Spicy Pesto Chicken Pizza

Things you'll need

Pizza Dough

• 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup milk (Fat Free will work great!)

Pesto

• Basil
• Olive oil
• Garlic cloves
• Parmesan cheese
• Hot cherry peppers
• Salt
• Pepper

Chicken

• Chicken cutlets (breasts)
• House Italian dressing (Wishbone is my fav)

Other Toppings

• Arugula
• Mozzarella

In a ziploc bag place desired amount of chicken cutlets and cover in a generous amount of the house Italian dressing. Let this sit for 24 hours in the fridge.

After 24 hours take a cast iron pan and heat with olive oil in it until it is hot. Preheat oven to 375 F. Add in chicken breasts to pan and sear on each side until a nice golden brown. Then place in oven until chicken is just over from pink. Depending on thickness the time will vary so take one of the cutlets and slice it in the middle to check the cook. Slice with the grain and set aside covered.

In a medium sized bowl add in all the dry ingredients; sift the flour, then add in salt and baking powder. Mix together. Then add in milk and olive oil while mixing and stir until the dough begins to form and stick together. If the dough is too sticky/wet then add in more four, if it is to dry and not forming a ball add in more milk a little bit at a time.

Knead dough on a lightly flour surface until the perfect smooth texture and form into ball. Place the bowl over it and let it sit for at least ten minutes.

In a food processor begin by adding in basil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pulse until the garlic is finely chopped together in the basil.(The basil I used was already processed once and frozen, but you may use fresh basil leaves) Now add in more olive oil and basil based on the texture you would like, and TASTE before you add too much garlic I would add two cloves at a time and taste. Pulse until a think, sauce-like texture.

Now add in the grated parmesan. I like this flavor so I add in a decent amount. Remember as you add to taste. Following the cheese begin to add in two at a time the sliced cherry peppers. These are very spicy to add until you can taste the heat but still enjoy the flavor! Process the ingredients until smooth, place in bowl and set aside.

Place pizza stone in oven and preheat to about 450 F. Begin to flatten the dough into desired shape should be a nice thin crust so roll it out til about 14 inches across. Next take a fork and poke crust in the center and around the edges and place onto pizza stone. Cook for about 5 minutes or just until crust is sturdy.

Remove from oven and add on the pesto, mozzarella, and sliced chicken. Save some pesto on the side for later!! Place in oven and cook until cheese is bubbling. Drizzle with olive oil during the cook time to crisp it up real good.

Remove pie from oven and place onto counter/cutting board. Take a few hand fulls of arugula and place into bowl. Dress the arugula with a bit of the leftover pesto and using hands toss it until LIGHTLY coated. Lay arugula over the top of the pie. Cut and serve!

Suggestions:

• Drizzle Sriracha over the top for an added kick.
• Drizzle with the Italian dressing for some added flavor.