Barbecue Chicken Pizza

I'm not a pizza purist.  Give me a crust, some ingredients and family members gnawing on my ankles and I'll be able to pull together dinner in about 15 minutes.   

This is one of my go-to recipes.  I use it when I am really pressed for time and need to get something on the table before the natives take up arms and storm the kitchen. The key to this being quick and easy is having the majority of ingredients pre-made and ready to go.  I used eight inch Boboli crusts for this recipe because I found them on sale but I also usually have homemade crusts in the freezer. Go here for a selection of crust recipes. 

For the chicken I used left over roasted chicken breasts but you could also use meat from a rotisserie chicken. Or substitute leftover turkey or pork.  Other than that, you only need to cut up the onion and the zucchini.  Add some bottled barbecue sauce and some shredded cheese and you're ready to roll. 

Barbecue Chicken Pizza 

Barbecue Chicken Pizza-One Page Printable Recipe

2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
kosher salt (optional)
 2 8 inch pizza crusts (homemade or store bought)
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup onion, finely diced
 1/2 cup cooked and diced chicken
1/2 cup Monterrey jack or mozzarella cheese, shredded
parchment paper (optional)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  If you’re using a baking stone, slide it into the oven so it can soak up all that nice heat.

Place the sliced zucchini between two paper towels, sprinkle lightly with kosher salt (if desired)  and microwave on high for approximately two minutes. What we're doing here is cooking the zucchini just enough so they'll begin to release their liquid.  If you skip this step you're going to wind up with a really soggy pizza crust and that is just a crime.

Can you see all the water that cooked out of the zucchini?  Notice how wet the paper towel is?  That's moisture that you don't want on your nice crisp pizza crust.  Now, when the zucchini have cooled slightly, blot them with a paper towel to remove any remaining excess moisture and transfer to a dry plate.

Now, take your pizza crusts and spread a 1/4  barbecue sauce over each one.  Top each with a 1/4 cup finely diced onion.

Next, spread 1/4 cup of the chicken over each crust. 

Top each crust with a 1/4 cup cheese and add the zucchini slices.  A nutritionist once told me that she talked her kids into believing that the zucchini slices were a "special pepperoni."  I thought her kids must be really young or that she was moonlighting as a hypnotist.  If you can talk your children into believing that zucchini is pepperoni, let me know.  I have a lot of moms in my classes who would kill for that particular piece of information.

If you’re using a baking stone, tear off a piece of parchment paper, lay it on the stone and slide the pizzas into the oven.  You can also place the pizzas on a baking sheet or pizza pan. Bake for approximately eight minutes until the crust is crisp and the cheese is nice and bubbly.  

Remove pizzas from the oven and also REMOVE THE PARCHMENT PAPER.  It is really important to do this now.  Parchment paper can CATCH FIRE and BEGIN TO BURN if left in the oven too long.  Remember,  we're baking at 450 degrees. Paper begins to burn at 451 degrees.  Some charring on the paper is fine, so don't worry if it's singed but do take it out when you remove the pizzas.  We all good?  I don't want any emails about oven fires, I'm kinda weird that way.

Slice the pizza and serve.  After dinner you can kick back and relax with a good book or a glass of wine.  After all you got dinner on the table in record time, now it's you time!

    

Comments

[mamichelle]

Mmmmm, mmmmmm Good!! This looks great!

I just had one last night at our coal-fired pizza restaurant. It had feta, artichokes, sundried tomatoes, spinach. It was so good!!

[Gloria]

The pizza looks great and I would totally believe that zucchini is a special type of pepperoni.
I have an award for you on my blog. :)

[buy carisoprodol]

I love that...so delicious..cucumber is my favorite..all the ingredients in that pizza is my favorite,,.I will try that at home for my family..so yummy...