Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Chicken Pot Pie Pizza

One thing that everyone can use is a new recipe for what the hell to do with leftover chicken and here it is - Chicken Pot Pie Pizza!  My own amazing invention!  It is incredibly delicious and the perfect way to use up the previous night's leftovers of baked potatoes, roast broccoli and roast chicken.

I usually make my own pizza dough because I want to stay organic but you can go down to your local pizza place and ask for some uncooked dough.  The toppings are what I was going to use to make chicken pot pie before I decided to make it into a pizza but you can change up the veggies and meat to your liking.  I use a pizza stone to cook this but you can also use a cookie sheet. 




INGREDIENTS:

Dough
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 3/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup cornmeal plus extra to spread on pizza stone (make sure it's organic! Don't use GMO corn!!)
  • 1 package active dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt 

Pour yeast and sugar into warm water and let sit 5 minutes.

In the meantime sift the rest of the dry ingredients together in a bowl.  After 5 minutes is up add water and oil to dry ingredients and mix with a spoon until combined then start kneading.  Add more flour as needed (1 tablespoon at a time) if the dough is too sticky.  Knead until smooth, about 5 - 10 minutes, form into a ball and then place in an oiled dish and cover with a dish towel.  Let sit 1 to 1 1/2 hours until it until doubled in size.

After the hour is up knead again for a minute or two and form back into a ball.  Let rise again for about another hour.  This is enough to make 2 pizzas - so divide in half.  You can also shape one half into a bread loaf and make bread with it if you don't want 2 pizzas.


Ingredients for Topping:
(per pizza)

1 1/2 cups shredded chicken
1 cup chopped roasted broccoli
1 chopped baked potato
1 cup homemade gravy
grated cheese to taste
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 cup shredded fresh fontina
(a little cream cheese is also amazing on this but you can leave it off to keep calories down)

Heat oven to 425 degrees with pizza stone inside.

Place dough onto a well-floured pizza tray and shape into a pizza shape but be careful not to go too thin.  Don't forget to also spread some cornmeal on your pizza stone to prevent sticking.

Use the gravy like you would use tomato sauce and spread out over pizza.  Then quickly add on and spread out all other ingredients.  You can add salt and pepper if you like but everything should be pretty seasoned since it is made from leftovers.

Don't let it sit at all after this or the dough will get soggy and it will be impossible to get off of the tray.  Quickly transfer pizza from tray onto pizza stone by shimmying it off - this is difficult so I let my husband do it since he used to work in a pizzeria :)  Just be careful to make sure the pizza does not come off the sides of the stone. 

Bake 12-16 minutes and serve hot :)






Enjoy!!!



Sunday, February 10, 2013

Jersey Roasted Chicken

I have said it before and I'll say it again - I LOVE the Fall and Winter in New Jersey because I get to use the oven and BAKE, which is my favorite way of cooking!  After the huge snowstorm this weekend all I want is the warmth and comfort of something delicious baking in my oven.


Roast chicken is almost my favorite thing to make during this time of year and there are usually leftovers for chicken quesadillas, wontons, chicken pot pie or burritos the next day.  Plus, you can use the bones to make chicken broth.




INGREDIENTS

1 whole organic roaster chicken (fresh - do not freeze it!)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 medium onion roughly chopped
1 stick celery roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic roughly chopped
2 cups chicken broth
salt, pepper, sage, thyme, parsley, celery salt
(approx 1/2 teaspoon of each - adjust to your own taste)
olive oil
1/2 cup white wine


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Coat bottom of glass roaster dish with olive oil.  Place chicken in dish - make sure you have taken the bag of giblets out.  Most chefs truss their chicken but I don't bother and I never had the legs come out overdone but truss if you like.  Pour in wine, broth and add veggies - add a few veggies to the chicken cavity.  Coat chicken with olive oil and cover with spices.

Put in oven and bake at 400 for 20 minutes then bring it down to 375.  Depending on the size of your chicken (and the quirkiness of your oven) it will take another hour to 2 hours to finish.  It is done when a meat thermometer stuck in the breast reaches 165-170 degrees.  Make sure the thermometer is not hitting any bones when you take the temp. 




Let rest for 15 minutes and start carving - make sure there is no pink and the juices run clear.

You can use the liquid and dripping to make gravy if you like - I don't have my own gravy recipe, I use Ina Garten's.

This will make your house smell like HEAVEN!  I LOVE the smell of roasted chicken.  Serve with veggies and baked potato or whatever side you want.  
A nice big California chardonnay is perfect with this meal.

Enjoy :)