Grilled Chicken Bacon Alfredo Pizza with Easy Thin-Crust Pizza Dough

Happy Monday, everyone! As you may have noticed, the blog got a little unplanned face-lift. I say "unplanned" because well, it was just that.

I woke up Saturday morning, and all my photos and blog header, and sidebar everything were gone. My heart completely sank. Apparently my bandwidth was too much for my image-hosting site. I do all my own blog designing, so I didn't have anyone to really call and find a fix. Plus, my image header code was completely gone, so I knew right then I'd need to redesign the dang thing again. So my entire Saturday morning and afternoon were spent redesigning everything, learning more HTML coding, trying to keep it together, and seriously contemplating hiring a web designer. However, paying down law-school student loans and new-home-down-payment savings are where any of our extra money is flying in, so hiring anyone was completely out of the question. I was stuck sitting there in front of my computer, trying not to pull all my blondie hairs right out of my head in frustration.

Thankfully, things came together quickly, I found another host for my photos, and I was able to make the page mine again. I like my page even better this way, so in a way, the "blog-apocalypse" worked out for the best. Although, on that Saturday afternoon, the silver lining was nowhere to be found. Now, things are all good. Hooray!

This pizza. GUYS. This pizza!!! I made this as a last-minute kind of thing and it turned out amazing! I knew I didn't want to slave away all day on some rising pizza dough, and I wanted a thin crust, so this thin-crust pizza dough was perfect. It's super low-maintenance (especially if you have a mixer with a paddle attachment).

While the dough is coming together, you can grill up the chicken and cook the bacon. Using leftover chicken is perfect for a pizza like this. The sauce is a little on the heavy side, so if you'd like to use skim milk or something a little more mild like that, go for it. The bacon, this time, I used *gasp!* turkey bacon. It was a little more than $2 for the package - much better than almost $5. I mean, I love real bacon, but if I've already spent the majority of the meal budget on chicken, a little skimp on the bacon is just fine in my book.

Also, do NOT SKIP THE GREEN PEPPER. Can I stress this enough? It sounds weird, but holy smokes. Green pepper on a pizza with bacon, chicken, and alfredo is an incredible combo. You'll never go back :)

Grilled Chicken Bacon Alfredo Pizza with Easy Thin-Crust Pizza Dough

makes one large family-sized pizza, or two small 10" pizzas

thin crust pizza dough:

3/4 C (6oz) lukewarm water 

1 t active-dry or instant yeast

2 C all-purpose flour

1 1/2 t salt

toppings:

1 green pepper, sliced 

6 slices bacon, cooked until crisp, then chopped

2 C mozzarella, shredded

1.5 lb chicken tenders, grilled and chopped

quick sauce:

3 T unsalted butter

1/2 t garlic powder

3 T all-purpose flour

1 C chicken broth

1 C heavy cream or milk, plus more for thinning if needed

3/4 C Italian blend cheeses

salt and pepper

method:

1. Prep the dough: Combine the water and yeast in a mixing bowl, and stir to dissolve the yeast. Let sit for only a couple minutes. Add the flour and salt to the bowl and mix until a rough dough forms. With the paddle attachment on medium-low, knead until all the flour is incorporated, and the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. If it's still sticky, add a little more flour. Transfer to a greased bowl, and cover with a clean towel. Set in a warm place until you're finished making the sauce and prepping the toppings. 

2. Prep the toppings: Grill up chicken with a little salt and pepper (or use leftover grilled chicken), let rest, then chop into bite-sized pieces. Slice up green peppers. Cook bacon until crisp, then crumble. 

3. Make the sauce: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When completely melted, add in garlic powder and flour. Stir until a paste forms. Let cook for about 30 seconds while stirring, then slowly whisk in chicken broth. Let thicken while stirring, then add in heavy cream or milk. Let thicken for a few minutes, then stir in cheese. Pull of heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

4. Assemble the pizza: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 2 smaller pizza pans, or one large pizza pan. Roll out pizza dough on pans with a rolling pin until it reaches about 1/4 inch thickness, leaving a small edge raised around the edges for the crust. Poke all over with a fork, and pre-bake for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven. 

5. Reduce heat to 350. Add sauce, then the prepared toppings. Bake 5-10 minutes until cheese has melted and crust is crusty! Slice, and serve immediately. 

thin pizza crust recipe source: the kitchn

everything else: baking with blondie original