Candle light dinner anyone?

So, amazingly enough, I was able to get up today and be somewhat productive.  I got some research stuff done and now have time to blog, but what to blog about...hmmm.  

As Dane and I still have a lot of catching up to do now that we can actually get pictures off of our camera, I was looking through some of the pics and decided to write about our pizza

 making.  Yes, we love pizza, and we love our pizza stone.  We have made some great pizzas over the last several months and I thought that I would share with you some of our favorite recipes:

Rachel Ray's "Blackened Chicken Pizza: with yellow tomato salsa"

1 Tbsp steak seasoning

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or a few drops of hot sauce (option for the spicey lovers)

1/2-3/4 lb chicken breast, sliced thin

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

All-purpose flour or corn meal for dusting

pizza dough for 1 14" pizza (you can buy the dough mix or make your own)

about 1/2 lb shredded cheese of your choice (again monteray jack is an option for the spicey)

Salsa:

2 small yellow tomatoes seeded and chopped finely (roma tomatoes also work)

1/4 C chopped red onion

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

2 Tbsp cilantro

2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves

1 garlic clove, minced

the zest and juice of 1/2 lime

salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Heat a large skillet over very high heat.  Combine grill seasoning and other spices above on a plate.  Press chicken into seasoning.  Add oil to screaming hot pan and cook chicken about 2 min on each side.  Remove from heat and chop finely.

Sprinkle corn meal onto pizza stone, or pan and stretch dough to make crust.

Mix ingredience for the salsa.  Scatter chicken, salsa and cheese over dough*.  

Bake 12-15 min, or until crust and cheese is golden brown.

Enjoy!

The next two are our inventions and very yummy!

BBQ Chicken Pizza (inspired by CPK)

(sorry, no picture, but it is really good)

1 chicken breast

1 C bbq sauce of choice

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 C shredded cilantro

1/2 lb shredded mozzarella cheese

pizza dough

Grill the chicken breast and chop finely.  Then coat with 1/4-1/2 C bbq sauce.  Spead remaning sauce over pizza dough*, sprinkle chicken, onions and cheese.  Bake 10-12 min (450 degrees).  Sprinkle fresh cilantro and enjoy!

Margarita (inspired by Abbie)

1 can pealed, diced tomatoes, partially drained

6-10 fresh basil leaves (the basil is the key to making this yummy!)

mozzerella cheese (you can use shredded or use that yummy mosserella that comes in the ball, if using the ball,  6-8 1/4" slices)

pizza dough

Spread tomatoes over pizza dough*, scatter basil leaves and sprinkle cheese.  Bake 10-12 min and enjoy.

*One tip that we have found very helpful is to let the pizza dough bake at temp for 2 min. before adding sauce and toppings.  This make the crust less soggy and helps it to be a better pizza all around!