Friday, April 29, 2011

Weeknight Shortcuts: Thai Chicken Pizza

It's difficult to believe that it's been a whole week already since our last post. But, that just goes to show how busy we've been with the planning for the Cookies for Kids' Cancer Bake Sale & Silent Auction here in Milwaukee.  We've met an amazing array of people over the past couple of weeks, whose generosity has been absolutely astounding.

Unfortunately, it also means we haven't been creating a whole lot of original recipes in the Burp! kitchen.  Fortunately, we have a few delicious "secret weapons" under our belt that assist in making sure we're still happy and well fed, even when times get crazy.

One of our favorite quick weeknight meals happens to be this delicious veggie laden Thai chicken pizza, which is a breeze to throw together even when time is tight.  It does make use of a few convenience items, which we don't normally rely upon.  But, its nutritional profile still remains quite solid, which makes it a nice stand-by for nights when we might otherwise order take-out.

One of the items I try to keep on hand are premade corn pizza crusts (we love these rustic crusts from Vicolo, made with non-GMO corn).  These make a great base for a variety of pizzas, and they're absolutely delicious.

In addition to the crusts, a great Thai pizza needs only a few additional ingredients to be absolutely stellar -- some leftover chicken, a few vegetables, cilantro, and some delicious Thai style peanut sauce.

If you've never made peanut sauce before, you'll be delighted by how easy it is to put together. We use a no-cook sauce made with peanut butter and coconut milk. But, you can also use a premade sauce (Trader Joe's satay sauce is quite good) for this application. The peanut sauce recipe will make more than needed for pizza, but you'll have no trouble using up the leftovers. Just throw a bit in with pasta and some shredded vegetables for homemade peanut noodles.  Or use it as a dipping sauce for vegetables or chicken.
Just top pizza with the peanut sauce, add vegetables, cooked chicken, chopped cilantro, and shredded mozzarella cheese.  Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and beginning to brown.
I don't know if I should admit it, but I feel a little bit like Rachael Ray whenever I make these pizzas... But, the reality is, it's pretty darned good for a meal you can put on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Thai style peanut sauce

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13 comments:

  1. Thanks for the shortcuts. During the week if it's not easy I'm not cooking it. You could make it even faster if you got your veggies pre-chopped off the salad bar-another Rachael tip :).

    I'll be trying this for sure!

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  2. I love Thai chicken anything. Looks like a wonderful weeknight dinner. I really want to get my hands on those cornmeal crusts!

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  3. First off, you can't believe it's been "a whole week" since your last post? I'd be bragging all over the place if I could get 2 posts a month in.

    Second, I wish I could contribute some gluten-free cookies to your Kid's Cancer Bake Sale. That sounds awesome!

    Third, OMG, I thought I was the queen of bizarro pizzas. Carrots and peanut butter? You win. But you've got me wondering. I don't have any chicken, but you can be sure I'll be picking some up tomorrow so I can try this.

    Rachel Ray? You're SO much funnier and cuter than RR.

    xo

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  4. I'm pretty sure I could drink peanut sauce for dinner and be quite satisfied so I know I would LOVE this pizza! Quick and easy sounds good to me.

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  5. It's definitely one of the most healthy looking pizzas I have seen in a while! It looks totally delicious too and would be something you could eat without feeling the pizza-guilt...

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  6. I think this looks great! The flavors I love and it is hard to beat the convenience to healthfulness ratio!

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  7. wow!i'm so cravin for this pizza!looks perfectly healthy and delish!so yum!

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  8. That is a great looking Thai Chicken pizza, one of my favs but I almost never make it at home for some reason

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  9. Where can I get a cornmeal Viocolo crust in Milwaukee?

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  10. I buy the Vicolo crusts at Outpost Natural Foods. They come packaged in sets of 2 in the freezer section.

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  11. Delicious! I love quick meals for the week.

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  12. this is fantastic!and it looks very healthy too.

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  13. I'll be sure to try this out since I love Thai food. Thank you very much.

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