Ranch Chicken Pizza

 
 
It wouldn’t be a decent pizza week without this recipe. Serve this up and be prepared for a hush to come over the table while everyone devours it.  It’s unbelievably easy too, you don’t even have to make a sauce!  So what are you waiting for?!
 
RANCH CHICKEN PIZZA

 
Layer on in this order before cooking pizza:
Ranch dressing
shredded cheese, I use a mix of mozzarella and cheddar
cooked chicken, cut in strips
red onion, thinly sliced
bacon, cooked and crumbled
 
Bake on pizza stone for about 8-12 minutes.
Add after pizza is cooked:
tomatoes, chopped
green onions, sliced
 
 

Pesto Artichoke Pizza

 
 
It’s Pizza Week here and this is one of those pizza’s that I ADORE, buy my hubby does not.  (It’s an artichoke thing).  But I’m sure there are plenty of you out there who will love it as much as I do.
 
PESTO ARTICHOKE PIZZA
 
shredded cheese, I used shredded mozzarella
jar of marinated artichoke hearts, drained
fresh baby spinach, optional
sun dried tomatoes, chopped
crumbled feta cheese
 
Layer in order listed on pizza dough. Bake on pizza stone for about 8 to 12 minutes.
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Pizza Sauce

 
It’s still PIZZA WEEK! This is my super easy pizza sauce, which also freezes well if you have some leftover.  If you like it spicy, throw in a little crushed red pepper.
 
PIZZA SAUCE
 
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp sugar
pinch each salt and pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
 
Simmer in a pot, partially covered, for 20-30 minutes.
 (If you don’t have time to, it will still be good without time to simmer).
If you like your sauce smooth, just throw it in the blender.
 
VARIATION: Substitute tomato sauce for the crushed tomatoes.
 
 

Pizza Alfredo Sauce

 
Long live pizza week! : ) I hope you’re all enjoying a little pizza inspiration. This is one of our favorite things to put on pizza!  Yum. That’s all I have to say.  This is really good with some garlic powder too, or roasted garlic. Double yum!
 
PIZZA ALFREDO SAUCE
 
8 oz cream cheese (low fat neufatchel is fine)
1/4 cup butter
1 cup milk
3/4 cup grated or shredded parmesan (fresh shredded is best)
 
Combine all in saucepan. Whisk over medium to medium-high heat until smooth.
 
 

Pesto Sauce

 
Pesto sauce has so many great uses, but on pizza instead of a red sauce is really fun. 
 
PESTO SAUCE
4 cloves garlic
2 cups basil leaves
1/4 cup walnuts, optional
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
 
Mix garlic, basil, walnuts, and Parmesan in a food processor or blender.
While running, pour the oil in in a stream.
Process until smooth and beautiful.
 
TIP: Pesto sauce freezes especially well without any cheese.  But either way, you can pour the leftover pesto sauce into ice cube trays, let freeze, then empty into a zip lock bag and store if freezer and use as little or as much as you need later.
 

Pizza Crust and Tips

 
 
 
 
 
This is my all time favorite pizza dough recipe. I’ve tried many, but none are as good as this one.  If you don’t have a pizza stone, I really recommend buying one.  How much does the average family spend on ordering pizza? Probably too much.  If you don’t want to get a pizza stone, at least use a round pizza pan.  It really does make a difference in home made pizza.  But nothing compares to the crust you get when you bake dough on a hot stone.  Stay tuned for my sauce recipes and our favorite topping combinations! Pizza week has just begun! 🙂
PIZZA CRUST

PIZZA DOUGH
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp honey
1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 T olive oil
 
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and honey in 1/4 cup warm water, set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer with a dough hook, combine flour and salt.
Add oil, yeast mixture, and remaining 3/4 cup warm water
Mix on low speed until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes.
Turn out onto a counter and knead until dough is firm and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.
Transfer to a large bowl, cover with a damp clean kitchen towel and let rise for 30 minutes.
 
If using a pizza stone, make sure you get it preheating on the lowest rack in your oven at 500 degrees.
 
Divide dough into four balls.
Work each ball by pulling down the sides and tucking under the bottom of the ball, repeat 4 or 5 times.
On a clean unfloured surface, roll the ball under the palm of your hand until dough is firm and smooth, about 30-60 seconds.  Repeat with remaining balls, cover with damp towel and let rest for 15-20 minutes.
TIP: Balls can now be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated up to 2 days. If you do this, you can take them straight from the fridge to roll out and make.
 
To form pizza, use hands to pull dough over the top of your hand.
Or use a rolling pin, rolling from the center to the outside, turning dough occasionally.
Sprinkle semolina (or cornmeal) on pizza peel*
Place dough on peel, if desired you can make an outer edge on the crust now.
Spread sauce on dough
Sprinkle on toppings (cheese and pepperoni in this case)
In several gentle jolting motions, transfer pizza from the peel to the pizza stone.
Bake for 8 to 12 minutes (depends on how thinly you rolled your dough).
 
*If you don’t have a pizza peel or stone, just roll out dough to fit your pan (round ones will work better) and bake at 425 degrees, how long will depend on how big your pan is, and how thick your dough is.
 
TIPS: For frozen pizza crust, bake with just sauce or sauce and cheese, making sure your dough was rolled out to a size that will still fit in a zip-top bag, after baking and cooling, place in zip top bags, label, and freeze. (You can also do individual serving size pizzas) To use, just reheat in oven on a cookie sheet or on the oven rack at 425 degrees until done. No thawing needed. (Add desired toppings before baking if frozen blind)
BE PREPARED!!!
Pizza night can be alot of fun, but also a huge mess! I like to get everything all together while the dough is raising.  I make a list of the kinds of pizza we’ll be making that night, and get all the toppings we’ll be using all together. This makes for a really fun dinner party as well, as each person can even make their own pizza and choose from the “toppings buffet”.  What kind of toppings to choose? Look at the menu at your favorite pizza restaurant and write down the toppings on your favorite pizzas.
Pizza dough recipe source: Wolfgang Puck’s Pizza, Pasta, and More!
 
 

Cheesy Bread and Pan Pizza

Wouldn’t you know I married a man who LOVES ADORES Pizza. My hubby is a very mellow guy, but if you mention the word Pizza he’s sure to perk up!  So instead of ordering out pizza, I like to make him home-made. I can control what’s going into it, and use whatever we have on hand.

I found this recipe on http://www.everydayfoodstorage.net/ (It was called 30 Minute Breadsticks or No-Fail Deep Dish Pizza Crust) The title was a bit misleading, as it of course takes a bit more time than that, but it really is a good recipe and I love her website. Instead of breadsticks, I did Cheesy Bread but it you want just plain breadsticks, leave off the cheese. And you can also do any combination of white/whole wheat flour you like.

CHEESY BREAD & PAN PIZZA
2 1/2 cups hot water
5 tsp SAF Instant Yeast (or 2 T regular active dry)
2 T sugar
3 T oil
1 tsp salt
6 cups flour
1 cube of butter

Pour hot water in mixing bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top and allow to dissolve. (Unless you’re using active dry yeast, you don’t need to let it fully bloom)
Add sugar, salt, and oil.  Gradually add flour.
While oven is heating to 400 degrees,  place butter on two pans in oven to melt.
I did two pans out of this dough, one for cheesy bread, and one for pizza, but you could do just one pan if you want it really thick.

Place half of dough in each pan with the butter, stretching to fit. This will be a little messy, but the dough is very forgiving. I flip it over half way through so some of the butter gets on top.
Allow to double in size (about 15 minutes)

Now, for Cheesy Bread top with a sprinkling of :
Johny’s Garlic Seasoning
about 8-16 oz shredded mozzarella & cheddar (depending how cheesy you want it)

For Pizza, top with:
pizza sauce (I mix 1 small can each tomato sauce and paste and add Italian seasoning)
Shredded cheese
favorite toppings (In the photo I did turkey pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, white onions
Now bake in the 400 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes or until nicely browned. (The original recipe only allowed for 10-12 minutes which I found to be short)

Cut into strips of pieces and enjoy!



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