Test Kitchen - BBQ Pizza with Greek Yogurt Dough

This post is a two parter. The first recipe is for the BBQ Pizza I made using the leftover pulled pork from this post, and the second recipe is for the Greek Yogurt dough I always use when I make homemade pizzas. Now that I'm trying to be gluten free, I'll have to fiddle with this recipe and see if I can come up with a better GF version. I'll admit that this dough (as is) doesn't taste exactly like regular pizza dough, it definitely has a slight tang from the yogurt, but my sister and I still think its a delicious, healthier, substitution. I will also admit that it can be a little tricky to get the bottom of this dough crispy; sometimes it has a slightly undercooked doughy texture in the very middle. But I think this is mostly due to me putting excess toppings on my pizzas. I can't help it, it's all so good! So my recommendation for these pizzas would be less is more when it comes to toppings. And I think BBQ chicken would work just as well on these pizzas.


BBQ Pizza with Greek Yogurt Dough

Ingredients

• BBQ Pulled Pork (or BBQ Chicken)
• BBQ Sauce
• Mozzarella cheese
• Red Onion
• Cilantro
• Pizza Dough (enough for 1 medium sized pizza)
• 1 Cup Greek Yogurt (the strained kind like Fage or Chobani, NOT Yoplait!)
• 1 Cup Self-Rising Flour (or 1 Cup AP flour + 1 1/4 tsp baking powder + 1/4 tsp salt)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
• If making the greek yogurt dough, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. At first it will seem like a gooey mess that will never possibly turn into pizza dough, but keep mixing. It will! It should take about 5-7 minutes of kneading to get there. If after that time its still gooey, sprinkle on a bit more flour.
• Roll dough flat (~1/4 in thick) and drizzle both sides with olive oil.
• Cover dough with a thin layer of BBQ sauce, then evenly distribute the pulled pork or chicken. Sprinkle on a thin layer of mozzarella, and garnish with sliced red onion and cilantro.
• Remember: A little bit of topping goes a long way, so don't over do it
• Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until crust turns golden brown. I like to broil my pizzas for the last few minutes to get the cheese nice and golden brown.

Test Kitchen - Maple Dijon Chicken

This is a recipe I've made multiple times and love. Its so easy and always tastes great! Plus I love dishes that I can throw in the oven and forget about, leaving my hands free to make sides dishes. I come from one of those families that only ate chicken breasts, so I substitute breasts for the thighs. I've also tried it with turkey breasts and it was just as tasty. The clean up on this one is a little difficult since the marinade really sticks to the baking dish, but I promise its worth it. I think this recipe is also slightly better when you marinate the meat overnight, but I've made it plenty of times without it and it still delicious. Note: It does have a very strong mustard taste from all the dijon, so if that's not your thing this recipe probably isn't for you.

Maple Dijon Chicken
(I first found this recipe here)

Ingredients

• Chicken breasts-1-1.5 pounds
• Dijon mustard- 1/2 cup
• Maple syrup- 1/4 cup
• Rice/rice wine vinegar- 1 tablespoon
• Fresh rosemary
• Salt and pepper

Directions

• Mix together dijon mustard, maple syrup and rice wine vinegar.  
• Salt and Pepper meat, then cover with marinade mixture and let sit for anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours in the fridge.
• When ready, preheat oven to 450 F. 
• Place meat in an ovenproof baking dish. Make sure meat is completely coated in sauce on all sides before placing in the oven.
• Cook meat for 35-45 minutes depending on the size of your thighs/breasts, or until a meat thermometer reads 165. I recommended basting the meat with more sauce halfway through.
• Optional: I like to broil the meat for the last 5-7 minutes to get that extra nice golden brown exterior, but this will make the pan harder to clean up later. 
• Let sit for 5 minutes after removing from oven and sprinkle with fresh rosemary for garnish. 

 

Test Kitchen - Chicken Pesto Sandwiches

Today for lunch I decided to try these chicken pesto sandwiches by Damn Delicious, using some of the leftovers from my beer can chicken. I'll admit, I mega cheated on this one. I used store bought pesto, and since the chicken was already cooked all I had to do was shred it and mix in the pesto and Greek yogurt. It took all of 5 minutes to throw together. After tasting it, I decided to add some garlic salt and onions to spice things up a bit. After those few additions it was excellent. A perfect, quick, easy lunch recipe!

Chicken Pesto Sandwiches by Damn Delicious
(original recipe here)

Ingredients

• 2 cups shredded chicken breast
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 
• OR Garlic salt for extra flavor
• 1/4 of an onion, chopped
• 1 baguette, cut into 3-4 equal pieces, toasted, for serving
• 2 cups arugula, for serving
• 2 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced, for serving
• 8 ounces mozzarella or swiss, sliced
•  Container of pesto

Instructions

• In food processor (or ninja blender) shred chicken. 
• In a large bowl, combine shredded chicken, 1/2 cup pesto, Greek yogurt, garlic salt, pepper, and onions to taste.
• Serve sandwiches on baguette with arugula, tomatoes, mozzarella swiss and chicken pesto mixture.

Test Kitchen - Big Bud's Beer Can Chicken

Today for dinner I decided to try Guy Fieri's Big Bud Beer Can Chicken, courtesy of the Food Network. I don't know why, but sometimes I get a craving to cook a whole chicken and I just can't resist! Little thinks I'm crazy, but I actually think they're kinda cute! Plus I needed to buy some beer anyway so....why not? Match mad in heaven. The first recipe I found was this one for Bon Appetit's Beer Can Chicken and it looked glorious, but I don't have a grill so it wasn't an option. My plan was to steal the cook time from Guy Fieri's recipe and then use the rub from the BA recipe, but Guy Fieri's had such great reviews I decided to just follow the whole thing. Plus, they even have the short video from the episode up, so there's no way to get confused. Prepping the chicken was a piece of cake and it made the apartment smell so deliciouuussssss! Mmmm. One of the reviews suggested using Bud Light Lime, so I decided to go with that. I stupidly bought these weirdly tall and skinny cans, but I think they may have actually worked better; they kept the chicken up and off the baking pan much better than a regular 12 oz can would. I also couldn't find a chicken as small as Guy recommends, so I wound up with a 4.5 lb bird and added an extra 30 min to the cook time.  It turned out great! All in all, I will definitely be making this recipe again.

Big Bud's Beer Can Chicken by Guy Fieri
(Courtesy of the Food Network, original recipe and how to video here)

Ingredients

• 1 (2 to 3-pound) (4 to 5 lb ) whole chicken
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 (12-ounce) can beer (I used Bud Light Lime)
• 1/2 pound bacon

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
• Remove giblets and wash chicken with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels to ensure dry rub sticks. 
• Mix all the dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Rub 1/2 of the dry ingredients on the inside cavity of the chicken. Rub the other 1/2 of the dry ingredients under the skin of the chicken. You may need to use a knife to ensure the skin is completely peeled away from the meat on both sides. 
• Open the beer can and pour out about 1/2 a cup (into a glass for drinking later of course!). Drop the garlic cloves into the beer can. Then place the chicken, open end down, over the beer can to insert the beer can into the cavity. The chicken should balance on the can unassisted. Then place the chicken, standing up, in a large saute pan or baking dish. 
• Drape the bacon over the sides of the chicken, tucking the top ~1/3 of the bacon strip into the top cavity of the chicken. This will hold it in place, but you can also pierce the bacon to the chicken with toothpicks for additional stickage.
• Carefully place the bacon covered chicken in the oven for 10 minutes to crisp the bacon, then lower the temperature to 325 degrees F 350 degrees F and cook for another 1 hour 1.5 hours, or until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.

Enjoy and serve with this green been salad or this shaved brussel sprout salad! Both are some of my all time favorites. I plan on using the leftover chicken to make these chicken pesto sandwiches.