Thai Chicken Pizza

Here is a tasty twist on pizza!  If you have never had sweet Chili Sauce, it is a translucent, reddish-colored sauce that is sweet with a mild hot pepper flavor.  It is not very spicy, but flavorful.  This is what is used for the sauce on this pizza.   Enjoy :)

Thai Chicken Pizza

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

1 Pre-Made Pizza Crust

1/3 Cup Sweet Chili Sauce*

1 and 1/2 Cups Mozzarella or Pizza Blend Cheese

1-2 Cups Chicken, Cooked and Cubed or Shredded

1/3 Cup Red Onion, Diced

1/3 Cup White Onion, Diced

1/3 Cup Green Onion, Sliced

1/2 Cup Chopped Peanuts

1 Tablespoon Cilantro

Instructions:

Step 1:  Prepare the crust as directed on the label.  If it needs to be pre-baked before adding the toppings, pre-bake it.  If not, move to Step 2.

Step 2: Assemble the Pizza!  Spread the Sweet Chile Sauce evenly over the crust - leave about 1/4 inch of naked crust on the edges. Sprinkle with cilantro. Top with 1 cup of the cheese.  Then, add the chicken and onions.  Next, sprinkle on the peanuts and top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.

Step 4:  Bake according to crust directions on the packaging.

Enjoy!

*Note - we prefer Mae Ploy Sweet Chilli Sauce

Boston Baked Peanuts

Reminder back to your childhood and all the fun different candies?  This recipe is a home-made version of Boston Baked Beans candy (candied peanuts).  They are so easy to make and are crazy yummy!  I think they may even be a bit tastier than the ones from the box!

Boston Baked Beans

Ingredients:

2 Cups Raw Spanish Peanuts

1 Cup White Sugar

1/2 Cup Water

1 Teaspoon Salt

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Step 2:  In a heavy medium skillet,cook peanuts,sugar and water over medium heat until all liquid is absorbed and peanuts are coated with sugar (about 20 minutes). Sprinkle with salt.

Step 3:  Transfer to greased jellyroll pan.

Step 4:  Bake 10 minutes,stirring after 5 minutes.

Step 5:  Spread on aluminum foil to cool.

Store in airtight container.

Asian Lettuce Cups

I am a sucker for Asian food.  Honestly, I really am.  And it is the one type of cuisine our family can always agree upon.   These lettuce cups are soooooooooo good . . .and not unhealthy either!  Very easy and quick to make with all the good Asian flavors.  Yum.  This can easily be served as a meal or an appetizer for a party.  Furthermore, you can make it with pork, chicken or turkey.  It's definitely versatile that way!

Asian Lettuce Cups

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil

1 Pound Ground Pork

3 Cloves Garlic, Minced

1 Small White Onion, Diced

1/4 Cup Hoisin Sauce

2 Tablespoons Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar

1 Tablespoon Fresh Grated Ginger

1 Teaspoon Chile Garlic Paste (or Sriracha)

1 (8-ounce) Can Water Chestnuts, Drained and Diced

2 Green Onions, Thinly Sliced

Chopped Nuts (Peanuts or Cashews) - Optional

1 Head Boston Bibb Lettuce, Cleaned and Separated

Step 1:  In a large fry pan, add the sesame oil, ground pork, garlic and white onion.  Cook over medium-high heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks. 

Step 2:  Once the pork is cooked through, add in the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, grated ginger, chile garlic paste and water chestnuts.  Stir to combine and let cook until the liquid is mostly absorbed and chestnuts are heated through.

Step 3:  To assemble, place a spoonful of ground meat on a lettuce leaf and top with green onion and nuts.  Enjoy!

Peanutty Pork Noodle Bowl

I just love, love, love Asian inspired food.  And I especially love peanut sauce.  In this recipe, you'll get that great peanutty flavor married with pasta, pork and veggies . . .and there is a nice kick too.  Bonus is that you don't need any obscure ingredients on hand to make this dish.  Yum.

Peanutty Pork Noodle Bowl

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1.5 LBS Boneless Chops

8 oz Think Spaghetti or Angel Hair Pasta

1/4 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil

6 Green Onions, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 Cup Carrot, Shredded

1 Cup Sugar Snap Peas

3 Teaspoons Chopped Garlic

2 Teaspoons Ginger (powdered)

1 and 1/2 Cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth

1/4 Cup Low-Sodium Soy Sauce

3 Tablespoons Peanut Butter

Step 1:  Cook the pasta according to package directions.  Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid for later in the recipe.  Drain the pasta and set aside.

Step 2:  Prep your pork by patting it dry and then slicing it into thin strips, about an inch long.  In a large fry pan, heat the oil and add the pork and crushed red pepper.  

Step 3:  Once the pork is browned (approx 5-10 minutes), add the green onion, carrots, sugar snap peas, ginger and garlic.  Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring, until the vegetables are heated.

Step 4:  To the pork pan, add the chicken broth, soy sauce and peanut butter.  Continue to cook and stir until all the peanut butter is melted and incorporated.  

Step 5:  Toss with the pasta.  If it seems dry, add some of the reserved cooking liquid.

Chocolate, Peanut Ice Cream Pie

So, last week was Pi Day (in case you missed it).  Pi Day = March 14th.  Get it?  Pi Day.  This will certainly identify who the math geeks are out in reader land.  Any who, I have a teenager who isn't so crazy about math.  However, she was very excited about Pi Day for whatever reason.  In fact, she was so excited about it - she was even in her math room at 3:14 pm on 3/14 (the date).  I felt it necessary to hop on that train and to celebrate this milestone by making a pie.

And if I said it once, I've said it a million times:  creativity is often spurred by empty cupboards and the lack of ambition to leave the house.

And for this treat - I had no fruit in the house. . . not even an apple.  Or whipped cream (who wants pudding pie with out whipped cream??).  And the hubby doesn't like meringue.  But, I did have an Oreo Pie Crust and vanilla ice cream.  Yes, yes . . .an ice cream pie it was!  

This isn't the best picture because I couldn't capture the differentiation of the layers very well.  But they are there:  Cookie Crust, Hot Fudge, Peanuts, Vanilla Ice Cream and more Peanuts.  This pie will live in infamy at our house.  The fudge layer was just soooooooooooo fudgy and evil.  Yes.  Evil.  And I cannot stop thinking about it.

Ingredients

1 Oreo Pie Crust

3 Cups Vanilla Ice Cream

1/2 Cup - 1 Cup of Peanuts (bonus if they are stolen from your hubby's lunch bucket, hehe!)

1/3 Cup + 1 TB Sugar

1/4 Cup Cocoa

1/4 Cup + 1 TB Half & Half 

3 TB Corn Syrup

3 TB Butter, sliced

1/2 Tsp Vanilla 

1 TB Instant Espresso Powder

Step 1:  Sprinkle the peanuts on the bottom of the pie crust.  Reserve some for decoration later.

Step 2:  Prepare the fudge sauce.  In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, espresso powder and cocoa.  Add in the Half and Half and corn syrup.  Heat on medium high and stir constantly.  Bring to a boil (keep stirring!) and boil for 1 minute.  Remove from the pan from the heat and add in the butter and vanilla.  Stir until the butter is melted and incorporated into the sauce.  Pour into the crust and then place the pie crust into the freezer until the fudge sauce firms up.

Step 3:  Once the fudge has firmed up, soften the ice cream and spread into the pie tin very gently.  

Step 4:  Garnish with remaining peanuts and return to freezer to firm up.  

Step 5:  Ingest, enjoy and live in that happy place induced by a sugar coma and dream about 3.14.

In this picture of a bite-sized morsel of pie you can see the layers much better!