Fits the Feingold Diet: Hawaiian Pizza Alfredo

Stage One of the Feingold Elimination Diet takes out a lot of fruits and veggies with salicylic acid since some kids can definitely have a sensitivity to these foods.  One of these foods is the tomato.  Oh, how we have missed the tomato!  Little did I realize how often I made Italian or Mexican dishes in the past, all of course showcasing the tomato.  A few weeks ago, the Drama Queen asked me if there was a way we could still have pizza.  "Well, honey, we can't have tomatoes right now," was my immediate answer, but then I thought, "Why not try making a white pizza?"  And here, my friends, is the result - hawaiian pizza alfredo.
For the dough, you need:
   1 cup lukewarm water
   1 TBS active dry yeast
   1 TBS oil
   1 tsp salt
   2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
For the alfredo sauce, you need:
   4 TBS butter
   4 TBS unbleached all-purpose flour
   dash of salt
   dash of black pepper
   2 cups milk
   1/3 to 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
For the toppings, you need:
   1 can pineapple chunks, drained (save juice for cooking the chicken)
   1 lb cooked boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into small cubes and cooked in the pineapple juice until no longer pink
   2 - 3 cups of shredded cheese (I used colby jack, but mozzarella would work well too)

Okay, let's make a pizza! (well, two actually...)
     Make your pizza dough first by adding the yeast to the lukewarm water and letting it sit for a couple of minutes.  Then add in the oil, salt, and 1 1/4 cups flour and mix well.  Keep adding the rest of the flour until you have a soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for six minutes until dough is smooth/elastic.  Put your dough into a large greased bowl, turn the dough over to grease the dough, and cover bowl with towel.  Put the bowl in a warm place for the dough to rise until doubled (about 80 to 90 minutes).  (I turn my oven on its lowest setting for 10 seconds and then turn it off.  The inside of the oven is then the perfect temperature for allowing the dough to rise.)  Next, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide into two equal pieces.  Roll each piece into a smooth, even rectangle onto a cookie sheet.
     Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  While the oven is heating, make your alfredo sauce.  Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  When completely melted, add the flour, salt, and pepper, and whisk until completely combined.  Pour in the milk and whisk constantly until the mixture starts to thicken.  Add the Parmesan cheese to your taste and stir to combine.  If sauce is too thick, add a little more milk.  Remove sauce from heat and immediately spread it over your pizza crusts.
     Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the alfredo sauce and then add the chunks of pineapple and chicken pieces evenly over the pizzas.  Bake in the oven at 425 degrees for 15 - 18 minutes, when the crust edge is lightly browned and cheese is melted.  (The center of the pizza may seem a little soft and underdone, but it is just the alfredo sauce).

Wait a few minutes, then slice up into squares and enjoy!
 

Fits the Feingold Diet: Cheesy Chicken Strips and Italian Fries

We have been Feingoldin' it now for a full month now, and I have been experimenting a lot in the kitchen to make yummy, kid-friendly, Feingold-approved meals.  I made one fantastic dish - coconut mango chicken with rice - that was a dismal failure for the rest of the family.  (I loved it and ate it for days!)  Maybe I'll share the recipe for that in another post, but for today, I present to you - Cheesy Breaded Chicken Strips and Italian Fries.  

The Italian fries are super easy.  Wash seven or eight medium-sized potatoes and cut up into fries.  Put them all into a big bowl and toss with a little olive oil, basil, and oregano.  

Spread them out on a baking sheet and set aside.  They will go into the oven a bit later, and when they do, you will experience this sizzling yumminess:

For the chicken strips, take two pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast and cut into long strips.  Make a dipping solution of one part sour cream and one part ranch dressing.  Make a breading solution of one cup soft bread crumbs (I just took the last couple of slices from the bread I had made that day and tossed them into the food processor), one half cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese, one half cup finely shredded parmesan cheese, oregano, salt, and pepper to taste.  

Dip each strip into the ranch dressing mix and then into the breadcrumb mix, thoroughly coating on all sides. Place each covered strip on a greased cookie sheet as shown.  

Put your chicken strips into the oven preheated to 375 degrees and bake.  After ten minutes, add the potatoes into the oven.  Both the fries and the chicken strips should be ready to come out of the oven in about twenty to twenty-five more minutes.  (depends on how thick you cut your chicken strips and fries!)

These are so juicy and tasty - I promise you won't even need ketchup or other dipping sauce for the chicken or the fries.  Which is a good thing, considering there are no tomatoes allowed on phase one of the Feingold Diet...