Barbeque Chicken Pizza

Barbeque Chicken Pizza
Dorcas Annette Walker

My son, Dwight, has advanced his cooking knowledge from grilling outdoors to learning how to make a homemade pizza crust. He has become fascinated working with rising dough, which while at this point is limited to crafting pizzas or bread sticks- since like the rest of his generation pizza is considered the main item all other foods revolve around, little does my son realize what other avenues of cookery this entails . While Dwight hasn’t yet mastered the art of cleaning up- at least to my specifications- my son is becoming quite the chef. The other night we were both working together in the kitchen. Having a male perspective while cooking is very interesting as a guy’s viewpoint is totally different than a women’s, especially in the kitchen. Together we created a Barbeque Chicken Pizza that I thought I’d feature in this week’s column.

Our Barbeque Chicken Pizza is quick and easy to prepare particularly if you use leftover meat. You can substitute the chicken for pork, turkey, or beef- whatever you have on hand- with your favorite barbeque sauce and add crumbled bacon, mushrooms, black olives or peppers if you wish. For a deluxe pizza add a top crust with mixed cheese. The possibilities are endless. No matter how you fix it your family, especially your kids, will love your homemade Barbeque Chicken Pizza. Preparation time for the Barbeque Chicken Pizza is around fifteen minutes (not counting the baking time) and this recipe makes one 12-inch pizza.

Barbeque Chicken Pizza

pizza dough for 12-inch pizza pan
1½ c hickory flavored barbeque sauce
2 c chicken cut up into pieces
1 small onion diced
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Spread ½ c of the barbeque sauce on the pizza crust mixing the chicken pieces in the rest of the sauce until coated. Layer the onion and chicken on top of the sauce. Sprinkle on the cheese and bake at 350º for 30-35 minutes until lightly browned. Serve hot!

Homemade pizza dough:

1 pkg dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 c warm water
2½ c all purpose flour
2 tb vegetable oil
1 tsp salt

Stir in yeast and sugar in warm water until dissolved. In a large bowl place flour adding the salt and oil. Mix in the yeast and knead until smooth. Let sit and rise until almost doubled. Roll out the dough thin on a floured surface and place on a pizza pan covered with cooking spray. Makes enough dough for two regular-sized pizzas!

*Can substitute wheat bread flour for the plain flour or mix half and half.

*Use any leftover dough for breadsticks by rolling out thin, sprinkling with garlic salt, topping with shredded cheese, and then baking.

Weekly tip: You can also use frozen bread dough that is thawed and rolled out for a homemade pizza crust!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com