Buffalo Chicken Pizza

From Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee

serves 4

• 1 pound chicken tenders, cut into small strips
• 1 cup buffalo wing sauce plus 2 tablespoons
• 1 (13.8-ounce) can refrigerated pizza dough -- I used a pre-made pizza crust
• 1 cup blue cheese dressing -- I used light ranch dressing
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup red onions, sliced (1 small red onion)
• 1 cup celery, diced (2 stalks)

Set up grill for direct cooking over medium heat, and oil grill grate when ready to start cooking. Place chicken strips in large bowl with 1 cup buffalo wing sauce and toss to coat chicken.

Grill the chicken strips about 3 to 4 minutes per side. While chicken is grilling carefully remove pizza dough from can. Unroll dough onto a flat surface. Spray both sides of the dough with nonstick cooking spray. Place the dough on the grill and let cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Carefully watch the crust, it can burn quickly.

Spread the blue cheese dressing over pizza leaving a 1-inch border. Next, top with mozzarella cheese, red onion, celery, and chicken strips, and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of buffalo wing sauce.

Cover with grill lid and cook 8 to 10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve hot.

Indoors: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly spray baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside. Carefully unroll dough and place on prepared baking sheet. Press out dough with clean hands to form 13 by 9-inch rectangle. Place baking sheet in preheated oven. Bake for 7 minutes or until crust just begins to brown. Remove crust from oven and top as directed. Return to oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown and cheese is melted.

My Review: The flavors in this pizza were great, but I screwed up the execution. I started grilling the chicken (on my George Foreman) before I realized it was supposed to already be coated in buffalo sauce. I also cooked it a little too long (I should have adjusted the cooking times for my pre-made crust) so it was extra crispy.

Still, I think I'd like to try it again. I definitely liked the combination of all the different flavors.

Spicy Sausage Pizza

from Cooking Light, JUNE 2004

• 1 (10-ounce) Italian cheese-flavored thin pizza crust (such as Boboli) -- I used a plain thin crust
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce or marinara sauce
• 3 (1/8-inch-thick) slices sweet or red onion, separated into rings
• 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced into rings -- I just used slices
• 3 ounces chicken sausage with habanero chiles and tequila, chopped (such as Gerhard's) --I used Trader Joe's chicken & jalapeno sausage
• 1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil -- I omitted

Preheat oven to 425°. Place crust on a baking sheet. Spread sauce evenly over crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Arrange onion and bell pepper evenly over sauce. Top with sausage; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from heat, and sprinkle with basil.

Yield: 4 servings

CALORIES 314 (30% from fat); FAT 10.4g (sat 4.7g,mono 2.9g,poly 0.8g); IRON 2.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 32mg; CALCIUM 396mg; CARBOHYDRATE 37.4g; SODIUM 703mg; PROTEIN 17.5g; FIBER 1.9g

My Review: This is a five-star recipe, for sure. It was absolutely delicious! I loved the yellow pepper and the spiciness of the sausage. If you have more than 2 people (and one of the 2 has a very healthy appetite), I would double the recipe and make more than one pizza. We polished off the whole thing -- although, I went with the recommended serving size as I have a wedding dress to fit my booty into.