Ginas Favorite Chicken And Spinach Pizza Recipes

CHICKEN AND SPINACH PIZZA WITH GARLIC WHITE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°.
• Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a saute pan over medium-low heat. Add garlic. Cook 30 seconds and add cream and parmesan. Continue cooking over medium-low heat until reduced and thickened. Salt to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Take your pizza dough and let it rise for 30 minutes. Press out onto a large pizza pan, and poke holes in the crust with a fork.
• Pre-bake crust for approximately 10 minutes, or until it starts to get a lightly golden brown color on top.
• Remove from the oven and top pizza with white sauce, mozzarella/provolone cheese, chicken, spinach, and parmesan cheese.
• Bake an additional 10-20 minutes, or until crust is completely cooked and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
• Brush crust with the garlic butter mixture and enjoy!

ROASTED GARLIC, CHICKEN AND SPINACH WHITE PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut head of garlic, about 1/4-inch, to expose tops of garlic cloves. Place garlic head, cut side up, in a sheet of foil. Drizzle with olive oil; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Fold up all 4 sides of the foil and cover tightly. Place into oven and roast until cloves are golden brown and tender, about 35-40 minutes. Let cool before squeezing cloves from skin; reserve and mince 8 garlic cloves.* Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly coat a baking sheet or pizza pan with olive oil. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken to the skillet and cook, flipping once, until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side. Let cool before dicing into bite-size pieces. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in the skillet. Stir in spinach until wilted, about 2-3 minutes; season with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together ricotta cheese, thyme, oregano, basil and reserved garlic cloves; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Working on a surface that has been sprinkled with cornmeal, roll out the pizza into a 12-inch-diameter round. Transfer to prepared baking sheet or pizza pan. Top with mozzarella, dollops of ricotta mixture, chicken and spinach. Place into oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheeses have melted. Serve immediately.

GINA'S SPINACH DIP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once it foams, add the shallot and garlic, and saute until softened, about 3 minutes.
• Add the flour and cook while stirring until it becomes a light blonde color.
• Slowly stir in the heavy cream, and the drained spinach, and simmer until it starts to thicken, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in the artichoke hearts, tomatoes, and cheese and cook until the cheese is melted. Remove to a serving bowl and serve with tortilla chips.

CHICKEN ALFREDO PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Adjust racks to the middle of the oven. Put pizza stone in the oven to preheat while you begin the sauce.
• Preheat a grill pan over medium heat.
• Season the chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Put the chicken on the grill pan and grill until cooked through. Remove to a cutting board and dice. Set aside.
• Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant. Add the flour and cook until light blonde in color. Whisk in the cream, reduce the heat to low, and let simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and season lightly with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Flour your work surface and roll the pizza dough into a 13-inch diameter. Carefully remove the pizza stone from the oven and put the dough on top. Ladle the sauce to cover the bottom of the pizza. Evenly top with the baby spinach, grape tomatoes, grilled chicken and the mozzarella. Brush the edge of the crust with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bake the pizza until crisp and golden, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately top with another handful of spinach. Slice and serve.

CHICKEN & SPINACH ALFREDO PIZZA

Steps:

• Roll dough out thin; put on lightly greased cookie sheet and prick holes all over to minimize bubbling.
• Prebake the pizza dough at 425°F for 5-7 minutes, remove from oven.
• Spread alfredo sauce to within 1" of edges.
• Top with chicken, spinach, onion, feta and olives, then mozzarella and parmesan last.
• If you like you can brush some olive oil around the edges of the crust.
• Return to oven and bake at 425°F for 10-12 minutes or until done and bottom is browned.
• Remove from oven and let stand a few minutes before slicing.
• Delicious and even better warmed up the next day; I have also added mushrooms when I had them on hand.

CLASSIC SPINACH PIZZA

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook pancetta over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels to drain. Saute garlic in drippings for 1 minute. Add spinach; cook just until wilted. Drain spinach mixture on paper towels., In the same skillet, saute mushrooms in oil until tender; add the pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Transfer to a small bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in the mascarpone cheese, olives and pancetta. , Place crust on an ungreased pizza pan. Spread mushroom mixture over crust; layer with spinach mixture, provolone and Romano. , Bake at 450° for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted.

CHICKEN, SPINACH & FETA PIZZA

Steps:

• Prepare pizza dough 2-3 hours ahead of time.
• Dissolve yeast in warm water in a warmed mixing bowl (I use a standing KitchenAid mixer).
• Add salt and flour to mixture and mix with dough hook on speed 2 until dough forms a ball and pulls away from sides of the bowl. Mix on speed two for an additional 2 minutes.
• Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover with a damp towel and let sit in a warm area without a draft for 2 hours or until doubled in size.
• After it has risen munch it down and then spread the dough over a greased 14-inch or larger pizza pan.
• To make the sauce, combine stewed tomatoes, peppers and garlic in a food processor and puree until they have reached a desired consistency. Strain out excess moisture and spread over dough.
• Make sure that your spinach is well drained by squeezing out any excess water with paper towels. Spread over pizza, followed by remaining vegetables, chicken and finally the cheeses. Brush crust with olive oil.
• Bake at 400 F or until crust is browned and cheese is bubbly.

ROASTED GARLIC & SPINACH WHITE PIZZA (WITH OPTIONAL CHICKEN)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Drizzle a baking sheet with a little olive oil and place the pizza dough on top to rest before working. (Trader Joe's pizza dough requires 30 minutes sitting at room temperature, so I usually do that first).
• Lay out a large square of foil and place the garlic cloves on top (be sure you leave the peel on!). Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with a couple of pinches of kosher salt. Fold the foil into a sealed packet and place in the oven (put it on a baking sheet if you're worried about leaking). Roast the garlic until soft, golden, and fragrant, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Once cool enough to handle, peel the cloves and discard the skins. Increase oven heat to 450 degrees Fahrenheit to prepare it for baking the pizza.
• Add 8 of the peeled garlic cloves to a small bowl. Smash with a fork. Add the ricotta, 2 teaspoons olive oil, basil, honey, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper. Mix well.
• If using chicken, heat the outdoor grill or an indoor grill pan on medium-high. Rub the chicken with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, flipping occasionally, until cooked through (we always check the internal temperature, which should register 165 degrees Fahrenheit). Set aside to cool. Once cool, cut into chunks.
• Stretch the pizza crust into a large (approx. 14-inch) round and place on greased cookie sheet or a pizza stone. If creating one meatless version and one chicken version, split the dough in half and stretch each into smaller rounds, approximately 8 inches or so, and place each on an olive-oil-greased cookie sheet.
• Top the crust(s) with tablespoon-sized mounts of ricotta, as evenly spaced as possible (but it doesn't have to be perfect!) Scatter with spinach and remaining garlic cloves. Top with cooked chicken chunks if using (you may only want to use half of the chicken if you're making two smaller pizzas). Scatter mozzarella cheese over the top(s).
• Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit until the crust is crisp and golden and the cheese is melted and bubbling, 9-10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a couple of minutes before slicing into wedges with a pizza cutter and serving.

GINA'S FAVORITE CHICKEN AND SPINACH PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Adjust the rack to the middle of the oven. Heat a pizza stone or a large, heavy sheet pan in the hot oven for 1 hour.
• Preheat a grill pan (or cast-iron pan) over medium-high heat.
• Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Put the chicken in the grill pan, and grill until cooked through, 5 minutes per side. Let rest for 10 minutes, then dice into small chunks.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Scatter in the garlic and red-pepper flakes, and cook until fragrant. Sprinkle in the flour, and cook, stirring, until the sauce is light blond in color. Whisk in the cream, then reduce the heat to low and let simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, and season lightly with salt and pepper to taste. Fold in 2 cups of the baby spinach.
• Flour your work surface, and roll the pizza dough out to a 13-inch diameter. Place the dough on a large sheet of parchment to transfer it to the pizza stone. Ladle the sauce in circles to cover the pizza thinly. Evenly top the pizza with grape tomatoes, grilled chicken, and the mozzarella in one layer. Brush the edge of the crust with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Carefully place the topped pizza on the pizza stone, holding both edges of the parchment paper as handles. Leave the pizza on the parchment.
• Bake the pizza until crisp and golden, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, and immediately top with the remaining baby spinach. Slice and serve.