What’s for Dinner?: Chicken Parmesan Pizza

Can you believe we’ve never made our own pizzas?  Nope.  Never.  It’s a sheltered life I’ve lead.  So this week I decided to step it up a notch and not only try to correct that, but also try a brand new pizza idea – Chicken Parmesan Pizza!  Erajh is a huge fan of Chicken Parmesan, so I figured this recipe would be a hit…unfortunately, I forgot my husband is a purist when it comes to his pizza.  He’s a pepperoni kinda guy.  So it was up to the girls and I to try this recipe.  Turns out, not only did we (specifically Hazeline) love eating the pizza, but the girls loved being involved in the cooking process – spreading the sauce, sprinkling the cheese, tearing the basil – they loved it all!  We will definitely be making this pizza again in the future!

You will need:

1 lb chicken breast, cut into cube-size pices (or as close as you can get to it)

1 packet Shake & Bake chicken Parmesan flavor

1 (14 oz) can of refrigerated pizza dough

1/2 cup marinara sauce

2 cups mozzarella cheese

6-8 fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces (I suppose you could cut them, but I typically tear mine)

1 tspn Italian seasoning

Step 1 – Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Step 2 – Place the Shake & Bake Parmesan seasoning in the provided bag and coat the chicken.  Remove from bag, place on foil lined baking sheet, and bake for 12 minutes.  Remove from oven.

Step 3 – Roll pizza dough onto a greased cookie sheet.  Place dough in the oven for 8 minutes at 400 degrees, then remove from the oven.

I used foil to ease with clean up, and let me tell you, it was a huge mistake.  HUGE.  Rolling the dough was almost impossible, and most of the time I had to press it with my hands, only for it to revert right back to where it was originally.  Learn from my mistakes – grease the pan and clean it.  Shortcuts don’t work on this one.

Step 4 – Top crust with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, basil, Parmesan chicken, and sprinkle with Italian seasoning.

Step 5 – Bake at 400 degrees for 11 minutes or until the cheese is melted and crust looks toasty.  And voila – Chicken Parmesan Pizza!