Crispy Chicken and Roasted Garlic Flatbread Pizza

So, I've been reeeeally lazy lately with dinner.  With the exception of Sunday dinner, I have been making super fast and simple recipes.  I always get like this in the Summer.  When it is so hot outside, I don't like spending as much time standing over the stove cooking dinner.

Pizza is one of those meals I have been really lazy with.  Even though my homemade pizza dough is easy to make, I have been buying Naan bread to use instead.  One package comes with two flatbread, which is perfect for two people.  Already made flatbread crust means no dirty dishes.    

You know what else I have been using a lot lately?  Tyson Panko Crusted Chicken Tenders.  Ever since I first found these delicious chicken tenders at Costco, I have been using them non-stop (like in these Chicken Parmesan Crescents).  They are baked, not fried and they get nice and crispy.  I used one and half per flatbread and pretty much had chicken in every bite.    

The white sauce uses roasted garlic.  Roasted garlic has a delicious sweet and mild garlic flavor.  You might get scared away seeing you will need 6 or 7 cloves, but it's not too strong.  If you really like garlic, you could add even more.  Serious.  

You can roast the garlic ahead of time and keep it in the fridge.  I roasted mine on a Sunday and kept it in a sealed container for a few days, until I made this pizza.  

The instructions for this pizza look really long and you might be wondering what happened to easy lazy pizza, but it really is so easy.  Roast the garlic a few days prior and have that done.  Bake the frozen chicken tenders while you spend less than 10 minutes on the white sauce.  Top your flatbread with all the yummy ingredients and bake.  

This flatbread pizza is so so GOOD!! 

Crispy Chicken and Roasted Garlic Flatbread Pizza

From: Jenn@eatcakefordinner

(Printable Recipe) and (Printable with Picture)

Roasted Garlic White Sauce

adapted from: What Megan's Making

1 head of garlic, roasted

  You will need 6-7 garlic cloves for the sauce

1 Tbl. unsalted butter

2 Tbl. all-purpose flour

pepper, to taste

1 c. low-fat evaporated milk

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, grated

For the Pizza

1 package Stonefire Naan bread (2 flatbread per package)

3 Tyson Panko Crusted Chicken Tenders, baked and sliced

2 c. fresh spinach, chopped

1/2 - 1 red bell pepper, chopped (depending on how much you like)

1 c. shredded Monterey cheese (or Mozzarella)

herbs of choice, to taste (parsley, oregano, rosemary, Italian seasoning, etc.)

To Roast Garlic (this can be done days a head of time):  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Peel most of the loose, papery, outer layers off the garlic.  Leave the head itself intact with all of the cloves connected.  Trim about 1/4-inch off the top of the head of garlic to expose the tops of the garlic cloves.  Drizzle about 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the exposed surface of the garlic.  Wrap the garlic in foil and roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes.  You can tell when it is done, because the cloves will be so soft that you can easily squeeze them out of the paper. 

For the Pizza:  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt 1 Tablespoon of unsalted butter.  Finely chop 6 or 7 of the roasted garlic cloves and add to the melted butter.  Saute for one minute.  Add the flour and whisk until blended; cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Slowly whisk in the evaporated milk and pepper.  Cook until reaches desired thickness.  This will happen really fast.  If it gets too thick for your liking, you can always add some more milk.  Remove from heat and stir in the grated Parmesan cheese.

Spread white sauce over both flatbreads.  Top each with chopped spinach, chopped red bell pepper and sliced cooked chicken.  Sprinkle grated Monterey cheese over the top and sprinkle with desired herbs.  Bake for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.  Slice and serve.  Serves: 2    

Linked up at Weekend Potluck!

Mini Breakfast Pizzas

I almost didn't take a picture of this dish.  Last minute, I decided to snap a few shots.  BOY am I glad I did, so I could share it with all of you.  I LOVED these mini pizzas and they were SO SIMPLE to make.

What a genius idea using biscuits as the crust.  They were so easy to roll out and turned out buttery and flaky and soft and chewy!

If your family has a weekly pizza night, this would be such a fun twist on that.  I always love dishes that are easy to customize per each family members taste and everyone can be happy.  We decided to go the Mexican flavor route and it was AHH-MAZING!

Mini Breakfast Pizzas

This version from: Jenn@eatcakefordinner
Inspired by: Inspired By Charm
(Printable Recipe) or (Printable with Picture)

4 Pillsbury Grands Flaky Layers Butter Tastin' Biscuits*

5 large eggs

1/2 lb. breakfast sausage, cooked and crumbled

3/4 c. Pepper Jack or Monterey cheese, shredded

4 Tbl. Feta cheese

green salsa

chopped cilantro

*These biscuits come in a 16.3 oz can with 8 biscuits.  The recipe above is only for 4, so I just baked the remaining biscuits plain and served them with honey for dessert.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  On a floured surface, roll out biscuits into a 5-inch circle.  Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Meanwhile, scramble eggs until almost done.  You will want them to still be moist and slightly underdone so they don't get overcooked and rubbery in the oven.  Remove biscuit crusts from oven and divide scrambled eggs between the four crusts.  Top each with cooked sausage, Feta cheese and grated Pepper Jack or Monterey.  Return to oven for 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Remove from oven and drizzle with green salsa and garnish with chopped cilantro.  Slice and serve.  Serves: 2-4 people.

Other variations:

-Combine 2 Tbl. dijon and 4 Tbl. mayo for a sauce

-Use Bacon instead of sausage

-Ham and Swiss cheese
-Ham, chopped green pepper and Cheddar cheese

-Cheese and Veggies only (onions, peppers, tomatoes)

-Any type of cheese (Monterey, Cheddar, Mozzarella)

Jenn's Notes: These were absolutely delicious.  I made the version that I typed above, but I think any variation would be delicious.   

Shortcut Calzones

Are you ready for a super simple "semi homemade" calzone recipe?
I needed some ideas to use up my bag of frozen roll dough.  I swear, even if they aren't expired, after a while the rolls won't rise right or taste right.  Does that happen to anyone else??? So, I try to use them up fairly quickly.  Since I prefer making homemade rolls, I don't use the frozen kind very often unless I am making my favorite Orange Rolls or my Mom's Parmesan Rolls . . . and now these calzones.  We have already made them several times and they are the perfect size and they taste SO GOOD!

All you do is get out some frozen roll dough, allow them to thaw and roll them out a bit

Fill with toppings

Fold over and pinch edges shut with a fork

Brush with egg wash and bake

Now, everyone in your family can be happy, because they can create their own little calzone with whatever fillings they want.  No giving in to adding pepperoni or salami, because Dad likes it.  Or mushrooms, because Mom likes them.  Nope, not anymore.  You can have WHATEVER you want.  I experimented with several different versions.  My favorite is still ham, cheese and chopped bell pepper!!  

Shortcut Calzones
From: Jenn@eatcakefordinner
(Printable Recipe) or (Printable with Picture)

10 frozen Rhodes rolls

pizza sauce

whatever toppings you desire (meat and/or veggies)

shredded cheese (We like Cheddar and Parmesan)

beaten egg

Italian seasoning

garlic powder

Place frozen rolls on a baking sheet, cover with a tea towel and let thaw and rise 2-3 hours.  When rolls are thawed and risen, preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface.  Top each dough circle with pizza sauce, desired toppings and shredded cheese, trying to leave a small border around the outside.  Pull empty half up and over and crimp edges shut, using a fork.  Brush the top of each with a beaten egg and sprinkle with some Italian seasoning and garlic powder (or Johnny's Garlic Spread if you have it).  Cut a few slits on top of each pocket and  place onto a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake 10-15 minutes or until nice and golden and crispy.  Serves: 5   

Jenn's Notes: I recommend filling the pockets a little fuller than you think with toppings, because it won't seem like as much after they are baked.  You can use the traditional toppings for pizza or you could create a gourmet style like cheeseburger, taco, BBQ chicken or chicken alfredo.  

idea from: The Pioneer Woman 

Spicy Chicken and Pepper Jack Pizza

This pizza quickly caught my attention, because I love every single ingredient involved.  Well, at least I love all of those ingredients in tacos?  But a pizza, sounds interesting.  It uses salsa in the same way you would pizza sauce and is topped with peppers, shredded chicken and spicy Pepper Jack cheese (which I absolutely love) and you finish it all off with chopped cilantro.  I love spicy things and I thought this was just right.  The Pepper Jack cheese has a little kick to it, but the rest of the spice is going to depend on the salsa you use.  

I really liked how it turned out and I would make it again, but next time I want to try it with some kind of creamy white garlicky sauce in addition to the salsa.  I think that would make this an AMAZING gourmet pizza.  If anyone has a recipe for a creamy white pizza sauce (not alfredo) please send it my way.      

Spicy Chicken and Pepper Jack Pizza

(Printable Recipe)
**These measurements are estimates.  Depending on the size of pizza you make, you may want to adjust the ingredients to your desired taste.
1 batch pizza dough
3/4 - 1 c. homemade salsa
1/2 - 3/4 c. diced red and/or green bell pepper 
1 1/2 c. cooked chicken, shredded 
2 c. Pepper Jack cheese, grated
chopped cilantro, for garnish

On a lightly floured surface, roll out pizza dough into desired size.  I roll the dough fairly thin, because it puffs up a lot while baking.  Transfer dough to a greased baking sheet.  Bake in a 425 degree preheated oven for 8 minutes.  Remove from oven and top dough with an even layer of salsa (like you would pizza sauce), diced peppers and shredded chicken.  Then, sprinkle cheese evenly over the top.  Return to oven and bake another 10-12 minutes or until crust is browned and cheese is melted and bubbly.  Remove from oven, garnish with chopped cilantro, slice and serve.  

If using a pizza stone (What I do):  Place pizza stone in a cold oven. Preheat to 500 degrees.  Meanwhile, on a lightly floured surface, roll out pizza dough into desired size.  I roll the dough fairly thin, because it puffs up a lot while baking.  Transfer dough to a pizza peel that has been lightly dusted with cornmeal (this is so the pizza will slide off easily).  Spread salsa evenly over pizza dough (like you would pizza sauce).  Then, top with chopped bell peppers and shredded chicken.  Last, sprinkle cheese evenly over the top.  Transfer pizza from pizza peel onto preheated pizza stone and turn the oven temperature down to 425 degrees.  Bake for 10-15 minutes or until crust is nicely browned and cheese is melted and bubbly.  Very carefully, using a spatula, slide pizza back onto pizza peel, garnish with chopped cilantro, slice and serve.   

Jenn's Notes: I baked my chicken with a few dashes of Worcestershire and hot sauce and sprinkled with some Italian seasoning.  

Slightly adapted from: Baking with Blondie    

Cheeseburger Pizza

This might not be the prettiest pizza around, but it sure was yummy!  I love all kinds of pizza, but when it comes to homemade, I always find myself making the same two versions.  I branched out with this one and I am glad I did, because I really liked it and now I have three pizzas I can make all the time!  I made one batch of my fave pizza dough and I used half for this pizza and the other half for my fave cinnastix!  Dinner and Dessert with one batch of dough!  How easy is that?  I think this is a pizza both kids and adults will like.  A great way to please the whole family with one dish!  

Cheeseburger Pizza

adapted from: Big Book of Home Cooking
(Printable Recipe)

1 batch pizza dough

1/2 Lb. lean ground beef

14 1/2-oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained

1 1/2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

1/4 c. green onions, chopped

melted butter

garlic powder

Brown ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat; add desired seasonings (I added salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and chili powder).  Drain any excess grease.  Roll out dough onto lightly floured surface (should be enough dough for two medium pizzas).  Transfer to baking sheet.  Brush dough with a little melted butter and sprinkle with garlic powder.  Spread tomatoes evenly over crust; sprinkle with beef, cheese and green onions.  Bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes or until crust is browned and cheese is melted.  

OR

Pizza Stone Directions (What I do):  Place pizza stone in cold oven.  Preheat to 500 degrees.  Sprinkle a little cornmeal over a pizza peel (this will help the dough slide off easily).  Place dough onto pizza peel and cover with toppings as described above.  Slide dough onto hot pizza stone.  Lower oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake until crust is nice and crispy (you don't want it burnt crispy, just nicely browned, so it will still be chewy), about 10-15 minutes.  

Jenn's Notes:  The original recipe uses a prebaked pizza crust, but homemade is so much better.  It also just cooks the ground beef plain, but I felt like it needed some seasonings, so I added salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and chili powder.  I also added some diced green pepper, because I love that on my pizza!  I was worried that it wouldn't taste as good without pizza sauce, but trust me, I didn't miss the sauce at all.      


Linked up at Wow Me Wednesday!

Way Better Than That Pizza Place's Cinnastix

Whenever I order a pizza, no matter where I am ordering it from, I always order a side of their cinnastix.  I promise that these are wayyyyyyyy better than any pizza place around! 

This could quite-possibly be my new favorite snack!  I think I need to schedule a weekly pizza night, just so I can eat these cinnastix!  Okay, I'm not gonna lie, I have actually made some kind of pizza once a week for the past three weeks, just so I could have an excuse to make these! Imagine a warm chewy pizza crust, topped with cinnamon and sugar and a warm ooey gooey vanilla icing!  

Homemade Cinnastix 

(Printable Recipe)

prepared pizza dough (I use my favorite dough)

melted butter

a little vegetable oil

1 Tbl. ground cinnamon mixed with 1/2 c. sugar

Icing:

1 Tbl. melted butter

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

a little milk

Pizza Stone Directions (What I do):  Place pizza stone in cold oven.  Preheat to 500 degrees.  Meanwhile, roll out pizza dough into desired shape(s) and size(s).  Using a perforated roller or pizza cutter, cut dough into strips, not quite cutting the entire way through the dough.  Combine some melted butter and a splash of vegetable oil and brush all over dough.  Sprinkle a little cornmeal over a pizza peel (this will help the dough slide off easily).  Place dough onto pizza peel and slide dough onto hot pizza stone.  Lower oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake until crust is nice and crispy (you don't want it burnt crispy, just nicely browned, so it will still be chewy), about 10-15 minutes.  While the dough is baking, combine all of the icing ingredients and whisk until smooth, adding milk until it reaches desired consistency.  Very carefully remove pizza from oven and immediately sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture (as much as you want).  Then, brush or drizzle icing over the top while still hot.  Serve while warm.    

*I highly recommend a pizza stone.  You have never had GOOD homemade pizza until you try it on a pizza stone.  I really think it makes all the difference in the world, well that and having a good pizza dough recipe helps too!  They really aren't that expensive and are well worth it.  Mine is similar to this one and I love it.  I also have this pizza peel to transfer the dough to the hot stone. 

Oven Directions without a pizza stone (I have not tried this version):  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll out pizza dough into desired shape(s) and size(s).  Using a perforated roller or pizza cutter, cut dough into strips, not quite cutting the entire way through the dough.  Combine some melted butter and a splash of vegetable oil and brush all over dough.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until cooked through, keeping a close eye on it, so it doesn't over bake.  While the dough is baking, combine all of the icing ingredients and whisk until smooth, adding milk until it reaches desired consistency.   Remove pizza from oven and immediately sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture (as much as you want).  Then, brush or drizzle icing over the top while still hot.  Serve warm.

Jenn's Notes:  The original recipe calls for buttered flavored oil, which I did not have.  That is why I mixed a little melted butter with vegetable oil.  I don't know if that is the same thing as buttered flavored oil, but that is what I did and it has worked every time!  I have not tried it with just straight butter, but I would imagine it would work just fine too.  I roll out the dough pretty thin, because it puffs up a lot during baking.  I usually make a full batch of my pizza dough and make one regular pizza and one dessert pizza.  I prefer shaping the dough into a rectangle, that way, the cinnastix all end up the same size!  So, depending on the size and shape of cinnastix you do, you might have to adjust the cinnamon and sugar measurements and the icing measurements.  Pre-slicing the dough makes them easy to just pull-apart when they are done baking.

Idea adapted from: Jam Hands