Last weekend, one of my good friends sent me a text basically begging me to take part in a monthly cooking challenge where we made up our own mystery baskets and prepared an original recipe. You know if food is involved I'm usually game. The timing for this idea couldn't have come at a better time, because our first basket was inspired by this contest, which we both conveniently forgot to enter. So, our secret ingredients were:
- Shredded Italian cheese
- Red pepper
- Greek yogurt
- Chicken
Recently, one of my friends introduced me to the magic that is Penzeys Spices. Now, these spices were definitely more than I'd normally spend, but I picked some unique spices that I thought would be worth the price tag for top notch quality. I could not pass up the chance to use my chipotle pepper spice in this recipe. I'm actually obsessed with it. I don't know how I seasoned food without this spice in my life. Seriously. It's da bomb. The spicy, smokey flavor of the chipotle seasoning matches perfectly with the sweetness of the roasted red pepper. It's the perfect match. I've been eating this sauce on everything since it's inception. The recipe I'm going to give you makes way more than you need for a pizza (which is totally the point, because leftovers are great for EVERYTHING). This sauce not only works with this pizza, but it's great as a salad dressing, egg sandwich topper, or even as a substitute for mayo in a turkey wrap.
So, there's a requirement for pizza night and that requirement is eat your pizza with a glass of wine. So you should probably get on that right now. Besides, I used a store bought pizza crust this time so this recipe is super quick. So get cooking. And after you make your pizza, tell me about your favorite pizza toppings! I like spicy toppings, like chipotle seasoned chicken!
*Disclaimer: one day in the future, my pizzas will be normal shaped. For now, weird shapes are more fun.
Chicken and Chipotle Pizza With Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Ingredients: 1 whole wheat pizza crust (store bought or this recipe) 1 tsp. ground chipotle 1 tsp. dried oregano 1/2 tsp. dried basil 1 tsp. garlic powder (I like this roasted garlic powder) 1 tsp. salt 4 chicken tenderloins 1 tsp. olive oil Roasted red pepper sauce (recipe below) 1 red bell pepper, diced 2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend | Directions: Preheat your oven to 475 F. Roll out your pizza dough on a floured board. If you plan on making two small pizzas, divide in half. Set aside on floured cookie sheet. In a small mixing bowl, combine spices and salt. Season the chicken tenderloins with spice blend. Heat a non-stick pan with olive oil. Sear the chicken on both sides until cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside. Spread roasted red pepper sauce on the pizza crust. Top with red bell pepper, chopped grilled chicken, and cheese. Make sure to divide the ingredients among both pizzas. Cook on a cookie sheet, or transfer to a pizza stone. Cook 7-10 minutes until crust is golden brown and cheese is nice and bubbly. Top pizza with extra roasted red pepper sauce and serve with salad. |
Roasted Red Pepper Chipotle Sauce
Ingredients: 2 red bell peppers A drizzle of olive oil 3/4 cup non-fat, plain Greek yogurt 1/2 cup canned diced tomato 2 tsp. ground chipotle 1 tsp. dried oregano salt | Directions: Preheat the oven to broil. Drizzle each pepper with olive oil. Roast both red peppers under broil, making sure each side gets charred. Should take around 10 minutes total. Remove peppers from the oven and place into a ziploc bag and seal. Allow the pepper to steam in the bag. This will make it easier to remove the skin once the peppers have cooled. In a food processor or blender, combine red pepper, Greek yogurt, diced tomato, ground chipotle, dried oregano and salt. Add additional salt and chipotle to taste. |