Week 49: Chicken Alfredo Pizza

I have a love-hate relationship with the Neelys. Their show is on nightly at a time when I'm around the house and the television. They make many recipes that appeal to me, but their lovey-dovey attitude makes me a little nuts.

Nevertheless, I tried this one out.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Makes 8 servings

1 (3/4 lb) boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1 C heavy cream
1/4 C grated Parmesan
1 (16-oz) ball pizza dough
2 C baby spinach, well washed and dried
1 C grape tomatoes, red and yellow
1 C grated mozzarella
Olive oil, for brushing crust

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Adjust racks to the middle of the oven. Put pizza stone in the oven to preheat while you begin the sauce.

Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant. Add the flour and cook until light blonde in color. Whisk in the cream, reduce the heat to low, and let simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and season lightly with salt and pepper, to taste.

Flour your work surface and roll the pizza dough into a 13-inch diameter. Carefully remove the pizza stone from the oven and put the dough on top. Ladle the sauce to cover the bottom of the pizza. Evenly top with the baby spinach, grape tomatoes, grilled chicken and the mozzarella. Brush the edge of the crust with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Bake the pizza until crisp and golden, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately top with another handful of spinach. Slice and serve.



My Notes:
Due to my own poor planning, this was way more stressful than it needed to be. The pizza dough took two tried because it turned out way too watery the first time. Then, I accidentally bought half-and-half instead of heavy cream. Then, I realized I didn't buy any mozzarella.

All the stress made it tough for me to really enjoy the pizza, but Brad really liked it. Apparently, it is something we will try again. Maybe next time I will buy pre-made Alfredo sauce to save some of the stress.

Week 49: Antipasto Calzone

I'm crazy about the pizza dough recipe I stole from Pioneer Woman and am always looking for fun, new ways to use the dough.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Makes 4 to 6 servings

Taken from Giada De Laurentiis

Pizza dough, 1 ball (13 to 16 oz)

Flour, for dusting
Cornmeal, for dusting
2 C (8 oz) shredded provolone
2 C (8 oz) shredded fontina cheese
4 oz. sliced pepperoni (I used turkey pepperoni)
2 jarred roasted red bell peppers, drained and cut into 1" pieces (about 1 c)
1/4 C coarsely chopped kalamata olives
1/4 C olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 egg beaten
Marina sauce (for serving)

Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.


On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 13-inch diameter circle, about 1/4-inch thick. Transfer the dough to a heavy baking sheet dusted with cornmeal.


In a medium bowl, combine the cheeses, salami, peppers, olives, and 1/4 cup olive oil. Put the cheese mixture on 1 side of the dough leaving a 1-inch border. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the edges of the dough with the beaten egg. Fold the unfilled side of the dough over the filling and using the tines of a fork, press the edges of the dough together to seal. Drizzle with olive oil.

Using a paring knife, cut a 1/2-inch wide slit in the top layer of the dough. Bake until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Cut the calzone into slices and serve with warm marinara sauce.

My Notes:
There were a few moments of cursing involved in this recipe - during the rolling out and transferring the dough to the baking sheet. And, once I piled all the toppings into the calzone, I had to re-roll the other half of the dough before folding it over.

The finished product tasted and looked great!

Week 33: Barbecue Chicken Pizza

I'm usually pretty traditional and habitual about my pizza (sausage and mushroom), but I wanted to try something a little different.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

taken from Pioneer Woman Cooks

Prep Time: 2 Hours
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Servings: 12 (2 large pizzas)



1 whole recipe For pizza crust (makes 2 crusts)
2 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 C barbecue sauce
Olive oil, for drizzling
Salt, for sprinkling
16 oz (weight) fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced thinly
1/2 whole red onion, cut in half and sliced very thin

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Salt chicken breasts on both sides, then place in an ovenproof dish. Pour BBQ sauce over the breasts and turn them over to coat. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is done. Remove from oven and cut into a fine dice. Set aside.

Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees.

Roll/stretch out one pizza crust. Lay it on a sheet pan drizzled with olive oil. Drizzle a little olive oil on the crust, then sprinkle on a little salt.

Spoon a couple of tablespoons of extra BBQ sauce on the crust and spread it evenly. Top sauce with half the sliced mozzarella. Sprinkle on half the diced chicken and thinly sliced red onion.

Sprinkle again with a little salt, then bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and toppings are bubbly.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle on plenty of chopped cilantro. Cut into squares and serve immediately. Repeat with other crust and other ingredients, or save for another time.






My Notes:
We only made one pizza but still used the amounts of chicken, cheese, onion, and barbecue sauce listed above. What can I say? We like our pizza covered with stuff.

Week 33: Pizza Dough

I have a cooking crush on Ree Drummond. And, I'm terrified of cooking with yeast; it just never goes my way. But, I trust Ree. So, I tried her pizza dough recipe with great success.

Pizza Dough
Taken shamelessly from Pioneer Woman Cooks
(Also in her cookbook)

Makes 2 large pizza crusts (12 servings)
Prep time: 5 minutes
Wait time: 1-2 hours or overnight

1 tsp instant or active dry yeast
1 1/2 C warm water
4 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/3 C olive oil

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water. Let stand for a few minutes.

In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined, and the dough comes together in a sticky mass.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside for 1 to 2 hours, or store in the fridge until you need it.

When you are ready to make the pizza, grab HALF the pizza dough (recipe makes 2 crusts) and squeeze the dough toward the bottom to form a nice, tight, pulled ball. You can roll out the pizza with a rolling pin if you’d like, but sometimes it’s just as easy to throw it around and pull and stretch till it feels right. And when the crust is nice and thin, lay it on an oiled baking sheet or pizza pan. Drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and spread it with your fingers. Very lightly sprinkle some salt on the crust.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Top your crust with your toppings of choice. Then bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and toppings are bubbly.

Note: The dough is good for up to 3-4 days.

Now, for your viewing pleasure. . . I used the pizza dough to make a special dinner with Natalie and Katelyn. They each made their own small pizza - plenty of germs included.










Later in the week. . . the same pizza dough for a grown-up pizza.