Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Here's an idea for some leftover grilled chicken.

1 cup of cooked chicken, diced (I used some leftover grilled chicken from the night before)

Frank’s Red Hot sauce
Pizza dough (usually in the deli section of the grocery store, or you can buy some from your local pizza joint)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
¾ cup sliced celery
Blue cheese crumbles
1 Tbsp minced fresh chives
1 small carrot, peeled into ribbons and roughly chopped
Ranch dressing
Jalapeno slices, optional

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a small bowl, toss chicken with hot sauce and set aside.

Roll out dough and using your palms press onto a flat pre-greased baking sheet. I usually make a rectangular shape with rounded corners. Gently brush with EVOO. Top with chicken, celery and blue cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes until crust is crispy and brown. Remove from oven.

Top with carrots, chives and drizzle with ranch dressing and extra hot sauce. Top with jalapenos if desired.

Fiesta Flatbread

This Mexican style flatbread is a fiesta in your mouth. Cheesy, I know….literally.

¾ lb Chicken tenders

½ packet of taco seasoning
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
Ready to cook pizza dough
Enchilada or Red Chili Sauce
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Sliced yellow bell pepper
Sliced green bell pepper
Jarred jalapeno pepper slices
Chopped or sliced olives
Diced tomatoes
Diced avocado

In a zip lock bag, marinate chicken in taco seasoning, drizzle with EVOO and coat well. Refrigerate for 30+ minutes.

Over high heat, grill chicken for about 2 minutes per side. Remove from heat and set aside. Let rest before roughly chopping into pieces.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare dough according to desired thickness. For the flatbread, I made a thin crust in a rectangle shape. Spoon and spread sauce over dough. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and top with veggies. Bake for about 13 minutes. Remove from oven, add tomatoes and chicken; bake for an additional 3-5 minutes or until dough is cooked through.

Let pizza rest for a couple minutes before cutting. Top with avocado and sprinkle with red pepper flakes.

NOTE: I made the chicken the night before for tacos and then used the leftovers the next day for this pizza topping. Yum!

Mediterranean Fusion Pizza

I found this ready to cook pizza dough in the deli section of the grocery store. It was easy and tasted good too. Pizzas are a great way to use up veggies in the fridge or get the whole family involved in the cooking. Kids love to create their own pizzas!

16 oz of ready to cook pizza dough
1 hot sausage link
1.6 oz package of Knorr Alfredo sauce
1 ¾ cup milk
1 tsp butter
2 Tbsp Classico Basil Pesto

1 small zucchini, sliced thinly

4 sundried tomato halves, diced
Fresh mozzarella, sliced
Herbed goat cheese
Minced freshly parsley, for garnish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Over med-high heat, preheat a small frying pan. With wet hands, remove sausage from casing and crumble little meatballs into pan. Brown meatballs, but don’t cook through since we’ll be cooking them more while baking the pizza.

In a sauce pan over high heat, combine Alfredo sauce mix, milk and butter; whisk for 2 minutes until thickens. Remove from heat and whisk in pesto sauce; set aside.

On a greased baking or pizza pan layout dough. Spoon and spread Alfredo Pesto sauce. Arrange zucchini, tomatoes, sausage crumbles and cheese on top. Bake for 13-15 minutes, depending on thickness of dough.

Let pizza sit for a couple minutes before slicing. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve.

NOTE: Use leftover Alfredo Pesto sauce to make a B.L.A.S.T. or Shrimp Alfredo Pesto pasta.

Fruit Pizza

Cookie:
1 premade log of Pillsbury Refrigerated Sugar Cookie dough (found in refrigerated section of grocery store)
Zest of one lemon

Frosting:
1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Toppings:
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1-2 kiwis, sliced
1 11-oz can mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup fresh raspberries, halved

Glaze:
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove cookie from wrapper. In a medium bowl, combine lemon zest and cookie dough. Use your hands to work zest into dough. Press the dough evenly onto an ungreased pizza pan or baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Let cookie cool.

For frosting, in a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread over cooled cookie. Arrange the fruit on top.

For glaze, in a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in pineapple and lemon juice until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook until thickened. Cool slightly. Drizzle over fruit.

Refrigerate until chilled.

Pepperoni & Vegetable Flatbread

Store bought flatbread (Ambretta Tuscan Sweet Tomato flatbread)
Fresh Mozzarella cheese, sliced
Fresh shredded Parmesan cheese
Spicy turkey pepperoni slices
½ green bell pepper, sliced
1 small zucchini, sliced
Basil and Garlic pasta sauce
Fresh basil, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spoon pasta sauce on flatbread. Layer with mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, veggies, parmesan cheese and basil.

Bake for 13-15 minutes.

Get creative by adding more veggies or different meats. Enjoy with a few different types and share with a group.

Spicy Sausage Flatbread with Basil Cream Sauce

Ambretta Tuscan Sweet Tomato flatbread (I decided to try this and it was great), found in the bread isle of the grocery store
Hot Italian sausage (I love this stuff!)
Goat cheese
½ red bell pepper, sliced
1 garlic, minced
1-2 fresh Basil leaves, sliced in thin ribbons

Basil Cream Sauce:
¼ cup milk
1 Tbsp powdered Alfredo sauce
2 tsp Gourmet Garden Basil Herb Blend, found in the produce section of the grocery store next to the fresh herbs (these herb blends are great to have on hand, and to easily add extra flavor to any dish)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small sauce pan over med-high heat, combine milk and Alfredo sauce; bring to a boil while whisking. Turn heat to low and whisk in basil herb blend; set aside and allow to thicken.

In a small frying pan cook a few bite sized balls of sausage; cook at least half way through since the rest will be cooked in the oven.

Place flatbread on a baking sheet. Spoon and spread basil cream sauce on flatbread. Top with chunks of goat cheese, sliced bell pepper, cooked sausage and sprinkle with garlic. Top with fresh basil.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, until bread is crispy and cheese is melted.

Serve with another type of flatbread pizza for a variety or with your favorite side salad.

BBQ Short Rib Flatbread

Dinner 2 of 3 using the short ribs.

Ambretta Tuscan Sweet Tomato flatbread (I decided to try this and it was great), found in the bread isle of the grocery store
BBQ Sauce
½ - 1 cup shredded short ribs (using leftovers from this recipe)
Blue cheese crumbs
1 garlic, minced

Caramelized onions:
½ small onion, sliced
A dash freshly cracked pepper
A dash of salt
½ tsp sugar
1 tsp EVOO

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small pan, heat oil over med-high heat. Add onion slices and seasoning; sauté until onions are soft.

Place flatbread on a baking sheet. Spoon and spread BBQ on flatbread. Top with short rib meat, caramelized onions, blue cheese and sprinkle with garlic.

Bake for 11-13 minutes, until bread is crispy and cheese is melted.

Serve with another type of flatbread pizza for a variety or with your favorite side salad.