Pizza Italiano

Look, nobody is going to be knocking on my door anytime asking me to sign a cookbook deal. It just isn't happening. For many reasons. But one is definitely my lack of skills with naming my original recipes. I mean, let's look at this one. Pizza, by default, is Italian food. No? But really when it came to naming this recipe I thought "Pizza with grilled chicken, red pepper, pesto, and fresh mozzarella" sounds too long, so I went with a simpler term. Anyway, moving on.

This pizza was so good. It was inspired by a pizza I often get at the pizza place by my school. Now that I'm off on maternity leave I clearly don't eat there anymore...so I improvised. Honestly I liked my version more. I added pesto to the chicken mix and I really felt this took it to a new level. John was obsessed with this pizza and I wasn't far behind. I can't wait to make this again... yum.

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
3 ounces chicken
1 red pepper, diced small
1 heaping tablespoon pesto

1 batch pizza dough

1/4 cup marinara sauce

1/4 cup grated pecorino romano cheese

2 slices fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes

Directions:

1-Preheat the oven to 425 with your pizza stone in the oven.

2- In a skillet heat your oil. Add the chicken, cooking until nicely browned on both sides and cooked through. Remove the chicken and dice it.

3- Return the chicken and diced red pepper to the skillet. Add the pesto. Cook over medium heat about 2 minutes until most of the moisture from the pepper is cooked off and the pesto is covering the chicken/pepper.

4- Prepare your pizza dough. Top with a thin layer of marinara. Sprinkle the pecorino romano cheese over the sauce. Top with the chicken mixture. Evenly place the fresh mozzarella over the pizza. 

5- Bake 12-15 minutes, until the cheese melts and the crust is golden.