BBQ Chicken Pizza

I’m stuck on a particular post for my 30 Things series. So I decided to put up a recipe that I did last week.

I love chicken pizza. This is a recipe for BBQ Chicken Pizza. You can use store bought pizza dough but I find it only takes maybe 15 more minutes of time to make my own, plus I like to make it healthier so I make wheat pizza dough.

Here is the recipe for the wheat pizza dough. I doubled it and froze half of it to use for later.  This is the original recipe:

1 package active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

2 cups whole wheat flour

¼ cup wheat germ

1   teaspoon salt

1   tablespoon honey (which I was out of, so I used 1 tablespoon of sugar).

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2.  In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

3.  In a large bowl combine flour, wheat germ and salt. Make a well in the middle and add honey and yeast mixture. Stir well to combine. Cover and set in a warm place to rise for a few minutes.

4.  Roll dough on a floured pizza pan and poke a few holes in it with a fork.

5.  Bake in preheated oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until desired crispiness is achieved.

Tip: to help the dough rise, heat a cup of water in the microwave for a few minutes. Take out the water and put the dough in the microwave to rise.

For the Pizza:

1 cup cooked chicken (I used leftovers from a whole crock pot chicken: http://www.pistachioproject.com/2013/01/whole-chicken-in-crock-pot.html)

½ cup bbq sauce

¼ cup red onion, chopped in half slices

¼ cup cilantro (optional, I hate cilantro)

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1.   Increase heat in oven to 425 degrees F.

2.   Spread the bbq sauce on the dough.

3.   Lay a thin layer of cheese over the sauce. Add chicken, onion, cilantro, and top with the rest of the mozzarella cheese.

4.   Bake for another 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Variations I would like to try later: Use a different type of cheese, like gouda. Add chopped bacon. I LOVE the Hot Hawaiian from Mackenzie River Pizza so I’d like to try adding jalapenos and pineapple. 

5 Things that make me most happy

5 Things that make me most happy right now.

1.     Everett-How couldn’t this little man make me the happiest woman in the world? When I’m away from him I feel home sick. It still blows my mind how I could instantly love someone I’ve never met. He’s the puzzle piece I never knew I was missing.

2.     Ben-He puts up with my crazy personality. He’s my best friend and he makes me want to be a better person for our family. When I see him with Rhett, it makes me love him more. He’s an awesome dad (which is the most attractive trait about him).

3.     Koda (our dog)-Even though he hasn’t had as much attention as he used to get, he still loves us unconditionally. He’s great with Rhett and follows me anywhere I take him. You can see it on his face that he’s just waiting for Rhett to start playing with him.

4.     My family-They have been so supportive and I couldn’t have gone through my pregnancy and these past few months without them. I wish I could see them more. Three of my brothers haven’t met Rhett yet, so I can’t wait until they see their nephew.

5.     My job(s)-My favorite job is staying at home with Rhett 5 days a week. It’s such a blessing. Though sometimes I want to go crazy, I am glad I get to raise my baby. I am also very grateful to be able to leave the house two days a week and be challenged at the hospital (and have adult interaction). 

8 Things I Would Tell My 16 Year Old Self, if I Could

It was originally 10 things but I could only think of 8

1.     Enjoy sports, especially volleyball. It’s going to be one of the only things you’ll miss about high school.

2.     Don’t worry about what other girls think of you. You won’t even care in a few years, so don’t put that pressure on yourself.

3.     Learn how to do the laundry! If not, you’ll be blogging about how you had to call your mom to talk you through your first load of laundry in college.

4.     Spend more time with Colton! There are years in high school where you slack on your end of the friendship. You’ll miss that time later.

5.     Try cooking a little more. You’ll find you do enjoy it!

6.     Ask mom to teach you to sew a little. If not, you’ll go years without wearing a few pairs of pants because the hem fell out.

7.     Quit judging others, especially girls! Learn to encourage and support other women.

8.     Eat healthier!

16 years old

Describe the Relationship With Your Spouse

Ben and I met when we were 15 years old at our church youth group. I was friends with his sister first, and didn’t even know they were brother and sister for about a month-you know how teenagers are! I should note that they have a much closer relationship now.

He was one of those guys who didn’t care what other people thought about him. Some of his friends were what some people might have viewed as "different", but Ben has always taken time to know people before he judged them. If you've never had a chocolate milk drinking contest, you're not hanging out with the right people (you boys know who you are!) We were friends for a long time before we started dating.

Ben asked me out on December 30^th. The first time we held hands, we were watching “The League of Extraordinary Gentleman”. Our first kiss was on Easter, after a trip to a Mexican orphanage with our youth group.

We’ve overcome big hurdles. When we started dating, we lived in different towns and only saw each other on the weekends. Being in different grades, Ben left for college in Boise when I was a senior in high school. In college, Ben went to Army basic training in Missouri (or Misery as he called it), for 3 months where I only received about 10 or less phone calls and some letters, which I still have to this day. And then in our 4^th(?) year of marriage he left for a yearlong deployment to Iraq. These things have made us a strong couple. It was so difficult but we made it!

Even though we’ve been together since we were teenagers, we are constantly trying to communicate and work on our relationship. It’s important to keep getting to know each other. Each day is work and I love it. And now we have this amazing baby boy and I am so glad we share him and have added “parent” to our list of jobs. Ben is my best friend and I couldn’t imagine being married to anyone else. I love you Benjamin!

Just friends (2003)

My high school graduation. We'll finally live in the same down in the fall! (2006)

Engagement Picture (2006)

The first time I've seen him in 3 months, his last day of basic training (2007)

Our wedding day (2007)

Vacation before leaving for Iraq (2010) 

Army Christmas party, family photo (2012)

3 Fears

3 Legitimate fears and how they became fears.

1. That I will be a bad mother/parent. Obviously this fear surfaced when I became a mother. I know children have their own personalities, but I truly believe the core fundamentals of a child’s morals are learned from the parents.

2. Lateness. I hate being late. Even when I’m less than 5 minutes early, I feel like I’m late and I get anxious. If I get somewhere really early, I’ll just sit in my car a little while. Where I got this fear, I don’t know. I was always really early for school as a child and even to high school.

3. Someone breaking in my house, intending to hurt me. I never thought of this until I married Ben. This fear has only intensified since my son was born. I’ve spend hours thinking about what I would do if an intruding broke into my house. Where would I hide my son? Would I grab a weapon and defend myself? Etc, Etc, Etc.