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 pkt active rise yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 cup water, lukewarm
- 2 cups flour
- Combine yeast, sugar, and water. Let sit for 5 mins to activate yeast.
- Add 2 cups flour and knead into a ball. (Hint: THIS gadget makes this step so much easier!)
- 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:
- In a skillet, melt butter and oil
- Add garlic and shallot, cook for 2 minutes stirring frequently to prevent burning
- Add flour and cook until combined – it will be a thick rue
- Whisk in chicken broth.
- Add milk slowly as you continue to whisk mixture.
- Season to taste and add basil.
- 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.