Another Deep Dish Pizza Variation

As I was grocery shopping this evening, I couldn't pass up the smell of freshly baked Italian bread....call it a weakness...so I just HAD to purchase a loaf.

As you know, fresh baked Italian bread is only good for one night...and yes, you know this! Therefore, I had to do something with it...yes, I made a deep dish pizza a week ago, but I LOVE pizza...and there are endless possible topping combinations...so you could follow my recipe (which ended up with amazing flavor) or you could use your own favorite toppings....all you need to follow is how to set up the bread and the time and temperature...(I didn't mean to sound biased, but it was SO GOOD!)

Here's an "inside" look....

Bread Bowl Deep Dish Pizza

Ingredients
*1 loaf of fresh Italian bread
*pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce (enough to cover the bottom of the bread bowl)
*1/2 sliced roasted red pepper
*1 chicken breast
*chicken stock
*1 minced garlic clove
*fresh basil leaves
*mozzarella cheese
*oregano

Step by Step Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Create a "bread bowl" out of the loaf of bread. (not sure what I am going to do with the left over bread...I WAS tempted to eat all of it...thank goodness I didn't)

(yes, I sprayed the cookie sheet with PAM spray)

3. Meanwhile, diced the chicken breast and cook on the stove top in the chicken stock.

4. Spoon sauce into the bread bowl. Don't be afraid to add a bunch if you like sauce...I made sure to cover all of the bread that was poking out of the bottom of the bowl. And, make sure the sauce gets into the ends.

5. Spoon in your "toppings"

6. Cover with cheese. (and I added extra basil) If you want the top to truly be covered with cheese, you need to pack the cheese in. I didn't and when it baked the cheese dropped down into the bowl.

7. Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes. This one was in the oven for about 17 minutes.

Chicken Enchilada....PIZZA!

If you couldn't tell, I LOVE to put different toppings on the pizzas I make. However, when we actually get a pizza...it's always a cheese pizza. And, just as a quick add-in...boy do I miss Mario's Pizza in Clearwater, FL...they were the best! So, if you're ever in the Clearwater area...make sure you check them out!

Anyway, back to my newest topping endeavour....

Chicken Enchilada Pizza

Ingredients

*1 chicken breast, cubed
*half red pepper, sliced
*half green pepper, sliced
*half small yellow onion, thinly sliced
*cilantro
*1/4 c. Goya Sofrito Tomato cooking base (use enchilada sauce if you can't find this)
*fresh tomato, diced
*chili powder
*pizza sauce
*pizza crust (I used the red pepper one again!)
*shredded mexican cheese blend

Step By Step

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Cook chicken over medium heat. Season with chili powder, cilantro and salt and pepper.
3. Remove chicken from heat. Use the same pan for peppers, onions, cilantro and Sofrito sauce.
Cook the veggies until they are soft. Also, with the cilantro, add in some of the stems..they have the MOST flavor. (I remove the stems after the veggies are cooked)

4. Add chicken back in and mix together.

5. PAM spray the pizza crust. Spread pizza sauce over the crust.
6. Add chicken and veggies over the sauce. Then, top with cheese.

7. Add diced tomatoes and cilantro on top of the cheese. Add more chili powder if desired.
8. Reduce the heat down to 425 degrees. Bake the pizza for 7-8 minutes.

We furthered the "spice" and topped the pizza with red pepper flakes before eating...

A few side notes...
First, I truly feel the freshly diced tomatoes REALLY made this pizza. It made the freshness of the ingredients really jump out.

Second, while I was home the other day, I stocked up on a local favorite...I love when I'm in Altoona the Delgrosso sauces are usually $1.00 a piece! We definitely took advantage and the transportation by car is MUCH easier than transporting them by suitcase back to Florida. So YUMMY!

http://www.delgrossosauce.com/