Chicken Antipasta Pizza

Pizza is such an easy recipe to change and suit your needs, toppings can be seasonal or colorful, vegetarian, or full of meat.  This pizza is a good combination of both.  Originally I made it using just the antipasta vegetables but decided it really needed something else.  At Costco they sell very yummy inexpensive rotisserie chicken that I've posted about previously and we had one in our fridge we hadn't used yet.  The pesto was also from Costco and bought two bottles when it was on sale so I used on right away and froze the second one.  We had just one bottle left in the freezer. I took out the frozen one and thawed in the refrigerator over night before adding to the chicken.  If you are looking to change up your Friday night pizza then this is the recipe for you, it's a good blend of flavors.  

I made a video of myself preparing the pizza and used that in place of the many photos I normally have in a post.  Let me know if you prefer the video or photographs for the recipe steps.

Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

7 cups Hi-Gluten Flour (Bread flour may be substituted)
2 3/4 cup Warm Water
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 1/2 Tbs Active Dry Yeast
1 1/2 Tbs Kosher Salt
1 Tbs Honey

Process:

Warm up water in microwave for 40 seconds.  Add yeast to water, salt, honey, and olive oil in a stand mixer mixing bowl.  Allow mixture to activate(rest) for 5 minutes.

Add flour and blend with dough hook on medium until a smooth ball forms.

Place dough in bow greased with olive oil.  Allow to rest in refrigerator overnight before using for pizza.

Chicken Antipasta Pizza

Ingredients:

1/4 of Prepared Pizza Dough

3/4 cup Shredded Rotisserie Chicken Breast

2 Tbs Pesto

1 cup Shredded Provolone & Mozzarella Cheese

1/4 cup Marinara Sauce

2 Tbs chopped Kalamata Olives

2 Tbs chopped Artichoke Hearts

2 Tbs chopped Sun Dried Tomatoes

Olive Oil

Parchment Paper

Process:

Mix pesto with shredded chicken in small bowl, refrigerate while dough rests on counter.

Preheat a pizza stone or baking steel in oven set to 525 F for at least 1 hour before baking pizza. 

Section off a ball of pizza dough and roll it in olive oil on a piece of parchment paper large enough for a 12 inch pizza.  Rest for two hours on counter.

Press the dough with fingers and use knuckles under dough to stretch the dough into a thin disk with a thicker outer edge.  

Ladle on sauce in a thin layer leaving the outer inch crust without marinara.

Sprinkle on shredded cheese then the other toppings, ie chicken, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, and sun dried tomatoes.

Using a pizza peel or inverted cookie sheet move the pizza to your stone or steel.  Bake for 5-8 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and under carriage of pizza has brown spots.  

Place pizza on a cooling rack for 3 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Crepes

When I was in 6th grade, my teacher Ms. Mishodek, taught our class how to make crepes.  I was so excited, that when I went over to my friend Patricia's house, we made crepes together.  Crepes are super easy to make, and I now know you can mix them in the blender so they are really easy to make.   My mom has a recipe for chicken filling for putting into crepes.  As a teenager, when I cooked for my family, I made it the same way she did, with condensed cream of chicken soup.  I don't use condensed cream soup at all.  I changed the recipe to my own liking when I grew up and started cooking for my own husband and children.  This recipe has a great ability to bring me back to a happy place thinking about my childhood and my mom.  Since I had to make a meal super fast with what I had, it fit the bill nicely.

 This is so yummy, I promise.  Easy too.

Ingredients for Crepes:

4 large Eggs
2 cups Milk
2/3 cup Water
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Sea salt
4 tablespoons Melted Butter
Non-Stick Spray

Ingredients for Creamy Chicken Filling:

1 1/2 cups Shredded Chicken
3 tablespoons Butter
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
3 Green Onions
6 Hard -Boiled Eggs (recipe found here)
2 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
2 1/2 cups Heaving Whipping Cream
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt

 Mix all the crepe batter ingredients together in a blender until smooth.

Pre-heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

Spray pan with non-stick spray.

Ladle in batter in the middle of the pan, about 1/4 cup.  Pick up the skillet and tilt it to spread the the batter over the whole pan.

After bubbles form, flip crepe over.  We will cook one side until golden brown and the other side just until done. We want the other side to be pale and pretty like they do in France. Repeat until all the batter is cooked.  

 Add 3 tablespoons butter and olive oil to a preheated over medium-high flame saucier pan
(tall sided pan, similar to a sauce pan but wider).

When the butter and oil no longer foam add the 3 tablespoons flour and whisk for a few minutes.

The extra cooking will cook away the flour taste.  This is a roux, part of a béchamel sauce
(French white sauce).  

Cut shredded chicken into small chunks.

Slice greens onions into small rings, including the white part.

Slice the hard cooked eggs.

Pour heavy whipping cream into roux.

 Add eggs, and green onions to béchamel. Stir to combine.

 Pour garlic powder over sauce and grind salt and pepper directly in to the sauce. Stir until thickened. 

Place a crepe on a plate, add a spoon full of creamy chicken filling and roll like a French enchilada.

Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Crepes

Printable Recipe Found Here

Ingredients for Crepes:

4 large Eggs
2 cups Milk
2/3 cup Water
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Sea salt
4 tablespoons Melted Butter
Non-Stick Spray

Ingredients for Creamy Chicken Filling:

1 1/2 cups Shredded Chicken
3 tablespoons Butter
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
3 Green Onions
6 Hard -Cooked Eggs
2 tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
2 1/2 cups Heaving Whipping Cream
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt

Process for Crepes:

Mix all the crepe batter ingredients together in a blender until smooth.

Pre-heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

Spray pan with non-stick spray.

Ladle in batter in the middle of the pan, about 1/4 cup.  

Pick up the skillet and tilt it to spread the the batter over the whole pan.

After bubbles form, flip crepe over.  We will cook one side until golden brown and the other side just until done. We want the other side to be pale. Repeat until all the batter is cooked.  

Process for Creamy Chicken Filling:

Add 3 tablespoons butter and olive oil to a preheated over medium-high flame saucier pan (tale sided pan, similar to a sauce pan but wider).

When the butter and oil no longer foam add the 3 tablespoons flour and whisk for a few minutes.

The extra cooking will cook away the flour taste.  This is a roux, part of a béchamel sauce (French white sauce).  

Cut shredded chicken into small chunks.

Slice greens onions into small rings, including the white part.

Slice the hard cooked eggs.

Pour heavy whipping cream into roux.

Add eggs, and green onions to béchamel. Stir to combine.

Pour garlic powder over sauce and grind salt and pepper directly in to the sauce. Stir until thickened. 

Pour filling onto crepe, roll up.

Enjoy!