Thai Chicken Pizza

So, in order to generate more content, I decided to take pictures and post the recipe for one of A's favourite dinners. As you will see, I need to practice taking pictures for recipes, but here is what I have. :)

Thai Chicken Pizza

This is adapted from a pizza served in a Vancouver restaurant. Emma and Laurel first introduced me to it and I have since adopted it as my own.



What you need:
- Chicken, diced (My rule of thumb is approx. 1/2 breast per person. 2 breasts is enough for 4 pita bread rounds. If I'm making a big pizza, I'll try to use three breasts. We like a lot of chicken. I usually use fresh chicken breasts but I was lazy this time and used the pre-cooked chicken. I really like the Grillhouse strips.)
- Peanut sauce (I use Asian Family Satay Peanut Sauce, it's nice and spicy.)
- Peanut butter (Optional. A. likes it mixed with the peanut sauce for the base.)
- Mozzarella (Fresh is best.)
- Bell pepper (Whichever colour you like.)
- Bean sprouts
- Cilantro
- Pizza crust (I like the recipe for basic pizza crust from The Pioneer Woman.) or whole wheat pita shells
- Sheet pan aka cookie sheet
- Olive oil
- Kosher or sea salt
- Sriracha (Optional. This is a HOT chili sauce. Use sparingly! Unless you want to sear off all of your taste buds.)



What to do:
1. Preheat over to 375 degrees F.
2. Make your crust ahead of time or use a store bought crust. We also use whole wheat pita bread for individual pizzas.
3. Cook your chicken and toss with some of the peanut sauce.



4. Drizzle some olive oil onto your sheet pan and spread around. Roll or stretch out your dough and put on pan. Lightly sprinkle some salt on the dough.
5. Slather your peanut sauce/peanut butter concoction on the dough as your base.



6. Put your mozza on top of the sauce base.



7. Toss on your bell pepper, bean sprouts and cooked chicken. Finally top off with your chopped cilantro.
8. Put in your preheated oven and bake for 15-17 minutes until the crust is golden brown.



9. Drizzle on the Sriracha and enjoy! Have a cold drink handy.

Two years later...

Wow! I can't believe it has been two years since my last post! A lot of big events have happened since April 2008 and I've come back many times wanting to write about them but haven't been able to find the right words. Perhaps that is a sign that I should shut this thing down for good but, for now, I will update in point form.

• The move to Calgary went well aside from the crazy ice storm we drove through.
• A. and I got married on August 30, 2008 in my Mom and Step-Dad's backyard and it was awesome. Unfortunately, it rained but it held off long enough for us to have the ceremony in the yard.
  

• After the wedding we took a minimoon to Kimberley, BC and then a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise. Both were fantastic and on the cruise we fell in love with Isla Roatan, Honduras. Hopefully we can go back one day.
  

• In November 2008 we bought a two bedroom condo in SE Calgary. We were very excited to finally have a guest room but about one week later we found out that the guest room would actually be a nursery because I was pregnant!
• Our precious baby girl M. was born on July 13th, 2009 and has been filling our lives with joy and delight since then! I am reallllly not looking forward to the day I have to return to work.

That brings us up to date. You'd think we'd be perfectly happy with life as it is but, if you know us, you know that's never the case. :)

After living in our condo with an infant for nine months we decided that our place is way too small for our growing family so we've decided to build! We are staying in the same community because we like the amenities and we have friends here so it won't be a hard move. It has been an incredibly fun process so far - I've always wanted to design and decorate my own home - and we get excited every time there is a change to our lot. We should be moving in October.



As for this summer, it should be a little less hectic than the last two. We are planning on taking a two week road-trip, M.'s first, out to BC to visit friends and taste wine. I can't wait!

The times, they are a-changin'

I apologize for letting the posting fall off but things around here have been insanely busy. There are many new, exciting and scary things going on right now and most of them are occurring simultaneously.

#1. I resigned from my position at CILS. As much as A. and I love Vancouver and as loathe as we are to leave our friends, we had been thinking for quite a while about leaving the city and moving closer to family. A.'s family is in Kingston and we investigated the job market around Toronto but weren't able to get any interest so we turned to Calgary. 5 years ago when I left I swore that I would never return but 5 years is a long time and people tend to change. Needless to say, I'm not the same person now that I was at 23 and being so isolated from family was starting to take it's toll.

I sent out a few resumes, had a few interviews and ultimately accepted a library technician position at the National Energy Board. I start in my new job on April 21st so A. and I, along with the help of my mom and step-dad, are packing up and driving over the mountains on the 17th.

#2. Leaving Vancouver also means that we are in the midst of selling our condo. At various points in the past two years we had discussed selling and getting a bigger place but always decided that we liked our current home too much. However, with the move and seeing as we didn't want to be landlords, we didn't have much choice but to sell. I must say that signing my name to that contract was harder than I ever thought it would be. I bought that place on my own at the age of 23 and it was the first place that A. and I lived together. A lot of memories are wrapped up in 527 sq. ft. and it will be hard to leave it behind.

#3. I am also finishing up the International Relations course that I have been taking at Langara and am dealing with all the stress that course work brings. Writing my term paper was an exercise in itself and I still have a final exam to study for.

#4. As you saw in the previous post, A. and I got engaged on March 26. We were driving back to Vancouver from Calgary and because we had left Revelstoke so early in the morning we hit the Fraser Valley at about 1:30pm. It was a gorgeous day and we had been driving for so long that we wanted to stop somewhere and go for a walk to stretch our legs. I saw the sign for Harrison Hot Springs and suggested it because I had never been but always wanted to. I told A. that we would head in that direction and if it was too far we would turn around and come back. (Turns out he had been looking for a nice place to stop all day.) We parked near the lake and took a short walk on the path to see the source of the hot springs. On the way back I had stopped to take some pictures of a lovely moss covered stream and when I turned around A. was on one knee in the mud with the ring box open. I had thought that I was prepared and ready for the proposal but I was still completely blown away. I nodded yes, we both started crying and the rest is history.

And that brings us to the planning for the wedding...

I said yes...

Dream house

I recently started reading Nicole Balch's Making it Lovely blog and I have fallen in love with her house. (A complete set of photos can be seen via her Flickr account.



Everything about it is perfect, from the colours to the flooring to the furniture, and how I would love my future home to look like.

Best Star Wars synopsis ever!

I think my ovaries just exploded.