Chicken & Bacon Pizza with a Garlic Cream Sauce

I am always looking for ways to stretch our food budget. I stock up on shredded cheese when its on sale, use dried beans in lieu of canned, and am not afraid to make a meal entirely from scratch.

Homemade pizza is one of our favorite ways to help our grocery money go a bit further and it’s important to create new recipes so we don’t get stuck in a “food rut.” Normally, I make a buffalo chicken pizza, but tonight I decided to try this Chicken & Bacon Pizza complete with a homemade garlic cream sauce.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken breast
• 5 slices bacon
• pizza dough (recipe to follow)
• Salt & Pepper
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced (this is my favorite garlic press!)
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp basil, dried
• 2 cups mozzarella & cheddar blend cheese
  

  Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place bacon slices on parchment paper and bake for 10-15 mins, or until crispy
• Prepare pizza dough:
  1. 1 pkt active rise yeast
  2. 1 tsp sugar
  3. 1 cup water, lukewarm
  4. 2 cups flour
     1. Combine yeast, sugar, and water. Let sit for 5 mins to activate yeast.
     2. Add 2 cups flour and knead into a ball. (Hint: THIS gadget makes this step so much easier!)
     3. Cover, let rise until doubled.
• Season chicken breast with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit, approximately 20-25 minutes. (Hint: If you haven’t thawed your chicken, you can toss it with a cup of water into your Instant Pot on manual pressure for 30 minutes!). Shred.
• Prepare Sauce:
  1. In a skillet, melt butter and oil
  2. Add garlic and shallot, cook for 2 minutes stirring frequently to prevent burning
  3. Add flour and cook until combined – it will be a thick rue
  4. Whisk in chicken broth.
  5. Add milk slowly as you continue to whisk mixture.
  6. Season to taste and add basil.
  7. Let simmer on low for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Spread pizza dough on a pizza pan covered with parchment paper (or a pizza stone). Prick with a fork all over.
• Spread sauce over dough.
• Top with shredded chicken, bacon, and cheese.
• Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, or until crust is slightly browned.