Spicy Chicken Pizza with Pepper Jack Cheese and Cilantro, Simple No Knead Pizza Dough

 

Mother's Day was just lovely. I didn't have to lift a finger in the kitchen. My Ryan makes the yummiest BBQ Chicken and Rice (big time kudos to his Dad for passing on such a gem of a recipe). I crave this chicken. I crave the rice. It's beyond therapy.

 I made sure to have Ryan make the recipe with extra chicken just so I could use it for pizza today. Plus, we still had extra Pepper Jack Cheese to use up from our Chili Lime Turkey Burgers with Guacamole from last week. So the stars were aligned for this flavorful pizza to enter our kitchen. It was well-welcomed. 

I've never really made my own pizza dough. I know. Crazy. But I get so busy sometimes and it's so much easier to just use the stupid mixes. Today, I learned my lesson, and will forever more make my own pizza dough no matter how busy the day. This dough was so easy, that I (the queen of killing yeast and dough and sucking at anything "making bread from scratch" related) made it perfectly on the first try. I LOVED the dough like I love cilantro (which is maybe a little too much) -  the olive oil flavor surrounded each fluffy pepper-loaded pizza bite. I had half the dough recipe left over as well. Perfect for tomorrow's recipe.

This pizza has loads of color (green peppers, yellow peppers, red peppers, purple onion, etc), and I thought it looked just beautiful! The pepper jack cheese was so creamy and warm - it mixed perfectly with the salsa-soaked peppers. I was so happy to use fresh cilantro from my little herb garden, too. Go team. 

Also, I've had a few questions regarding "EVOO". It's a Rachel Ray thing. It stands for Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and it's officially in the dictionary now. "Did you know thaaat? Nowww you knowww." That was Bill Nye the Science Guy in case you thought I've finally gone mental. 

Great. Now I have the Bill Nye song in my head...

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Spicy Chicken Pizza with Pepper Jack Cheese and Cilantro

recipe adapted from My Baking Addiction 

1 T EVOO
1/2 C chopped red onion
3 cups diced fresh red, yellow and green bell peppers

1 lb homemade pizza dough

1/2 cup homemade salsa
2 cups (8 oz.) pepper jack cheese, shredded

Chopped cilantro

1 ½ cups cooked and shredded chicken

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes. Add bell peppers; sauté 5 minutes or until crisp-tender.

Meanwhile, unroll pizza dough onto a 15 x 10-inch jelly roll pan coated with cooking spray; press dough evenly to all edges of pan. Bake in preheated 425°F 8 minutes. 3. Stir salsa into cooked vegetables; spread over partially baked crust. Top with chicken and cheese.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown. Cut into squares; garnish with cilantro or oregano if desired.

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Simple No Knead Olive Oil Pizza Dough 

recipe adapted from My Baking Addiction

2-3/4 cups lukewarm water
1-1/2 tablespoon granulated yeast (2 packets)
1-1/2 tablespoons Kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup EVOO
6-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, or in a large (5 quart) bowl working with a wooden spoon, mix the yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil with the water.

Mix in the flour without kneading. I found this process to be incredible simple with my stand mixer, but it will certainly come together the old fashioned way. If you are not using a machine, you may need to wet your hands in order to incorporate the bit of flour.

Transfer dough to large (5 quart) bowl or lidded food container. Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.

The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 12 days.

 
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