"Tasty Tuesdays"

Cooking has become something I really enjoy doing, so I thought it would be fun to post a recipe on here every Tuesday. I am by no means amazing, but I think it's fun, so that's all that matters, right? A lot of my recipes come from other people (mostly family) so I will make sure I always give credit where credit is deserved. I may not be able to come up with something every Tuesday, but I thought it would be fun to try.

So this week I thought I would start off with my Garlic Chicken Pizza recipe that I mentioned in a post week or so ago. I've had a few people request this, so I thought it would be a good one to start with. A year or so ago I was searching for a recipe kind of like this online, and I found one (called Roasted Garlic White Pizza), but I've changed it quite a bit, so now I think I can say it's mine and I won't bother saying where I got it from (especially since I can't remember). So here it goes...

Garlic Chicken Pizza

The Top:

1 1/4 c. milk
2 T. butter
2 T. flour
1-2 heads roasted garlic (see recipe below)
(heads, not cloves; 1-2 depending on how much you like)
salt and pepper to taste
2 c. grated mozzarella cheese
2 T. chopped fresh basil (or 1 T. dried)
2 T. chopped fresh parsley (or 1 T. dried)
1 large chicken breast (see recipe below)
a little olive oil, oregano, garlic salt

I start with the garlic and the chicken:

To roast the garlic: Cut off the top, drizzle a little olive oil over, wrap in aluminum foil and stick in a 375 degree oven for 45 min. - 1 hr. until soft (it will smell delicious). Let cool enough so you can handle it and then squish out the cloves.

To cook the chicken: (do this at the same time as your garlic). Drizzle a little olive oil over the chicken breast and sprinkle a little oregano, garlic salt and pepper and cook until done (about the same amount as the garlic). Cut into bite-sized pieces.

While it cooks, I make the dough:

Pizza Dough (this is a recipe from my Aunt Marilyn)

1 1/4 c. lukewarm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. oil
3 c. flour (about)
cornmeal, for rolling it out

Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water. Let set 5 minutes. Add salt, sugar and oil. Add flour gradually and mix well. Let rise 20 minutes.

While it rises, I make the sauce:

In a saucepan, melt butter. When it starts to bubble add flour and stir until smooth. Whisk in milk. Get out all the lumps. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper and cook until thick. Turn off heat.

Mash up your roasted garlic cloves and add to the sauce. (If you don't like chunks at all, stick it and the sauce in a blender and blend until smooth).

Assemble:

Roll out your pizza dough in cornmeal and put on your pan (or however you do your pizza, a stone, or whatever). Top with sauce, cheese and chicken (and then a little more cheese).

Bake in a 500 degree oven for 8-10 minutes, until crust and cheese get a little brown. Top with chopped fresh herbs.

I hope this makes sense! It really is tasty. And if you had an herb garden this year, hopefully you still have some so you can have fresh herbs. So yummy! Enjoy!