Thai Chicken Pizza

Let me just state for the record: I love my son. I do, I really do. But today he woke up from that holy and sacred period of the day (commonly referred to as "nap time") on the wrong side of the crib.
From the moment he woke up he seemed to need more sleep. However, he didn't think that he required nap number two, despite all my effort to convince him that indeed, he did.
At one point, as I was attempting to cook dinner, he was throwing such a tantrum that I decided to put him in his high chair and offer him some food to bribe him into silence. Instead of what I put on his tray, he concluded that he had to have a piece of lime that was on the counter nearby, and he stated this loud and clear. Fed up, I gave it to him.


This is how the entire afternoon went. It took me at least three hours to make this pizza, which is actually so fast that Rachel Ray could probably make it on 30 Minute Meals (how she isn't sweating like a pig by the end of the show, I don't understand; she is basically sprinting for a half hour).


If the pizza had turned out even a little less scrumptious, I wouldn't have posted tonight. But, it was so good that I had to share. I love Thai food, and I love pizza (cheese on bread, what could be better?) and this is the perfect mix of the two. Lane and I have ordered a Thai chicken pizza from a place near us a couple times which not only seems over priced ($20 for a medium not including tip? give me a break), but is also lacking in the number of fresh veggies, which I can pile on when I make it at home.


Not to toot my horn, but I think this pizza was way better than the one from the pizzeria anyway.

Thai Chicken Pizza
for the pizza dough:
adapted from Bread Machine Magic
makes 1 lb of dough
3/4 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp ground flaxseed meal (optional)
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp sugar (or honey; use honey if making with all whole wheat flour)
2 tsp Red Star active dry yeast for bread machines
Place all ingredients in bread pan of bread machine, select dough setting, press start.
If you don't have a bread machine: buy the dough, or make this dough.

for the peanut sauce:
1/2" piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 cup ground peanuts (a.k.a. natural peanut butter)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp water*
1/4 to 1 tsp chili garlic sauce**
Put all ingredients in a mini-food processor, mix until well combined. The sauce should be like a thick paste. If you store it in the refrigerator until you use it, make sure to bring it to room temp before spreading over the pizza dough.
*the peanut butter I used was dry, so this was needed; if the peanut butter you use is oily, this may not be needed
**We like our Thai food spicy-hot, so we did 1 tsp, maybe even a bit more; add 1/4 tsp at a time to make sure you don't over-spice for your taste buds


toppings:
1/2 cup sugar snap peas (or snow peas), trimmed
1 carrot, cut into short matchsticks
1/2 bell pepper, cut into thin slices (red would be pretty, but green were cheaper)
about 1/4 of a red onion, chopped
1 cup shredded pre-cooked chicken
2 cups mozzarella, grated
cilantro and/or bean sprouts

To make the pizza: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roll dough out onto a greased pan to desired thickness. Spread peanut sauce and then the first five toppings (through chicken) evenly over dough. Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove and sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake 15 to 20 more minutes, or until dough in the middle is done all the way through. One way to do this: After baking about 15 minutes total, take pizza off pan and bake directly on rack- but watch it closely, or it will burn. (We all know this can be difficult for me.)
Garnish with cilantro and/or bean sprouts. Enjoy.

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