Chicken Pesto Pizza

Summer is wrapping up and that means it was time to prune the basil plants for the last time this year.  I was bummed to learn that my basil won't come back next year.  Temps here don't get too cold, so I thought it might have a chance, but no such luck.  After doing some research, I found that basil won't live in temps under 50 degrees F.  Bummer.  We have predicted lows in the mid 40's this week (yay!), so it was time to remove all the leaves and make some pesto.

I've written about my pesto, and, now that I am looking back, I am embarrassed of the picture of the boxed/store-bought basil!  I will be sure to update that next year. Now that my husband and I have grown basil, I realize how much better it tastes and how expensive store-bought is! I am new to the gardening thing, but I was very impressed and pleased with our basil plants.  They were surprisingly easy to grow and produced a ton of basil.  Anyways.... after pruning all the leaves off my 3 plants, I had 40 cups of basil (yep, not a typo, 40 cups.) (And yes, I did prune them throughout the summer!)  I don't know what all to do with basil, but I love pesto, so I just made a TON of pesto and froze it all in little baggies.  I have no idea if we will be able to eat all of that this winter, but I figured we might as well get started.  I made a chicken pesto pizza that turned out to be delicious!  I have blogged about how much I love pizza in the past, and this is definitely a new favorite for us!  

Chicken Pesto Pizza

Ingredients:

Pizza dough (I made mine in the bread machine- do whatever works for you.. a wheat crust is super good!)

2 chicken breasts, chopped into bite-size pieces

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp minced fresh garlic

1/3 c. pesto 

2 c. shredded Mozzarella cheese

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Roll out/stretch/toss etc. dough onto a pizza pan

2. Spread pesto over dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border for crust

3. Heat skillet, olive oil, and garlic over medium heat.  Add chicken and cook until it is cooked through (no longer pink inside)- about 5 minutes

4. Top pizza with chicken 

5. Spread cheeses over top

6. Bake in preheated oven for 20-22 minutes.

Chicken Bacon Alfredo Pizza

My husband and I eat pizza weekly.  It is a sort of family tradition... My Grams and Gramps eat popcorn, pizza, and watch a movie most every Sunday evening.  I've always found this so charming and special about them- that they weekly took time to have a cheap and fun "date night."  I loved this tradition of theirs, and I always wanted to do something similar to set aside and cherish time with my husband. Our version of the tradition is to set aside a night each week to make a pizza and watch a movie.  My first thought of pizza after getting IC was, "boring." But after some time playing around in the kitchen, I've come to find TONS of IC friendly pizza ideas.

Chicken Bacon Alfredo Pizza is just what it sounds like: not healthy in the least, but so so yummy!  This is one of my favorite pizzas to make because it gets both of us in the kitchen and having fun.  My husband is the bacon fryer and crumbler, and I take care of the chicken, sauce, and dough.  Last night, I twirled and tossed the pizza dough around kitchen trying to imitate all those cool pizza chefs you see on TV (note: I am sure I didn't come close to resembling them, especially since I was already in my PJ's) while he carefully and precisely cooked the bacon to the perfect crispy-ness.  Give this pizza a try.  You will LOVE it.  Its worth all the time and steps, trust me.

Quick Pizza Dough:
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2 cups bread flour
2 Tbl olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar

Alfredo Sauce:

2 Tbls Butter

1/2 C. Heavy cream

1/2 tsp Garlic (minced)

3/4 C. Parmesan cheese (shredded)

2 Tbl fresh chopped Parsley

Toppings:

1 C. Mozzarella (shredded)

1/4C. parmesan (shredded)

1 cup chopped chicken, cooked (I like to saute mine in butter and garlic!)

6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

Dough:  In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water, let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.  In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, sugar, and the yeast mixture.  Stir well to combine.  Beat well until a stiff dough has formed.  Cover and let rise until dough is doubled, about 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Turn out dough onto a well floured surface.  Roll out dough into a pizza crust shape.
Sauce: In a small sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter.  Add garlic and cook until golden. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in heavy cream.  While stirring frequently, cook for 5 minutes.  Whisk in cheese, and continue whisking until it is melted and sauce is creamy.  Stir in parsley. 

Pizza: Pour and spread sauce on top of pizza dough, sprinkle cheese, then add the chicken and bacon. 

Bake in preheated oven for about 22 minutes, or until top is golden and amazing looking.