Thursday, August 6, 2009

PIZZA Night!!!

What athlete doesn’t love pizza? And the best thing about pizza is that it can be kid friendly AND healthy AND full of all the good stuff your body needs to power through hard workouts and daily life. I usually make pizza dough in the morning and then set it out on the porch (covered) after work while I go run with a group or bike or whatever. To make it faster, you can also cut up the onions, peppers, etc beforehand or use a rotisserie chicken from the store instead of grilling chicken breasts.
Crust: This makes either 2 very thin pizzas or one thick crust pizza on a standard cookie sheet.
1 C whole wheat flour
1 C unbleached white flour, plus extra as needed
1 T sugar
2 Tsp garlic salt
¾ C very warm water (as hot as you can get from the sink)
1 pkg. active yeast
2 T olive oil

Combine the first 4 ingredients and mix well. Dump the package of yeast in a heap off to one side of the bowl. Pour the water right onto the yeast and add the olive oil. Mix everything well. If mixture is very moist, add some white flour a little at a time until it forms a ball. At this point the dough can be refrigerated, covered, for about 24 hours. Place the dough in the bowl in a warm place covered with a clean dish cloth or plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 45 min to an hour. Punch down and roll out on a greased cookie sheet or pizza stone. Allow to rise on the pan or stone for another 15 minutes and then bakes at 425* for 14-20 minutes or until desired crispiness, depending on thickness.
Topping: Pizza has so many possibilities for flavor combinations, but this is my personal favorite.
Pizza Sauce—I prefer the RAGU sauce with no sugar added (light? Maybe)
Chicken breasts, thawed
Plum or Roma Tomatoes, cut into slices
Red pepper and green pepper, cut into strips
Onion, thinly sliced
Sliced mushrooms
Fresh garlic, diced or minced
Fresh Basil, chopped, 5-7 leaves
Feta cheese, ½ cup
Mozzarella Cheese, 1-2 cups

Heat a pan over medium high heat with a drizzle of olive oil. When the pan is heated through, add the chicken breasts. They should sizzle upon contact. Salt and pepper as desired. Allow to cook for 4-5 minutes, then flip and cover to done. Meanwhile, lightly sauté the peppers, mushrooms, onions, and garlic until the veggies are crisp-tender.
To construct the pizza, spoon sauce over crust and top with sliced tomatoes. Spread the cooked vegetables evenly over crust. Slice chicken breast and distribute over pizza. Sprinkle basil, feta, and mozzarella on top. Bake at 425*until cheese is melted. Then broil for an additional 5 min or until cheese bubbles and begins to lightly brown.

Ta-Da! Enjoy pizza perfection!

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