Pizza My Heart

Is there anything better than Friday night? Megan is busy finishing up another marathon day of hair cuts (she's a fabulous stylist for those of you who don't know!), the children are relaxing with some cartoons and popcorn, and here I sit typing away and waiting until I can start dinner! On the menu for this evening...PIZZA! My pizza journey started one afternoon at my sister's house years ago. I had come over to her house (as I do practically every day) and when trying to decide what to make for lunch, she pulled out her latest Trader Joe's find...pizza dough! We tied our aprons, rolled up our sleeves, and began rolling out our dough for our very first semi-homemade pizza. Our dough was sauced, cheesed, and topped and ready for the oven, and fifteen minutes later a tradition was born! Once my nephew and niece were old enough they were enlisted as our helpers =-D They've gotten quite good at rolling out the dough and topping their very own pizzas, although they are still quite partial to Auntie Kiki's Mickey Mouse Pizza! (Kiki is what they call me).  This afternoon I made a special trip to our local Trader Joe's to pick up some yummy ingredients and as soon as the last hair client leaves...my sister's house will be turned into our very own Pizzaria! One pizza for the kids complete with BBQ sauce (their favorite sauce for pizzas), and a Garlic Chicken pizza for us sister's! We'll settle down, pop open the bottle of Sparkling Apple Cider I picked up today and celebrate the beginning of another fabulous weekend!


Happy Cooking! 



Basic Garlic Chicken Pizza
  (This pizza is made entirely using Trader Joe's ingredients, but you can of course substitute items from your favorite grocery store!)


1 Plain pizza dough 
2-3 cups Shredded Mozzarella cheese (I like it low moisture and part skim)
1/2-1 cup Parmesan Cheese

1 1/2 -2 cups Just Grilled Chicken Strips
2 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2-3/4 cup Alfredo Sauce 
3-4 cloves of Garlic, minced

Flour



Preheat oven to 450 F. (this is for the Trader Joe's brand)
Let pizza dough sit on counter for 20  minutes before you start to roll it out. I use this time to preheat my oven and prep my other ingredients. 
Put the chicken strips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 2 minutes. Once they are cool enough to handle, cut the strips up into bite size chunks. 
In a medium sized pan combine the extra virgin olive oil and chicken over medium heat. Cook until the chicken starts to get slightly browned, then add the minced garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes. Transfer mixture to a prep bowl. Once your dough has sat for twenty minutes, flour your rolling surface and roll out your dough. You can make it as thick or as thin as you like, but be sure that the dough is even all the way around other wise the center will become soggy during baking. Transfer your dough onto a pizza pan and top with sauce, cheese, and garlic chicken. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.