Asian BBQ Chicken Pizza

Well I promised I would post the recipe once I had made it so here it is. I used my regular pizza dough recipe which you can find in the pizza post from earlier. I kept some of the sauce from the Asian BBQ chicken I made 2 nights ago and used that as my pizza sauce. In the Asian BBQ Chicken post I said I had left overs and cut those up and put it on the pizza along with some green peppers and topped everything off with some cheese. It was that easy. It pays to work harder one night and make extra (which is not that much harder to do since you're already making some in the first place) and have a really easy night later on.

It all has to do with planning. You could even go as far as prepare the pizza the night you make the chicken and then freeze it for a later date when you just don't have time or energy to cook. You could do this any time you are preparing something that left overs would work on pizza which would be most chicken and steak dishes even some sausage and hamburger meals work.

A Must Read

I just went through all my many cookbooks to see which ones I actually used and which ones I could get rid of. Well I'm getting rid of most of them. As I was going thgough most of them I found that I would only make maybe 5 recipes in each of them. One I did keep though is Eat, Shrink and Be Merry by Janet & Greta Podleski. They have also written two other books Crazy Plates and Looney Spoons. I have made most of the recipes in all these books and I love them. I do recomend these books. These sisters try to make healthier versions of our favorite foods while trying to make it fun. I love their recipes. You can even go to their website eatshrinkandbemerry.com and sign up for their newsletter and get new recipes emailed to you.

Make Your Own Bread Crumbs

If your house is like mine no one ever eats the crusts of the bread loaves. So instead of throwing them out why not use them to make bread crumbs or croutons.

You can make them right away or save them up in the freezer and make a big batch at one time. I usually save up the ends for a week in the fridge (it doesn't matter if they get a little stale) and then make some up and add it to the bag I have in the freezer. They are ready to use any time I need them. No preservatives, fillers and only as much salt as you add to them.

All you have to do is cut the bread into squares (they won't be perfect squares) and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil (about a tbsp/piece of bread) and sprinkle with Italian seasoning or herbs de provence, salt and pepper to taste. Toss so they are coated and then spread out into an even layer. Place in a 350F oven for about 7-12 mins. just until they are toasted brown. At this point they are croutons but if you want bread crumbs place them in a food processor and pulse until they are crumbs. Let them cool first. Place in a freezer bag or air tight container and save in the freezer for when you need them.

Again feel free to play with the flavors by drizzling bread dipping oils, oil based salad dressing (not too much) or by using different seasoning blends. The type of bread also makes a difference. I think that the dempsters whole grain or honey oat work really well and are really healthy for you and your family. It's almost worth even buying a loaf and just making croutons or bread crumbs to have on hand and then just adding to it when I have extra ends. Different loaves of bread no problem go ahead and mix them up.

This is worth the time it takes. You can even throw it in while your cooking dinner and kill two birds with one stone

Is It Done?

This chart is to give you estimated cooking times for how long it takes to cook various meats until doneness. I do recomend all kitchens should be equipped with a thermometer to test the doneness of meats. It removes any guessing on your side. Always insert thermometer in the thickest part of the meat. These are just average times. It can depend on your oven and the size of you meat and also how many times you open the door to check if its done.

Poultry
Chicken (whole about 3 1/2 pounds) 400F for about 1 hour done at 170F
Chicken (Bone in parts) 475F for 50 - 60 mins done at 170F
Turkey (whole about 14 pounds) 325F 3 1/2 hours done at 170F

Beef
Tenderloin (whole 3-4 pounds) 375F 45-50 mins done at 125F for med rare
Prime Rib (6-7 pound roast) 450F for 15 minutes done at 125F for med rare
then drop to 350F for an hour

Pork
Loin Roast (4 pound) 425F for 30 mins done at 145F in center
then drop to 375F 30 mins
Tenderloin ( about 1 pound) 425F for 10-15 mins done at 145F

Product Suggestions

McCormick has a few spice blends that are salt and MSG free. The one I read didn't have any silicone dioxide or anything like that either. Beware of clubhouse spice blends though alot of them have sugar and fructose in them. I'll keep looking for you though.

Salad Blends and precut and washed vegetable blends are great time savers. They might seem like more money but if you think about having all those different ingredients in your fridge and how quickly they go bad buying mixed saves time and space.Don't be ashamed of bagged salad. Still need to read labels though. Can even jazz them up with nuts, fruit, tortilla chips,etc.

Money Saving Tips

I have two kinds of ketchup in my fridge. Heinz for regular ketchup needs like hotdogs and Mac and Cheese. Generic cheap ketchup for sauces and cooking with. No need to use the expensive good stuff when generic does the job just fine.

Spice blends are a great way to save money. You need to have I say atleast 4 varieteies in your cupboard at anytime to make anything. You need a BBQ or Taco seasoning (just make sure it is natural and salt reduced or free), herbs de provence, garlic seaoning and some sort of Italian seaoning mix. They don't have to be these specifically but need to have the sort variety of flavors as these.

Go with the meats that are on sale that week. There is usually atleast two kinds of meat on sale so use them and make them in different ways to add variety.

DON'T SHOP ON AN EMPTY STOMACH!!!!

Keep an inventory on your fridge of the things you use frequently. If you have a stocked pantry you can make anything at anytime. So when you use up the last of something or are getting low on something write it on a list you keep on the fridge so that when you head out the door to do groceries you have a list of what you need ready to go.

Shop in your pantry. All of us have those jars, cans or boxes of things we bought but never figured out how to use. Take them out and use them before you buy something new. Don't know what to do with them ask me and I'll figure it out for you.

Have three variteies most of salad dressing in your fridge at any given time. They jazz up rice or veggies. You need 1 creamy, 1 oil based and 1 more of your favorites.

Pantry Basics

I always have these items on hand. You will see these ingredients in my recipes quite frequently.

Olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Sesame Oil
Soya Sauce
Honey
Molasses
Maple Syrup
Sweet chili sauce
Ketchup
Mustard
Cornmeal
Lemon
Rice
BBQ/Cajun/Taco seasoning
Herbs de Provence
Italian Spice mix
Creamy Salad Dressing
Oil Based Salad Dressing
Tomato Paste