Sweet Chili Chicken Pizza

I've made this pizza several times now.  It's really good and simple to make.  I've never had Papa Murphy's Thai Chicken Delite pizza, so I can't say for sure it's the same.  But it was the inspiration.

Sweet Chili Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:

• pizza dough 
• sweet chili sauce
• grilled chicken
• chopped onions
• sliced green onions
• thinly sliced zucchini
• Mozzarella cheese
• Cheddar cheese 

Directions:

1. Roll/press pizza dough out to form crust for one pizza; prick with fork and bake at 450° for 5-7 minutes..
2. Remove crust from oven.  Spread sauce over crust and top with toppings.  Sprinkle with crushed red chili flakes if desired.
3. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until crust is browned and cheese melted.
4. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes before cutting.  Top with sliced fresh basil if desired.

I have no measurements because it's pizza, and you just put toppings on until it looks right to you. There's no right or wrong way.  I do think it's better if you slice the zucchini really thin, but it's OK if you don't too.  I seasoned my chicken with a little salt, pepper, and ground ginger when I grilled it (in my George Foreman), which was pretty good on this pizza, too.

Now I just need to make some more of that sweet chili sauce.

Buffalo Chicken Rolls

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month was Sarah's blog Things I Make (for Dinner), where she shares her love of cooking and the recipes she's been trying.  Sarah likes cooking challenges that take her outside her comfort zone, but she's also big on comfort food.  She and her husband love the health benefits and money saved from cooking and eating at home.  I'm with them all the way on that one!

A couple recipes that caught my eye were the Spinach Stuffed Flank Steak and this Mile High Vegetable Pie. Now that my tomatoes are starting to ripen, I am definitely going to have to try that one!

But, when I saw the recipe for Buffalo Chicken Cupcakes, I just had to try it.  Cupcakes? Sarah baked these in a muffin tin, which is where the 'cupcakes' come in.  I ended up baking mine on a baking sheet because I was afraid they'd be too big for the muffin tins, so I'm just calling them Buffalo Chicken Rolls.  It doesn't sound as fun, but I'm pretty sure they are just as yummy!

Buffalo Chicken Rolls
from Things I Make (for Dinner)

Ingredients:

• Pizza dough for one pizza
• 1 lb boneless chicken breast (or thighs) cooked and shredded
• 1 T butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 c Buffalo wing sauce (such as Frank's)
• 2 c shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Melt butter in medium skillet.  Add onion and garlic, and saute until soft.  Stir in chicken and sauce; remove from heat.
2. Divide the pizza dough into 2 pieces. Roll each piece into a rectangle about 1/4" thick. Spread each rectangle with half of the chicken mixture and sprinkle evenly with cheese. Starting with one long edge, roll up, pinching to seal the seam.
3. Cut each roll into 8 pieces and place, cut side down, onto well greased baking sheet. (or use parchment paper or silicon baking mat) Bake at 400° F for 15-18 minutes, until cheese is melted and crust is golden.

Ready to roll

I used a Frank's RedHot Kickin' BBQ sauce instead of the traditional Buffalo wing sauce, and it turned out really good.  I'm thinking this would be good with about any sauce you like.

Ready for the oven

Next time I think I'll bake them either in a 13x9" pan so the edges will touch and they'll hold their shape better.  Some of mine kind of fell apart - though that had no effect on the taste. Or I'm going to try the muffin tins so I'll have 'cupcakes' of my own.  However I bake them, I'll definitely make these again!  They are yummy.

An InLinkz Link-up

The Secret to a Crispy Cauliflower Crust Pizza

I recently tried making pizza with a cauliflower crust.  The flavor was really good, but the crust turned out a bit soggy.  Not a huge deal - we just ate it with a fork.  But, I wanted to see if I could get it a bit crisper and make a cauliflower crust that could actually be picked up.

Yes, it is possible.  Here are three things that I think made all the difference:

1. Be sure to remove as much moisture from the cauliflower as possible.
   Steaming the cauliflower works better than boiling it, because there isn't as much water in the cauliflower to begin with.  Whichever way you cook it, be sure to drain it thoroughly and then use a cotton towel or several paper towels and squeeze as much liquid out of the cooked cauliflower as you can get.
2. Use a pizza stone.
   The bottom crisps up better, and the crust seems to cook faster.  On the baking sheet, I think we should have cooked it longer than 15 minutes to brown better before we added the toppings.  On the pizza stone, it only needed about 12 minutes.  You will need to pat the crust out onto parchment paper so you can slide it onto the hot pizza stone in the oven, and so you can easily slide it out when it's time to add the toppings and remove the cooked pizza.
3. Cool on a wire rack.
   This might be the most important one.  When you slide the pizza out of the oven and off the pizza stone, it will be nicely browned and crisp.  However, if you leave your pizza on a cutting board to cool slightly before cutting, it will begin to steam and get soggy in the middle.  I noticed mine was doing this and actually slid it back onto my hot pizza stone to crisp back up, then I put it onto a wire rack to cool, still on the parchment.  All that moisture then went down through the rack and onto the counter underneath, and my pizza was not sitting in it.

The result?  Nice crispy crust that we could pick up!

I was just going to have you visit my first cauliflower crust pizza post to get the recipe, but it will be easier just to have it here.  I updated it to reflect the changes.

Cauliflower Crust Pizza
adapted from Dancing Veggies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cauliflower florets, steamed, drained, and mashed
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1-1/2 tsp. oregano

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450° F
2. In a medium bowl, mix the mashed cauliflower, egg, and cheeses. Add the garlic and oregano and stir well. Pat out on parchment paper to desired size and thickness.  Transfer to pizza stone and bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden.
3. Remove the crust from the oven and top with your favorite toppings and cheese.  We used a simple homemade pizza sauce, grilled chicken, onion, red pepper, feta, spinach, and mozzarella. 
4. Brush or spray the edges of the crust with olive oil and then bake for an additional 15 minutes, until the cheese and crust are nicely browned.
5. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.  Cut and enjoy!

Pizza with a Caulilflower Crust

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month was Dancing Veggies, a blog with a focus on healthy, simple, and quick vegetarian dishes on a budget.  Amanda started cooking in high school when her mother declined to fix special meals for her.  If she wanted to eat differently from the rest of the family, Amanda would need to cook her own food.  Smart mom!   

While we don't eat a vegetarian diet - my husband would complain loudly if he didn't get his meat! - I think adding more veggies to our diet will always be a good thing.  Amanda's blog is a wonderful resource full of interesting and tasty vegetarian recipes I will definitely be trying out in the future.   A couple that caught my eye were the Avocado Tomato Grilled Cheese and these Twice Baked Potatoes – Samosa Style.  We did make a version of the grilled cheese, which was super yummy, but when my son mentioned that he'd been wanting to try a cauliflower pizza crust, I decided to check to see if Amanda had one on her blog.  Yes, she did, so we worked together and made an amazing pizza with a cauliflower crust.  We did add chicken to our pizza, so it wasn't vegetarian, but I think it would have been just as good without it.

Cauliflower Crust Pizza
adapted from Dancing Veggies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cauliflower florets, steamed and mashed
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1-1/2 tsp. oregano

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450° F
2. In a medium bowl, mix the mashed cauliflower, egg, and cheeses. Add the garlic and oregano and stir well. Pat into the bottom of a pizza pan or cookie sheet; bake for 10-15 minutes.
3. Remove the crust from the oven and top with your favorite toppings and cheese.  We used a simple homemade pizza sauce, grilled chicken, onion, red pepper, feta, spinach, and mozzarella. 
4. Brush the edges of the crust with olive oil and then bake for an additional 15 minutes (or longer), until the cheese and crust are nicely browned.

The flavor of this crust is absolutely amazing!  All that garlic!  Great call, Amanda.

 It's so good my son said he was going to marry this pizza.  We are already thinking of ways to improve it, though.  We were in a hurry, so we didn't remove enough of the moisture from the cauliflower after steaming it.  Some recipes mention squeezing it out in a dish towel.  I don't know that we'll go to that extreme, but the crust did have a little more moisture than we liked, so we'll take that extra step of draining it thoroughly, at least, next time.  Also, we cooked it on a cookie sheet with parchment paper - instead of on the pizza stone that I have right there in my oven.  So, I will be using the pizza stone next time, and maybe cooking the crust a bit longer before adding the toppings.  We're hoping those little tweaks will get the crust just a bit crisper on the bottom.
 

This is definitely a recipe I will be using again.  I'm so glad my son was wanting to try it and willing to help me.

Update:  I tweaked it a bit and we had cauliflower crust pizza you can pick up and eat!

An InLinkz Link-up

Simple Pizza Sauce

In the past, when I wanted to make a pizza, I would usually just open a jar of spaghetti sauce and use some of that for my pizza sauce.  It's pretty much the same thing, right?  Of course, I never needed the whole jar of sauce for a couple of pizzas, so we'd always have to have spaghetti later in the week.  Not necessarily a bad thing, but...

Recently I started making this super simple pizza sauce.  The original recipe called for a larger can of tomato sauce, but I find that an 8-oz. can makes just the perfect amount for 2 pizzas - which is what I usually make if I'm making pizza.  So, it's perfect.  And the flavor is pretty good, too.

Simple Pizza Sauce
from closetcooking

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. olive oil.
• 2 or 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

 Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a sauce pan.
2. Add the garlic and and oregano, and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
3. Add tomato sauce and simmer until it thickens, about 10-20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I'm also a huge fan of the garlic sauce from the Chicken Garlic Pizza, which might be why I use just as much garlic in this sauce as the original recipe, with only half as much tomato sauce.  If you're not as big a fan of garlic, simply adjust. 

Between the two sauces, there are all kinds of pizza options.  How about you?  Do you have a favorite pizza sauce?

A Couple of Pizzas

I made a couple pizzas for dinner this week.  They both turned out pretty good!

 And we have a whole pizza - some pieces from each - left over for another meal!  Here are the toppings for both pizzas.  No measurements really, because pizza is just like that.  You pile on the toppings until it looks right to you.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

• Barbecue sauce
• 1 boneless chicken thigh, grilled
• Sliced onion
• Sliced mushrooms
• Cheese - Mozzarella and Cheddar

Roast Beef Pizza

• Garlic Ranch Sauce - Ranch dressing mixed with minced garlic
• Parmesan cheese
• Leftover roast beef, cut into bite-sized pieces
• Sliced onion
• Sliced mushrooms
• Asparagus pieces
• Cheese - Mozzarella and Cheddar, crumbled Queso Fresco

1. Spread sauce on crust, sprinkle Parmesan on the Garlic Ranch sauce.  Add toppings and cheese. 
2. Bake pizzas at 450° F for 15 minutes or until crust is done and cheese is melted and browned.  
3. Remove from oven and let sit for at least 5 minutes before cutting.

I am still trying to find the perfect Pizza crust recipe or technique or whatever the secret is to that perfect crust.  This one wasn't too bad, but there's definitely room for improvement.  The toppings, on the other hand, were very yummy!

Chicken Garlic Pizza

I found this recipe a while back, and I've made it several times.  It's definitely time for an update.  The first time I made it, I followed the recipe, but I thought there was too much sauce and too much cheese, so I've modified it a bit.  Yes, I know, some people don't believe there is any such thing as too much cheese, so feel free to use as much as you want.

Chicken Garlic Pizza
Papa Murphy's copycat

Sauce

• 1/2 cup ranch dressing
• 1 T minced garlic

(mix together)

 
Toppings:

• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 grilled chicken breast, sliced
• 2 Roma tomatoes, diced or sun dried tomatoes
• 1/4 cup coarsely sliced green onions

Directions:

1. Spread sauce over prepared pizza dough
2. Add half of cheese, then the toppings, then spread the rest of the cheese on top.
3. Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
4. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing.

You may not use all of the chicken or green onions.  Just spread them on the pizza until it looks right to you.  I only used about half of the chicken breast - it was rather large.  Also, I didn't measure my green onions, sun dried tomatoes, or Parmesan cheese, just sprinkled them on until it looked good and the pizza was covered.

It's not exactly like the Papa Murphy's pizza, but it's pretty close.  I especially love the garlic sauce.  And there is still plenty of melty, gooey cheese on this pizza.

Chicken and Black Bean Pizza

Chicken, black beans and cilantro.  On a pizza.  What's not to love about this?

Chicken and Black Bean Pizza
Inspired by this Pillsbury Bake-off recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
• garlic powder
• pizza crust for 1 pizza
• 1/2 cup thick & chunky salsa
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 t. cumin
• chopped onion
• green or red pepper strips
• 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Sprinkle chicken breast with garlic powder and broil for 15-18 minutes, or until done, turning halfway. (or cook on your George Foreman Grill)
2. When cool, dice chicken.
3. In medium bowl, combine salsa, chicken, black beans, cilantro and cumin; mix well.
4. Bake pizza crust for 5-7 minutes; remove from oven and spread bean and salsa mix evenly over pizza crust.
5. Top with onion, pepper strips, and cheese.
6. Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is melted.
7. To serve, garnish with sour cream and guacamole (or avocado). 

Makes one pizza.

I like to use a pizza crust I make in my bread machine, but you can also use a packaged crust mix or a pre-made crust you can find in the store. My bread machine recipe makes enough dough for 2 pizzas so I just double the recipe.  One chicken breast also seems to be enough for two pizzas.

The ingredients can be varied to suit your own tastes. Mushrooms and green onions are really good on this.

 

Pizza Crust

This is the pizza crust recipe from the cookbook that came with my first bread machine.

Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 cups flour
• 2-1/4 tsp. yeast

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients into bread maker in the order given; use Dough cycle.
2. When dough is ready, divide in half and let rest for 10 minutes.  Then roll or pat each half into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface.  Place on prepared pizza pans; cover and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes.
3. Bake each crust in preheated 400° oven 5-10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
4. Remove from oven and spread with favorite pizza toppings.  return to oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until cheese and toppings are melted and bubbling.

I found this next recipe on Pinterest and used it last time I made pizza, because I couldn't find the bread machine cookbook.  I just used my bread machine with these ingredients.  I liked this one a lot, so I'm trying to compare the two recipes to see what the difference is.  It looks like - more water, more flour, more salt.

Basic Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

• 1-3/4 cups warm water
• 2 T olive oil
• 1½ tsp. salt
• 4 cups bread flour
• 2¼ tsp. yeast

 Follow above directions, or click on the recipe name for the original recipe directions and tips.
 

Update: I loved this crust fresh, but froze half of it as suggested in the recipe.  I did like she said, "Freeze the dough until it is ready to be used.   The day you plan to use the dough, transfer it to the refrigerator in the morning to thaw in time for dinner that evening." and, "Before making the pizza, take the dough out of the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes to take off the chill." - and it just wasn't very good at all.  Maybe if I get a pizza stone? I really need to get one.  But, for now, as easy as the dough is to make in the bread machine, there's really no reason not to make it fresh - except that I don't always need to make two pizzas.

I've also been experimenting with using my sourdough starter:

Sourdough Pizza Crust

Ingredients:

• 1cup starter
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 cup unbleached flour

Mix and allow to sit until active and bubbly.  Then stir in:

• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Add to make a soft dough:

• 1 to 1-1/2 cups unbleached flour

Use additional flour for kneading.

Directions:

1. After mixing and kneading, let rise 2 hours or until doubled in size.
2. Punch down and let rest, covered, for 10 minutes.  Then roll or pat each half into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface.  Place on prepared pizza pans; cover and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes.
3. Bake each crust in preheated 400° oven 5-10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
4. Remove from oven and spread with favorite pizza toppings.  return to oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until cheese and toppings are melted and bubbling.

Now to figure out which recipe I like best. Right now I'm thinking the middle one - the one I found on Pinterest, but I also like the sourdough recipe. I just have to remember to start in plenty of time for that one, or dinner is late. Like tonight.

Gourmet Chicken Garlic Pizza

Our favorite pizza at Papa Murphy's is the Gourmet Chicken Garlic Pizza, so when I found this recipe at Babblelots, I had to grab it.  I must try this!

Knock off pizza recipe of
Gourmet Chicken Garlic Pizza 

Sauce

• 2/3 cup ranch dressing
• 1/2 to 1 tablespoon minced garlic

(mix together)

 
Toppings:

• 12 ounces (3 cups shredded) mozzarella cheese
• 2 ounces (1/2 cup shredded) cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 grilled chicken breast, sliced
• 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup (packed) coarsely slice green onion tops

Make your dough and put the sauce over then add half of cheese then the toppings
Last add the rest of cheese
There ya go!

Yum! 

Mexican Pizza

Image by Kodamakitty via FlickrI got this recipe from my mother-in-law, and we really like it. I haven't made it in a while, but a friend's pizza crust the other night reminded me - so I had to share, because I think this pizza would be great with her crust.

Mexican Pizza
 
for each pizza crust:

• 1 pkg. pizza crust mix
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup plus 2 T. water

toppings:

• 1 can refried beans
• chopped onions
• chopped green pepper
• sliced mushrooms - fresh or 4 oz. can
• black olives, sliced
• tomato, chopped (or use well drained, canned)
• Colby/Jack cheese, shredded 

Directions:

1. Mix pizza crust mix and cornmeal for 1 pizza crust.  Add water and mix according to package directions.  Let sit 5 minutes, then press onto pizza pan. 
2. Bake 10 minutes @ 450°. 
3. Remove crust from oven, and spread 1/2 can refried beans on top. 
4. Add remaining ingredients, saving some for the second pizza, and return pizza to oven.  Bake until cheese is melted and slightly browned (or however you like your pizza). 
5. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make the second pizza. 

 Serve with some crushed red pepper to sprinkle on top.  Makes 2 pizzas.

You can use any pizza crust.  When I first started making this, I had some packages of pizza crust mix I had gotten really cheap, so that's what I used.  The added cornmeal is absolutely perfect with the toppings on this pizza.  I really need to make this soon! (and maybe this one, too)