While some Mondays require detox foods and salads, this particular Monday calls for something a little less demanding – quick and easy, two key words that are music to the working girl’s ears.
Even though I spend the majority of my weekend days cooking and photographing up to five or six different recipes, when Monday night rolls around, I’m typically still in the mood to crank out another dinner. Albeit, the dinner must not require every single kitchen utensil in my arsenal to be used and it also needs to get from the stove or oven to the table in 45 minutes or less. Both hard tasks to accomplish for a girl that typically leaves a catastrophic mess after spending hours in the kitchen for meal prep.
Thai Chicken French Bread Pizzas were the perfect Monday night meal, enveloping both of my rules, and actually classifying as pretty darn healthy with an abundance of veggies, low-fat cheese and plenty of protein in the form of grilled chicken.
Of course, as the title implies, we begin with a whole loaf of crusty French bread, the perfect vessel in lieu of notoriously finicky pizza dough. The loaf is split, cut into four, and the insides are removed to accommodate more toppings without toppling over, while simultaneously convincing me that each pizza is practically carb-free.
The base is smothered in our favorite barbecue sauce and then stuffed to the brim with shredded carrots, green onions, red peppers, grilled chicken and plenty of chopped broccoli that I zapped in the microwave for a few seconds to ensure it cooks at the same pace as the other veggies in the oven. Mozzarella cheese is intertwined between the filling and then sprinkled on top to ensure each bite has the perfect ratio of veggies to cheese. They’re all popped into the oven until the cheese is melted, the bread is crisp and the veggies are slightly charred.
Once the pizzas come out, each one is smothered in my favorite homemade peanut sauce, sprinkled with chopped peanuts, sliced green onions and ready to be devoured.
Ingredients
- 1 loaf French bread, heels cut off and cut into four, six-inch portions.
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup chopped broccoli
- 4 green onions, plus more for garnish
- ½ cup sliced red bell pepper
- 4 grilled chicken tenders, sprinkled with salt and pepper
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 batch of peanut sauce (See below)
- Chopped peanuts for garnish
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 5 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon sweet chili sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon tamarind
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place broccoli in microwave safe bowl, add in 1 tablespoon water, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Microwave for 1 ½ minutes.
- Hollow out bread and brush the bottom with ¼ cup barbecue sauce.
- Toss broccoli, red peppers, green onion, carrots and chicken together in a medium bowl.
- Place one layer of filling in the bottom of each french bread pizza. Top with a little bit of cheese. Spoon remaining filling onto each pizza. Evenly top with remaining cheese.
- Bake until cheese is melted, bread is crisp and veggies are slightly charred.
- Drizzle with peanut sauce, garnish with chopped peanut and slices green onions.
- Blend all ingredients in mini food processor or blender. Chill.
- 1 cup chopped broccoli
- 4 chicken tenders
- 1 loaf French bread, heels cut off and cut into four, six-inch portions.
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 4 green onions, plus more for garnish
- ½ cup sliced red bell pepper
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 batch of peanut sauce (See below)
- Chopped peanuts for garnish
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2½ teaspoons sesame oil
- 5 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon sweet chili sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- ½ teaspoon tamarind
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place broccoli in microwave safe bowl, add in 1 tablespoon water, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Microwave for 1 ½ minutes.
- Heat a grill pan to a medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken tenders with salt and pepper. Grill for 1-2 minutes on each side until cooked through. Cool, and chop into bite-sized pieces.
- Hollow out bread and brush the bottom with ¼ cup barbecue sauce.
- Toss broccoli, red peppers, green onion, carrots and chicken together in a medium bowl.
- Place one layer of filling in the bottom of each french bread pizza. Top with a little bit of cheese. Spoon remaining filling onto each pizza. Evenly top with remaining cheese.
- Bake until cheese is melted, bread is crisp and veggies are slightly charred.
- Drizzle with peanut sauce, garnish with chopped peanut and slices green onions.
- Blend all ingredients in mini food processor or blender. Chill.
