Ranch Bacon Chicken Pizza

Before you even think you can't, YES you can make pizza. I've been cooking them since I was a kid.

How to make the crust
Sorry I didn't take pictures of these steps.

Start with a crust kit.



I sometimes use the thin crust. I can tell a difference in the two packs. but I just buy whatever is on sale.

Add 1/2 cup of HOT water. Mix until blended. Sometimes you have to add a little more water. If you get it too wet add a little flour. Once you have it mixed add a Tablespoon of olive oil. Cover with a towel and let rise for 5 minutes. Then you will need to stretch it out. I have a Pampered Chef round stone that I cook my pizzas on. If you don't have any kind of round pan just make a rectangle pizza on a cookie sheet. You will want to roll up the edges to have a little bit of crust. You'll notice in my pictures below that mine isn't a perfect circle :)

I usually top my pizza with the typical toppings - pepperoni, sauce, olives, mushrooms, and cheese. Last summer when we had ripe tomatoes and fresh basil I started using them with a white sauce. Artichoke and white sauce is great too.As I've been looking at other food blogs I've noticed several pizza recipes that were using ranch as the sauce. I took several of their ingredients and made my own.

Ranch Bacon Chicken Pizza
What you need:

Pizza Crust
1/4 cup Ranch (Joel only allows me to buy Hidden Valley)
1 cooked chicken breast, diced
5 slices of bacon
1 Roma tomato
Mozzarella Cheese
Cheddar Cheese

Start by cooking the bacon & chicken. While that is cooking start the crust. (See directions above) Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Once the chicken and bacon are done let them drain. I HATE greasy pizza! Once most of the grease as drained dice the chicken and crumbly the bacon.

When the dough has risen make out your crust. Put the ranch on the pizza has the sauce. Then add the bacon & chicken. I cut up a tomato as well. Then top with about 2cups of mozzarella and a cup of cheddar.




Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is brown & the cheese is bubbly and melted.



I only put 3 slices of bacon on ours but we didn't think it was enough. 5 slices might not be enough either if your family loves bacon. Enjoy!

Oh & sorry my pictures are so blurry this time. I promise to do better Tracey :)

Seinfeld's Balsamic Chicken Sandwich

I'm always on the look for new recipes. I love visiting my 2 Grandmothers because they have magazines everywhere full of great recipes. Yesterday we went to New Site for my cousin's 3 year old birthday party. I came home with a Thomas the tank engine Conductor Hat, that I plan to wear to school this week for transportation week, and a great new recipe.

In this week's Parade newspaper is a recipe for Balsamic Chicken Sandwich. It's from Jerry Seinfeld's wife, Jessica, cookbook. The article said they once had a sandwich in Italy that Jerry loved and she keep working till she figured out just how to make it. I can't imagine the one they had in Italy being any better.

Of course I had to make my own changes to her recipe. The recipe would make 6 sandwiches, so below is her recipe halved. The original also calls for broccoli puree but I didn't add that.

Balsamic Chicken Sandwich

What you need:

2 Chicken Breast
1/4 cup flour
clove of garlic
3 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 cup of chicken broth
1/4 cup of baslmaic vinegar
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

ciabatta rolls (I used Publix Hoagie Rolls)
tomato
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
fresh basil

Cubed the chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss chicken in flour to coat. Warm olive oil over medium heat and begin cooking chicken. While the chicken begins to cook mince garlic.



I had never used real garlic or even knew how to mince it until after I got married. I love my garlic press and rarely use garlic powder anymore. First thing you need to do is pull the clove out of the bulb. Then take a knife and use the flat side to smash the skin off. Then just put in it your press and mince it. Maybe I'll do a post on garlic sometime :)

Add the 1 or 2 garlic cloves to the chicken. Let cook for 8-10 minutes.

Then add the chicken broth, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar to the chicken. Bring to a boil and cover. Let this simmer for 10-15 minutes. You want to make sure the chicken is good and done. The chicken should soak up most of liquid.



While this is cooking preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice your rolls if they didn't come presliced. Wash and slice tomatoes. I used Roma tomatoes since they are the most ripe at store right now. I'll probably use them again since their taste goes well with the chicken's flavor. Top each roll with tomato slices. I then put a little cheese and basil. I froze basil from our garden last year and used that. But I would think a pinch of dried basil would work okay.

Once the chicken is done, divide the chicken among the rolls. Top with rest of the cheese. Bake for 5 - 7 minutes or until the cheese is melted.



This made enough chicken for 3 sandwichs but we only made 2. These would be great in the summer with fresh pesto or brushetta. I might even make the chicken and put over some kind of pasta once I have plenty of tomoates and basil from the garden.
Hope you enjoy!

Cheddar Bacon Chicken

I've been planning this blog for 3 months now & I'm finally writing a post. I'm hoping that sharing some of my favorite recipes, meals, and cooking tricks with you, you will share the same with me.

Twice a month Joel and his friends have "Guys Night". Which mean once every 2 months, 4 hungry boys show up at my house. I've learned I better have something out on the counter to eat or they will eat everything in my fridge and pantry. I usually do something simple like crockpot soup or grilled burgers, but last week I thought I would cook Chase's favorite (and mine too). And thought this would make the perfect first post for my blog!

Bacon Cheddar Chicken, Green Bean Casserole, & Mashed Potatoes

This is always my favorite meal for MH to cook. She always knew when I got home from a church trip or weekend away I would want something good to eat! This was her go to meal. I went to get my recipe to make sure I included everything, but there was not a recipe in my box. I called MH and she said she would try to find it. I guess you know it's a classic when I can't even find a recipe for it.

Bacon Cheddar Chicken

Start with frying 8 slices of bacon. While the bacon is cooking, flatten 4 chicken breast. Dip them in egg and coat in bread crumbs. Remove bacon once cooked and cook the chicken in the bacon grease until done. I usually turn the chicken a few times to get a good crust on both sides.

While the chicken is cooking, grate several cups of cheddar cheese. Once the chicken is done, cover with cheese. Place a lid on the skillet and let the cheese melt. I let mine melt for at least 5 minutes.



Crumble the bacon while the cheese is melting. Once the cheese is melted put the chicken on your platter. Then top with the bacon.



The best part of this entire dish is the little pieces of cheese that falls off the chicken and gets really melted and crispy on the bottom of the pan. So don't throw those away :)

Somehow in the past nine years I've known Chase he's changed the name from Bacon Cheddar Chicken to Cheddar Bacon Chicken. I made 2 more classics to feed this wild group - green bean casserole & mashed potatoes. Both of which I do different than most people so I'll share those in another post.