Thursday, April 14, 2016

Naan Pizzas with Chicken, Asparagus, & Egg


Yes. You want this. Right now. For breakfast. For lunch today. For dinner tonight. Eat it for every meal! One bite and you'll be in love :-)

I love flatbread pizza. Does it get any easier? I love homemade pizza dough just as much as the next person, but there's something to be said about a meal that's ready in minutes vs. a meal you had to plan all day. And these pizzas really did take just minutes. I used leftover rotisserie chicken, because, hello, it's me. I seem to always have rotisserie chicken in my fridge. Pair chicken with leftover roasted asparagus from the night before, and pretty much the only work you will have to do will be making a couple of sunny-up eggs.



Thanks to that lovely runny egg, these pizzas are creamy. Dreamy. And best of all, pretty darn good for you too!


I bought a yuuuuuuge bag of Naan bread the last time I was at Sam's. They had 12 count bags for $4.99! That was a deal that I didn't pass up. I figured I'd use a couple of these for pizzas, have a couple with hummus, and then freeze the rest. As it turns out, there will be no freezing! I did a couple of test runs on the pizza and after 2 nights of hummus plates, the naan is gone. I'll be buying a bag of those goodies again!


Every time I go to Sam's, I usually pick up a rotisserie chicken. Since Sam's is quite the haul from my house, I usually plan other errands in Ashland that day and by the time I get home, Jessica don't feel nothin' like cooking. Thank goodness for rotisserie chicken! Anyhoo, I picked up some asparagus to go with the chicken that night. I like to roast big batches of asparagus, because it's so good cold the next day. Not only did I have veggies to go with the chicken that night, but I'm already primed for another recipe.

Just like these pizzas!



I've been playing around with fresh mozzarella on pizzas. I find I don't like huge chunks of fresh mozzarella laid on the pizza because-

a. Sometimes it doesn't melt evenly and you are left with a big blob of cheese.

b. Fresh mozzarella has a lot of moisture and can make the crust soggy sometimes.

I solved this problem by grating the cheese. And yes, you can grate fresh mozzarella. It's a little tricky, but you can do it.


Instead of a traditional pizza sauce, I mixed some garlic powder and basil with olive oil. I brushed the mixture over the naan before constructing the pizzas. 


Leftover chicken. One of my kitchen's best friends :-)


The hubby and I are up to our ears in eggs right now. The hubby's father is raising chickens, and a lot of them to boot. I think the hubby said his dad has 72 chickens. Wowsers! So yeah, we've got plenty of eggs around here. I like that the eggs are free-range with no antibiotics or hormones. 


I cooked the eggs before I contracted the pizzas. Mainly because I'm clumsy and wanted to make sure I didn't ruin any eggs before I put the pizzas in. 


On one of my first trials for the pizza, I baked the eggs right on the pizza. This didn't work for a couple of reasons. First, the eggs got too done as the pizzas kept cooking after I removed them from the oven. Second, the flatbread also got too done. I really think cooking the eggs separately is the way to go here.


This was the flatbread I baked the eggs on. It looked pretty, but as I mentioned, the bread too crispy and the egg too done. Jessica not happy. Grrrr.


This one is just right!


And those eggs I worked so carefully on? I actually broke the last one as I was putting it on the pizza. After initially kicking myself, I realized the runny yolk looked pretty good. Happy accidents. I ended up breaking them all a little bit for the pictures. On purpose! Ha ha.



This is sure to be a crowd pleaser folks, make it tonight!

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of visiting an organic farmer/grower in my area. You see, in my beginner gardner status, I'm completely hopeless with starting tomatoes from seed. I do not have the process down as I killed two trays of seedlings this year. Two. It was so sad. After having no tomatoes last year due to my mistakes, I was determined to have tomatoes this year. A friend of mine gave me the number of this lady who grows organic tomato starts in the Tri-State area, and yesterday I went to get mine. 

I was a little nervous heading out to this unknown farm by myself. I do have a bit of social anxiety. I just kept telling myself it was for the tomatoes. As soon as I pulled in the driveway though, I knew this was going to be no problem. Her yard was immaculately landscaped, and what surprised me was a lot of her landscaping was herbs! Who would have thought? I had no idea that lavender, thyme and rosemary really would grow to the size of a bush. Amazing!

The lady that owns the farm was so nice. She actually took the time to have a conversation about my tomato woes with me. She got out her tools, showed me how she starts tomatoes, when she transplants them, what the soil should feel like, etc. I'm renewed with hope for next year. I picked out several tomato plants, and then couldn't resist taking some pepper starts of varieties I don't have. I ended up with a red roaster, a pepperoncini, a poblano, and a cayenne plant. I've never grown any of those, so I'm excited for what this year will bring!


Ready to conquer the growing season now! :-)

Happy Thursday everyone! Have a great day! 


Recipe adapted from: Family Foodie

Ingredients (makes 2 pizzas):

4 large eggs
salt and pepper
2 naan flatbreads
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp basil
1 cup Irish cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup chicken, cooked and shredded
10 asparagus spears, roasted, roughly chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup fresh mozzarella, grated
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425º. Coat a cookie sheet lightly with cooking spray.
2. Prepare the eggs- To make eggs sunny side up, I do this: Crack 2 eggs into hot, hot non-stick pan. Season with salt and pepper. Let the underside cook for 2 minutes, or until it is starting to brown. Cover the pan for 1 minute. When you uncover the pan, the whites of the egg should be set. Using a spatula, carefully remove the egg from the pan and place on a paper towel. Repeat process with next 2 eggs. If you want your eggs cooked more than runny, leave the cover on for an extra 30 seconds to 1 minute. We like runny eggs, so I find covering them for 1 minute is plenty of time. 
3. Construct the pizzas- In a small bowl, combine olive oil, garlic powder, and basil. Whisk to combine. Brush oil over flatbreads. Divide cheddar cheese between flatbreads. Divide chicken, asparagus, and cherry tomatoes between flatbreads. Divide mozzarella evenly. Finish each pizza by topping with 2 tbsp of parmesan cheese.
4. Bake the pizzas in the oven for 9-11 minutes, or until cheese is melted and starting to brown. Remove from oven, and place 2 eggs on each pizza. Place each pizza on an individual plate, slice, and serve immediately.



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8 comments:

  1. Um, yes! I actually do want this right now! Do you deliver?

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    Replies
    1. Delivery? That would be fun! I'm gonna tell the hubby I need to start delivering now! Ha ha :-)

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  2. I'm so excited for your garden and see hear how it turns out! It sounds like you certainly made a good connection with the local farmer!

    I love your pizza and will have to make this for myself some night when my husband is working late, or make his without the gorgeous egg! For some reason, I can't get him to appreciate beautiful runny yolks!

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    Replies
    1. That's funny Kris! I was talking to my dad on the phone yesterday and he let me know he'd be probably be skipping this recipe due to the runny yolk. Sacrebleu! He told me he'd never liked runny eggs, dating back to childhood. I had no idea! I thought everyone liked runny yolks, LOL :-)

      Have a great weekend!

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  3. Hello dear friend. This is one of the most delicious-looking recipes that you have posted on here :) über yummy!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Keith! I'll take that compliment! :-)

      Have a great weekend!

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    2. P.S. that comment you just left on my blog...the most amazing comment I have ever seen my entire time blogging <3

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    3. Thank you Keith! That means a lot :-)

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