Week 44, Recipe 1: Pesto (Chicken) Pizza

NOTES

• We had some leftover rotisserie chicken so we threw it on the pizza but feel free to leave off. It would be equally as good.
• Homemade pesto is very easy to make (see below the pizza recipe) if you have access to basil. In order to make enough pesto for one pizza, I used two cups of lightly packed basil.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pizza dough (please note that my pizza dough recipe makes 2 really thin crusts or 1 thick crust. I like to double the recipe and make three thin-ish crusts and freeze 1 or 2 of them before letting them rise).
• 1/2 c. basil pesto
• A mixture of provolone (I used deli slices), Parmesan, and Italian cheeses (I used the pre-shredded Italian Style cheese)
• Shredded chicken (optional)
• Grape tomatoes, halved

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees and if using a pizza stone, make sure it's preheated for at least 15-20 minutes on the lower rack.
2. Roll out pizza dough and place on a greased pizza pan (start out on the pan even if switching to the stone - see step 4).
3. Cook for 5ish minutes on the pizza pan at 500 degrees until the crust is starting to dry.
4. Remove and spread basil on top, chicken, tomatoes and cheeses
5. Slide pizza back into the oven off the pizza pan and onto the pizza stone (if using). Cook another 10-15 minutes.

Homemade Pesto

NOTES

• Pesto freezes really well. Leave out the Parmesan cheese if freezing to add later when preparing your food.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 2 c. lightly packed fresh basil
• 1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 c. pine nuts or walnuts (I use walnuts because they're so much cheaper!)
• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. Toast the unpeeled garlic in an 8-inch skillet over medium heat, turning the cloves occasionally until fragrant and spotty brown, about 7 minutes. Let cool before peeling.
2. Toast the nuts in the same skillet, shaking the skillet occasionally until they are lightly browned, 3 to 8 minutes.
2. Process the peeled garlic, basil, oil, nuts, Parmesan and salt and pepper in a blender or food processor until smooth.