Pizza
Jalapeno Popper Buffalo Chicken Pizza
March 26, 2012 | 
Author I interrupt this post for an announcement…
MY NEPHEW WAS BORN THIS MORNING!! My brother and sister-in-law whisked away to the hospital last night. The little one must’ve known there were fun things waiting for him, because my care package arrived just the day before. They even brought the homemade granola bars with them to the hospital. Perfect timing Aunt Erin. He was born at 7:19 am coming in at 7 lbs and 1 oz, and 19 inches long.
Welcome to the world, Luke. I cannot wait to meet you!
Okay. You may now return to your regularly scheduled read….
Instead of a traditional pizza sauce, you smear a mixture of cream cheese (<3!) and jalapenos onto the crust. I added a bit of milk since cream cheese is a bit tough to spread over fresh dough. And then you throw on both Mozzarella and blue cheese, followed by chicken which has been tossed in hot sauce. And of course it’s topped of by none other than bacon! This would be an excellent pizza to serve while watching your favorite sports team.
Check out some of Carrie’s other great recipes including apple rice pudding brulee and chicken pot pie with roasted garlic crusts, for two. Also don’t forget to see what all the other SRC members made, shown at the bottom of this post.
JALAPENO POPPER BUFFALO CHICKEN PIZZA
Serves 3-4
Ingredients:
1 recipe whole wheat pizza dough
8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, softened
3 jalapenos seeded and diced
1 Tbsp milk (optional)
1-1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles
1 cup shredded cooked chicken
2 Tbsp Buffalo wing hot sauce
4 slices crumbled cooked bacon
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 420 degrees with pizza stone on middle rack; allow to preheat in the oven for at least 10 minutes.
- Roll out dough and transfer to a pizza peel generously sprinkled with cornmeal.
- In a small bowl mix cream cheese and jalapenos together. Add milk to create are more spreadable consistency. Spread onto pizza dough and top with cheeses.
- In another small bowl toss chicken with 1 tablespoon of hot sauce. With your other tablespoon of hot sauce drizzle over cheese. Top with chicken mixture and bacon crumbles.
- Transfer to the pizza stone without removing from the oven (it’ll take a couple light shakes). Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crust is cooked and golden.
Source: Adapted slightly from Bakeaholic Mama.
Posted in Chicken, Entree, Pizza | 
Tags: bacon, blue cheese, buffalo sauce, chicken, cream cheese, jalapenos, mozzarella | 
30 Comments »
Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza
Ever order a pizza but start with a salad, convincing yourself it will prevent you from eating too much pizza? That never works for me. I will still annihilate half by myself, so I would’ve consumed less calories without the stupid healthy salad . Maybe putting the salad on the pizza is the way to go.
Caesar salad was actually the first salad I ever liked. Probably because it has the least amount of vegetables in it and I used to despise all vegetables besides carrots, corn and potatoes (as if they counted as a veggie). Green things were very much absent from my diet growing up, but boredom of the food selections of my undergraduate meal plan that met my picky-eating ways forced me to dive into the actually very expansive options available (oh the benefits of going to a gigantic school).
But back to talking about this pizza topped with Caesar salad. It is cooked with a pesto sauce base and topped with Mozzarella, Paremesan and chicken. Then once out of the oven, you assemble the rest of the salad right on top! A little drizzle of dressing and some extra shredded Parmesan, but leave off those croutons because you will find them transformed into a pizza crust.
One year ago: Apple Harvest Oatmeal
CHICKEN CAESAR SALAD PIZZA
Serves 3 to 4
Ingredients:
1 recipe pizza dough
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp basil pesto
1/2 cup cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup shredded Mozzarella
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan, plus more for garnish
2 cups leafy romaine
1 Roma tomato, sliced
1/4 cup light Caesar salad dressing
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees with a pizza stone placed on the center rack for 15 minutes.
- On a cornmeal dusted pizza peel, roll out the pizza dough. Spread the olive oil and pesto over the dough within a 1/2 inch of the edge. Top with chicken pieces and sprinkle cheeses over top.
- Shimmy onto the preheated pizza stone and bake for 10-12 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly.
- Allow pizza to cool slightly then top with romaine, tomato and dressing. Add additional Parmesan is desired.
Source: Inspired by Mellow Mushroom’s “The Caesar!” pizza.
Sausage Lasagna Heart Calzone
Have you made plans for Valentine’s Day yet? I actually do not have any yet, but in the meantime have not slacked off on making Valentine’s Day inspired treats and meals. For example, after I mastered the stromboli I decided it was time to take on the calzone. But not just any calzone, but a heart-shaped one! And it conveniently serves two people. Or maybe four if you serve anything substantial on the side.
And if the shape alone wasn’t enough this baby is actually stuffed with sausage lasagna filling. Gooey, cheesy, meaty loveliness wrapped up in dough. Yup, go ahead and eat your heart out. (Sorry sorry couldn’t resist)
One year ago: Oreo Truffles
SAUSAGE LASAGNA HEART CALZONE
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1/2 lb pizza dough
1 lb spicy Italian sausage
1-1/2 cups pizza sauce
8 oz low fat ricotta cheese
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
Pinch of salt, fresh cracked pepper
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning, plus more for topping (optional)
1 egg, beaten (for brushing dough)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Brown sausage until browned. Drain and return back to skillet. Add pasta sauce and reduce heat to low to simmer.
- Place ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella cheese and seasonings in a mixing bowl. Mix until well combined.
- Cut the pizza doughs in half. On a floured sheet of parchment paper, form two large hearts and roll until about 1/8″ thick. Move one dough-heart onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Top the dough-heart on the baking sheet with sausage marinara then with ricotta (you may have leftovers), leaving a 1/2″ edge. Brush the edges of the dough with egg and top with remaining dough-heart. Press seams together, brush entire top lightly with egg then sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Cut a few slices in the top, transfer to a cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until browned and cooked through.
Source: Adapted slightly from Picky Palate.
Posted in Entree, Holidays, Pizza, Pork, Valentine's Day | Tags: italian sausage, mozzarella, Parmesan, ricotta | 18 Comments »
Stromboli
Pizza and other pizza-like-creations are one of my favorite things to eat. However, as you may have noticed I have yet to post any calzones or strombolis because I’ve never been very good with rolled up pizza dough concoctions. They always turn into a big mess (still delicious just not photogenic) and I never understood why. But then I saw that Laurens posted a great “how to” on making stromboli and I decided to try it out. Her step-by-step photos really help! And I have to say it turned out to be the most beautiful stromboli that’s ever been in my kitchen (brushing the edges with egg was key to seal the edges). Behold!
I barely had enough patience to let it cool down before cutting it up so that I could dive into this marvelous creation. To distract myself I made sure I had plenty of pizza sauce to dip into.
Next I need to retry making calzones, and will definitely be brushing the edges of that with egg too. It seems to seal it up perfectly, in ways that simple pressing/folding cannot.
One year ago: Grilled Three Cheese Sandwich
STROMBOLI
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1/2 lb pizza dough (I used Lauren’s recipe)
1/2 cup pizza sauce, plus more for dipping
1-1/2 cups grated Mozzarella cheese
6 thin slices hard salami
4 thin slices deli honey ham
1 egg, beaten
Dried parsley & Parmesan cheese (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Line large rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper or spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
- Spread pizza dough out on baking sheet to be approximately 10×16. Spread pizza sauce over 2/3′s of the dough lengthwise, leaving a 3×16 rectangle of plain dough along one of the edges. Top sauce with half the grated cheese, salami and ham. Top with remaining cheese.
- Brush the plain strip of dough with the egg. Fold in the other sides about an inch and brush them with egg. Roll up like a jelly roll* lengthwise starting along the long edge of dough topped with all the fillings and ending with the plain strip of dough on the bottom of the roll.
- Brush the entire stromboli with egg and gently cut slats in the top of the dough every 1-2 inches. Sprinkle parsley and cheese over top and bake 8-10 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Remove from oven, cool 5 minutes and slice into pieces. Serve with more pizza sauce.
*This is where using parchment paper is really handy because you can pick it up to help roll the dough.
Source: Adapted slightly from Lauren’s Latest.
Cajun Chicken Alfredo Pizza
Today, I am going to remedy a serious problem. The problem is that I have not seen my dad since March last year and we live in the same state (and even worse, my stepmom since Christmas a year ago)! Granted we are on opposite ends of a very long state, but still unacceptable. So today I am venturing off to pay them a visit. Did I mention there will be also cookies at the end of the yellow brick road?
Speaking of things I haven’t seen in awhile, after I did my best of 2011 recipe round-up I started to crave the lighter cajun chicken alfredo on that list which despite it’s awesome-ness I have neglected to make again. But since I sometimes like to change up recipes into new creations, I decided to get rid of the pasta and throw it on top of a pizza crust instead!
Ok ok, now bear with me on this one and enjoy the cheesy point I’m about to make because it’s the reason I bought this… The plate says it all. You can start making fun of me now, I give you permission. But you know what? I won’t care because it’s fun and truly was yummy.
One year ago: Black Cherry Vanilla Almond Smoothie
CAJUN CHICKEN ALFREDO PIZZA
Serves 3-4
Ingredients:
1 recipe pizza dough
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 Tbsp + 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning, divided
1 cup 2% milk
1 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp light butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp sun-dried tomatoes, diced
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/2 cup frozen broccoli, thawed and chopped
1 cup Mozzarella cheese
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees for at least 10 minutes with a pizza stone* on the middle rack.
- Meanwhile, roll pizza dough onto a corn meal dusted pizza peel*.
- Heat oil in a medium skillet. Season both sides of the chicken breast with 1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning. Brown for 5 minutes on one side, flip, and cover the skillet. Continue cooking until the chicken is done. Remove the chicken and allow to cool slightly before cutting into strips, or bite-sized pieces.
- In a food processor or blender, combine milk, cream cheese, flour, and salt. Process until smooth and set aside.
- In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute for about 30 seconds.
- Add the milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for about 2-3 minutes until the sauce begins to simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a couple minutes more. It should become thicker.
- Remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan until melted, then add the sun-dried tomatoes, 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning, basil, and cayenne and cover the pan immediately.
- Let stand for at least 10 minutes prior to using. It will continue to thicken to desired consistency. Then spread sauce over pizza crust, and top with chicken, broccoli and cheese.
- Shimmy the pizza from the pizza peel onto the pre-heated pizza stone and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until it the crust turns golden brown and the cheese starts to bubble. Allow to cool for 5 minutes then cut into slices.
*If you do not have a pizza stone or peel, roll dough out on a corn meal dusted baking sheet/pizza pan.
Source: Adapted from The Spiffy Cookie.
Posted in Chicken, Entree, Pizza | Tags: Cajun seasoning, chicken, cream cheese, mozzarella, Parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes | 17 Comments »
Sweet ‘n’ Spicy Hawaiian Pizza
Can you believe it’s 2012?? Because I definitely cannot. And to start off this fresh start, I completely failed on posting for the first time of the new year yesterday. But for good reason, I came down with a pretty nasty head cold. I’m not fulling recovered yet, but to make up for yesterday I want to share something extra delicious with you.
Hawaiian pizza is one of my favorite types of pizza, yet I order/make it rarely for some strange reason. This version uses a combination of sweet apricot preserves and spicy chili Sriracha as the sauce instead of the standard tomato base – it’s fantastic and may have just ruined any chance of ordering Hawaiian pizza out ever again because I have never seen this anywhere else!
One year ago: Spinach Tomato Tortellini
SWEET ‘N’ SPICY HAWAIIAN PIZZA
Serves 3-4
Ingredients:
1 whole wheat pizza dough
1/3 cup apricot preserves
2 Tbsp Sriracha chili sauce
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup chopped ham
1/2 cup chopped fresh pineapple
1/4 cup chopped jalapenos
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 450 and move rack to just above the center with pizza stone. Allow stone to preheat for at least 10 minutes.
- Roll out pizza dough and transfer to a pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal.
- Warm the apricot preserves in the microwave for about 30 seconds, then stir well and spread evenly all of the pizza crust. Spread the Sriracha on top of that and then cover the entire thing with mozzarella. Evenly distribute the ham, pineapple, and jalapenos on top of the cheese.
- Place directly on the pizza stone and bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes until the crust is crispy and brown and the cheese is bubbly. Carefully remove from oven, let cool slightly, and then slice and serve.
Source: Heather’s Dish
Posted in Entree, Pizza, Pork | Tags: apricots, ham, jalapenos, mozzarella, pineapple | 13 Comments »
Breakfast Pizza
Sometimes I really dislike that I don’t force myself to wake up earlier than 30 minutes before I need to be out the door, because it prevents me from eating things other than cereal and bagels for breakfast. Last night I had one of those moments and decided to make up for it by having breakfast for dinner with this pizza.
I made this pizza once before when I first saw it on Smitten Kitchen, and it was wonderful. This time around I wanted to change up the toppings a little bit and decided to add some hash brown potatoes from Simply Potatoes. As with any breakfast you cannot go wrong serving it with some crispy potatoes, and the same applies here. Even though they didn’t get as crispy, it’s not their fault – they were surrounded by cheese after all! The potatoes added a great texture to the pizza toppings, and made the breakfast pizza complete.
In the directions you will notice that it says to crack the eggs over the pizza after you have transferred it to the pizza stone. This is not a mistake. I changed it from the original recipe, because the process of shaking the pizza from the peel onto the stone makes the eggs slide all over the place. However, if you are going to be using a pizza pan instead of the peel/stone then go ahead and put the egg on before putting in the oven.
Want to win a year’s worth of free Simply Potatoes products? Enter the sweepstakes HERE.
And also don’t forget to enter my giveaway for a piece of spiffy cookie jewelry!
One year ago: Baked Oatmeal
BREAKFAST PIZZA
Makes 1 pizza
Ingredients:
1 recipe pizza dough (or 1 refrigerated pizza dough), at room temperature for an hour
1 cup Simply Potatoes frozen shredded hash browns
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 eggs
Salt and pepper
Parsley
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 500 degrees 30 minutes before you’re ready to bake your pizza, with a pizza stone placed on the bottom rack.
- On a lightly floured countertop, pat the dough into a disc with your fingertips, then drape the dough over your fists and carefully stretch it from beneath to form a 12-inch circle.
- Generously dust the surface of a pizza peel (or large inverted sheet pan)* with cornmeal and place the stretched dough on it. Sprinkle the dough with the potatoes, cheddar and bacon.
- Shake the pizza peel slightly to make sure the dough is not sticking. Carefully lift any sections that are sticking and sprinkle a bit more cornmeal underneath, then slide the pizza directly onto the baking stone in one quick forward-and-back motion. Crack 3 eggs over the top of the pizza and season with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating after 5 minutes. When the crust is golden, the cheese is melted and the egg yolks are cooked, use the peel to transfer the pizza to a cutting board. Sprinkle with parsley. Let cool for 2 minutes, slice and serve immediately.
*If you do not have a pizza peel and/or stone, do these steps on the pizza pan or baking sheet you will be cooking the pizza on.
Source: Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Disclosure: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a coupon for a free Simply Potatoes product of my choice. Opinions are my own.
Cauliflower Pizza Crust (FAGE Good Living Part III)
Cauliflower as a pizza crust? You’ve got the be joking. At least that’s what I thought about using cauliflower as a substitute for anything, until I had mashed cauliflower as a replacement for potatoes. With the skeptic thrown aside, I knew I had to try this crust. With a few tips from Molly at Duchess of Fork, I think this crust came out surprisingly well. Although nothing can compare to the real deal pizza crust, I enjoyed this alternative. It resembles a very thin pizza crust, which I do enjoy, but I know some prefer thicker style in which case this crust may not be not for you.
The most important part is to wring out the excess water from the riced cauliflower (or cook in microwave for 8 minutes). Otherwise the crust will be too soggy. Also, if you’re like me and do not have a ricer, a food processor (or even a cheese grater) works just fine. Just be sure to not over process it! A few quick pulses is all it should take.
Before I give you the recipe, I am going to share my third and final description of what “good living” means to me for FAGE Total’s giveaway. What enriches my life the most is spending time with people I care about. And this act tends to coincide with the sharing of great food! It’s no wonder that when I get together with family and/or friends from out-of-town, our visits seem to revolve around what/where we are going to eat. But my favorite is cooking together – I have always loved cooking along side of someone, even just helping when I was a child.
Unfortunately these days living alone doesn’t allow much of that (unless I want to bake cat-treats all the time). However, along with the winter holidays quickly approaching comes a trip home to see some of my family and friends. And I guarantee there will be plenty of cooking, sharing and gathering around food to be had while spending some good ol’ quality time together – the best part of going home for the holidays!
Just a quick side-note… I found out the other day that my hometown of Rochester, NY was determined to be the second snowiest city. Rock on ROC! I now have high expectations for my return home for Christmas. Come on lake effect snow, don’t let me down!
One year ago: Homemade Applesauce
CAULIFLOWER PIZZA CRUST
Makes 1 crust
Ingredients:
2 cups riced cauliflower, squeezed of excess water
1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1 egg, beaten
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
Desired pizza toppings
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover an 8.5 x 12-inch jellyroll pan with foil or parchment paper and coat generously with non-stick cooking spray.
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until combined. Put dough on prepared pan and press firmly down into the pan, evenly towards the edges. Lightly coat top of crust with non-stick cooking spray.
- Bake crust at 400 for 10 minutes, then lower oven temperature to 350 and bake for 15 minutes. Remove crust from oven and top with your favorite toppings. Bake pizza for another 5-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
Source: Adapted slightly from Duchess of Fork originally from Diary of a Modern Matriarch.
Disclosure: As part of the Foodbuzz Featured Publisher program, I have been entered for the chance to win a trip to Greece courtesy of FAGE. You too can enter to win one of three trips to Greece by entering the FAGE Plain Extraordinary Greek Getaway here: http://www.fageusa.com/community/fage-greek-getaway
Posted in Bread Rolls Buns & Dough, Entree, Pizza | Tags: cauliflower, garlic, mozzarella | 23 Comments »
Falafel Pizza
Even though this pizza isn’t much different than wrapping some falafels up in a pita and topping it with the usual suspects, I thought it was still worth sharing. Originally I was going to attempt making a giant pita for the crust, but decided to go with a thinner sourdough crust by dividing my sourdough pizza crust recipe in half. Mixes things up a little! And you have to admit, an entree option turned into pizza is always a winner.
FALAFEL PIZZA
Makes one pizza
Ingredients:
1/2 recipe sourdough pizza crust (I froze the other half for later)
1/3 cup tahini paste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp water
Juice and zest from half a lemon
1/4 cup red onion, sliced
1 small tomato, diced
1/2 cup lettuce
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with pizza stone on middle rack.
- Shape the dough into a flattened disk. On a well floured surface, roll out until it reaches the size of your pizza stone (or pan). Place it on a cornmeal-dusted pizza peel*, cover it, and let it rest for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the tahini paste, garlic, parsley, water and lemon juice and zest until well combined. Set aside.
- After dough has risen slightly, poke the dough with a fork several times, then shimmy onto the preheated pizza stone and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly golden.
- Allow crust to cool for 5 minutes before spreading the tahini sauce over it, followed by the red onion, tomato, lettuce, feta, and falafels. Slice and enjoy!
*If you do not have a pizza peel and/or stone, do these steps on the pizza pan or baking sheet you will be cooking the pizza on.
Source: The Spiffy Cookie original
Posted in Entree, Pizza, Uncategorized, Vegetarian | Tags: falafel, feta, lemon, lettuce, red onion, tahini, tomatoes | 11 Comments »
Feta, Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomato and Pine Nut Pizza with Sourdough Crust
Well, isn’t that the longest pizza title ever? I couldn’t come up with a good title and also felt like I couldn’t leave out the star toppings. I got the idea for this pizza from one of my favorite pizza places, The Mellow Mushroom. Several of their pizzas are quite delicious, and I really enjoy the diversity of toppings that stray from the traditional but their Kosmic Karma pizza I order the most. Even the name sounds appealing, as if eating it will send you into a peaceful state – which it does. And what better than to recreate that experience at home?
Using my sourdough starter to make a sourdough pizza crust, this pizza was spread with pesto as the underlying sauce, then topped with Mozzarella and feta cheese, followed by a good helping of spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts. I may have gotten a little zealous with the pine nuts, but they add such a great texture!
Ingredients:
1 recipe sourdough pizza crust
1/2 cup pesto
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess moisture
4 sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
2 heaping Tbsps pine nuts, toasted
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees for at least 10 minutes with a pizza stone* on the middle rack.
- Meanwhile, roll pizza dough onto a corn meal dusted pizza peel*.
- Spread pesto over crust. Top with Mozzarella and feta followed by spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts.
- Shimmy the pizza from the pizza peel onto the pre-heated pizza stone and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until it the crust turns golden brown and the cheese starts to bubble. Allow to cool for 5 minutes then cut into slices.
*If you do not have a pizza stone or peel, roll dough out on a corn meal dusted baking sheet/pizza pan.
Source: The Spiffy Cookie original, inspired by the “Kosmic Karma” Pizza from Mellow Mushroom.
Posted in Entree, Pizza, Vegetarian | Tags: feta, mozzarella, pesto, pine nuts, sourdough, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes | 5 Comments »
