but some day I plan on borrowing this idea from Better Homes and Gardens and planting a pizza garden!

How perfectly fitting for us since homemade pizza is a staple in our kitchen!


They even grid out where to place the various veggies and herbs. Leave it to Better Homes and Gardens to be so clever!

A. 2 'Husky Cherry Red' tomatoes
B. 1 'Golden Jubilee' tomato
C. 2 basil
D. 1 'Keystone Giant' bell pepper
E. 1 'Jalapeno' pepper
F. 1 oregano
G. 3 onion
H. 2 rosemary
I. 5 thyme

An Unusual Combination

When you think of pizza toppings, what comes to mind? Pepperoni? Olives? Sausage?

How about pesto, grilled chicken and grapes? That's right, I said it. Grapes. Your reaction might have been similar to that of my husband's, but you haven't tried the recipe we did last night and possibly found the single most delicious pizza combination yet:) I must have some hardcore faith in Cooking Light for trusting that Chris would like this dinner because I was so reluctant to tell him the "fruity" ingredient, but somehow sure he would love it! Turns out, I was right!

I believe this could dazzle any pizza lover, with it's succulent basil scent, savory cheeses and the crunch of sweet grapes. I'm telling you, I surprised myself with this one! Definitely a hit!!

*I substituted a whole wheat crust.
*I would highly recommend spending the few extra dollars on the fresh mozzerella and romano cheeeses; it makes all the difference in the freshness of this pizza.

Chicken, Red Grape, and Pesto Pizza


And on a side note, it turns out our oven really wasn't heating properly and has now been fixed! Remember this? At least I know I'm not losing my touch. After our lovely dinner last night, we enjoyed a thick, delicious slice of pumpkin pie. All is well in my kitchen again:)

Happy Tuesday!

Does the Weekend Have to End?

Well, it's Sunday night and once again I am feeling the weekend slipping away too quickly!

Friday night, we decided on Up for our date night entertainment. Seriously, it was so stinkin' cute! What is it about Pixar movies that appeal to both young and old alike? Whatever it is, they should keep it up. This is a must see!


All ready for date night!


And as predicted, I opened my eyes to the clock saying 6:09 on Saturday morning! Some people find it annoying to wake up early on the weekends, but I absolutely love it!! I feel like I have the whole day to savor:) I even stopped at our favorite little doughnut shop, Jasmine's, for a splurge of a breakfast. Man did we enjoy it! And because we had absolutely nothing planned, we got dressed and went garage sale-ing (surprising, I know!). We also stopped by the Tattered House, only to find the dresser I found last week was sold! Talk about depressing!! So we drove to Oldtown Folsom, where antique shops are abundant. I don't think I have been there in years. We had such an awesome afternoon walking around the shops and enjoying the great California weather. We also discovered the best gelato I have EVER had!! You should really trust me on this one. I traveled through Europe tasting numerous kinds of gelato and am here to say, this was better, well, at least as good:)

Yay for garage sales and great Saturday mornings together!


This afternoon I called my Mom to see if she wanted to go shopping with me. I needed to stop by Aveda for some essentials and wanted to make a stop at Anthropologie. I know I really shouldn't go there when I don't have a lot of extra money, but our anniversary is next weekend and I wanted a few new tops...and they are having a big sale. I finally made a decision on the few pieces I would buy, even though I wanted the whole store:) As my Mom was dropping me off at home she hands me a bag...? It turns out she's a real sneakster and bought me the headband I was drooling over AND a cute metal "H" (I am obsessed with H's right now). Seriously, how great are Moms?!

How adorable is this? I can't wait to wear it!


And because it was just too darn good not to post, here is the fabulous dinner we enjoyed tonight...

Fresh Mozzarella, Italian Sausage and Roasted Red Pepper Naan Bread Pizzas

I've been dying to make these for weeks now. Talk about a hit! And paired with Chimney Rock's Elevage Blanc, it was the perfect sweet ending to a perfectly relaxing weekend!

The countdown has begun...7 days till our 1 year anniversary!!!