Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Another simple pizza recipe..........


I fell in love with the Barbecue Chicken Pizza at Uno Chicago Grill and I decided to try it myself. I personally don't like the onions on the Uno version, so I leave them out. But I did include them in the recipe below.

A few options - the recipe below indicates the cheese that I used the last time I made it (aka, what was in the fridge). I've also used all mozzarella as well as a combo of mozz + smoked gouda. All are delicious! Very customizable.

I was going to make our regular pizza (see my Pizza Fridays post), but I needed to use up the rest of a rotisserie chicken we had in the fridge, so I changed it up this week.

Ingredients:

• Refrigerated pizza dough (I like Pillsbury best)
• Barbecue sauce (enough to coat the crust - a smoky-flavored variety is great for this)
  
• 2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese
  
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (reduced fat)
  
• 2-3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
  
• Garlic powder
• Cilantro
• Sliced red onion (optional)
  

Directions:

1. Set oven to preheat at 450 degrees.
   
2. Spread pizza crust out onto cookie sheet or pizza tray.
3. Sprinkle with garlic powder and a heavy sprinkling of cilantro.
   
4. Throw crust in the oven while it's preheating, to give it a head start and make it a little browner and crisper. I leave mine in about 8-10 minutes total.
5. In the meantime, put shredded chicken in a small skillet with a little bit of barbecue sauce (and any other seasonings you like, maybe a touch of garlic powder?) and cook on medium-high heat about 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly.
6. When crust has been pre-cooked, remove from oven and cover in a thin layer of barbecue sauce.
7. Cover with 1 cup of the Italian blend cheese.
   
8. Add the cooked chicken, spread evenly over crust. Add red onion now, if using.
   
9. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup of Italian blend cheese and the 1 cup of cheddar.
10. Sprinkle with a little bit of cilantro (and maybe some black pepper).
    
11. Bake in preheated oven for 10-13 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbling and edges of crust look slightly browned.

*This is so good dipped in ranch dressing!*