Friday, September 18, 2009

BBQ Chicken Pizza




I was bored with every flavor combination I had come up with recently and decided to make a BBQ Chicken Pizza. I liked it well enough from when I worked at CPK and figured it wouldn't bore me. I love the way cilantro, red onions, and bbq sauce taste together.

1 frozen pizza dough ball, thawed and let rest
1 T olive oil
Garlic Salt

8-10 oz. Chicken Breast, boneless skinless
1 cup bbq sauce (your favorite! I used 1/2 honey and 1/2 Open Pit Original)
Bunch of cilantro, chopped
1/2 Red Onion, diced finely
2 cups shredded mozzarella

2 T Ranch Salad Dressing (high quality, don't use Fat Free or Kraft -- they taste so bad that they aren't worth it)

Stretch or roll out the pizza dough to fit the size of your pizza pan. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle crust with garlic salt.
Put in a preheated 400 degree oven for 4-5 mins.

Grill/poach chicken breast, dice, and toss in BBQ Sauce.

Pour chicken and sauce over the crust, sprinkle with a lot of shredded mozzarella and diced red onion.

Put back in the oven for another 10-12 minutes.

After the pizza is golden brown and melty, sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with Ranch for dipping.

I like to have a nice green salad with this pizza.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip with Fresh Tortilla Chips



1 package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed
1 T chopped garlic
1/2 can artichoke hearts
1/2 jar alfredo sauce
2 packages of cream cheese, *softened
1 tsp. garlic salt
dash pepper
1 tablespoon SAMBUCA(optional)
8 oz. shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
diced tomatoes for garnish
4 flour tortillas
canola oil

Thaw and squeeze out spinach. In a bowl mix spinach, garlic, salt, pepper, alfredo sauce, the SAMBUCA, 2 packages cream cheese, half the shredded mozzarella and half the parmesan cheese. Mix to combine thoroughly.
Chop up 1/2 can of artichoke hearts (drained well) and add to the mix.


Pour into a baking dish, cover with tin foil, and bake in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or until bubbly. Do not over bake.
Take out of oven and top with remaining cheeses and diced tomatoes. Bake for an additional 5 minutes until cheese melts.

In a non stick skillet, put 2 T canola oil. Cut the flour tortillas into 1/4's and fry for about 1 minute on each side until lightly brown. Sprinkle with garlic salt.
Serve on the side with the spinach dip.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Bengabi Pizza


Ingredients:

Bengabi Pesto:
1 cup zaatar spice
5-7 sprigs of fresh thyme, thyme removed
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/4 cup olive oil

2 thin loaves of pita bread or 1 frozen pizza dough ball (pictured with pizza dough)
1-2 ripe roma tomatoes
2 cups shredded mozzarella

1 Preheat oven to 380
2 Mix zaatar, thyme, garlic, oil in bowl and let sit 1-2 mins.
3 Smear onto pita, but don't get too close to the edges; leave a little crust
4 Top with slices of tomato
5 Top with 1 cup shredded mozzarella per pita

Bake in oven on the rack for about 7 minutes or until crust is crispy and cheese is melted.
If it is not done at 7 mins, check on it after 10 and it should be done.

Add crumbled goat cheese or fresh mozzarella to make it realllllly good!

Chicken Parmesan with Fresh Mozzarella and Fresh Basil


Ingredients
4 large good sized boneless chicken breasts
1 cup mayonnaise (lite mayo works fine!)
1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
2 cups panko (usually in the asian section of a regular grocery store)
1 (20 ounce) jar of good marinara sauce (Prego, Ragu, etc.)
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon garlic (or 2 cloves, chopped)
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 dash salt and pepper
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
1 cup fresh basil
Directions
1Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2Mix italian bread crumbs with panko in a large dish.
3Slather each chicken breast with mayo and dredge in breadcrumbs.
4Put chicken breasts side by side in baking dish and cook in oven for 15-18 minutes or until they start to brown on the outside.
5Begin the sauce with jar of pasta sauce, can of tomatoes, sugar, garlic, salt and pepper (add a little onion if you wish). Simmer on low-medium heat until chicken is browning.
6Remove chicken from oven and pour all of the sauce over the tops of the breasts.
7Reduce oven temp to 375 and bake, uncovered, for another 20 minutes.
8In the last 5 minutes, pull the chicken out again and layer on slices of FRESH MOZZARELLA all over the chicken and return to oven.
9I usually turn the broiler on for about 2 mins to start the melting process then turn it back to the oven.
10Once the cheese has melted and started to bubble, remove from oven.
11Top with lots of torn Fresh Basil leaves.
12Serve with pasta.