No, that wasn't a typo up there in the headline. Today, I'm sharing one of my favorite new recipes. Ii nabbed this one off of Pinterest (of course!) and boy, oh boy I can't get it out of my mind. It's that good.
If you've been to the grocery store lately, you'll notice it's that time again: Strawberry time! I love this season when they are so cheap. My family counts to eat them in their salads, in their desserts, (of course in their cupcakes and cakes), and in their lunches as snacks. I also spend a day or two making freezer jam to carry us through the next year. Never before had they thought I would serve them on a pizza. In fact, I never thought I would (or could) get away with it.
The first time I made it, I didn't tell them, and hoped they wouldn't notice. I thought maybe, just maybe those red pieces on top could pass for red peppers. I considered turning off the lights that night and eating by candlelight. I didn't want them to scrutinize before they had a chance to taste it. In the end, they (of course) saw the berries and were alarmed. We encourage our children to try different food before they determine they don't like something. At least 1 bite. And one bite for them (all of them!) was all it took. The entire pizza was done before I could blink, and they were begging for more. I was delighted!
Before you judge- try it! It's a pretty quick meal to ship up when you use store bought dough. Yes, that's right. I use dough found in the freezer section by the frozen rolls etc. Bread baking/dough making is just not my thing. I seem to always mess up the yeast, not knead it enough etc. So, I skip the part I'm not good at to get to the stuff I really like.
There's something about taking that ball of thawed dough and stretching it out. Tossing it in the air in between rolling, pretending I'm a guy named Luigi and I have a captive audience of people who are in awe at my dough-making ability. Everyone wants to know how I do it.... until I miss and it falls with a plop onto the floor. With that, my day dreaming ends, I grab another ball of thawed dough, and this time, I gently knead and roll it until it fits my baking sheet.
The original recipe, found here at The Caf'e Sucr'e Farine
is amazing. She's a genius. Go ahead and pop over to look at all her scrumptious pizza recipes!
In an effort to make things a tiny bit simpler, I (as mentioned) use frozen dough. The dough really helps make this, so make sure you are using a great dough! I also made it simpler by cooking my pizza's on a baking stone. I love the way the crust turns out both crispy and chewy. So without further adieu, the pizza you've been wanting to try and just didn't know it!
Chicken, Bacon, Strawberry pizza
(I double this recipe for my family and make 2 large pizza's)
For the sauce:
½ cup strawberry jam or preserves, (I used Smucker's Simply Fruit, no sugar added)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
For the Pizza:
1 cup diced or shredded chicken breast, from rotisserie chicken or left over chicken of any kind
1/2 pkg. bacon, cooked crispy and drained then crumbled or cut into tiny bits
½ of a med. sweet onion- sliced very thin!
12 ounces shredded Italian blend cheese
¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
¼ cup fresh strawberries, diced small
First, preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Make sure your dough is ready (thawed if using frozen dough). Knead, stretch, and roll it out. I usually do it directly onto my baking stone, and only use a little flour on the top so my rolling pin doesn't stick. If you are using another kind of baking sheet make sure to oil it or grease it, and roll dough onto a floured surface.
In a small saucepan, cook balsamic vinegar until it is about 1/2 the volume. It'll get a little thicker and a tiny bit syrupy. Add in jam, and cook another minute. Remove from heat.
Take 1/8th C. of sauce and add to your cooked chicken. Toss to coat.
Spread onto dough using the back of a large spoon. Make sure to leave a small edge for the crust!
Evenly spread cheese over the sauce, add the chicken, the onions and then sprinkle the bacon.
Bake for 8-13 minutes or until bubbly and brown.
Remove from oven, let set for 2 minutes, then add fresh berries, and cilantro.
Enjoy with a side salad of greens and berries and nuts. this one's a real crowd pleaser!
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