ROASTED GARLIC CHICKEN ALFREDO PIZZA

It's hard for me to believe there's a single person who doesn't love pizza. I mean, what's not to love? There's dough and cheese and meat and more cheese. Some people may refuse to eat pizza because they say they don't like it, but I’m convinced that's just their way of not tempting themselves into eating an entire pizza pie. (True story: In the 4^th grade I was in a Girl Scouts pizza-eating contest and my mother was appalled to find out I ate an entire pizza – and that was even after dinner.)

The problem with pizza is that it gets a negative connotation for being unhealthy. And that can certainly be the case depending on what type of pizza you eat. Ordering a meat lover’s pizza with cheese stuffed crust and garlic butter dipping sauce is probably not a good decision.

But when you make pizza at home, you can customize it and make it however healthy (or unhealthy) you want it to be.

And that’s exactly what I did with this Roasted Garlic Chicken Alfredo Pizza. I made a white sauce with garlic, flour, skim milk, and parmesan. I used boneless, skinless chicken breast for a healthy protein. And I topped it off with low-fat cheese. These changes from the typical chain-store pizza cut big time calories without sacrificing taste!

So go ahead and indulge, guilt-free!

ROASTED GARLIC CHICKEN ALFREDO PIZZA

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

·         1 pound pizza dough (I just use Betty Crocker Pizza Crust Mix)

·         2 tablespoons butter

·         2 tablespoons minced garlic

·         4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

·         ½ teaspoon black pepper

·         1 ¼ cup skim milk

·         ¼ cup Parmesan cheese

·         1½ cup boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded

·         1 cup low-fat Mozzarella cheese

·         1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

·         ½ teaspoon dried oregano

·         ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper

DIRECTIONS

For the sauce

1.       Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2.       Melt butter in a small saucepan.

3.       Saute roasted garlic for 1 minute.

4.       Slowly add milk and stir on medium-low heat (about a 3 on the stove temp scale)

5.       Add flour and stirring constantly making sure to break up any clumps

6.       Keep stiring until the sauce starts to thicken (about 3 minutes)

7.       Mix in the pepper.

8.       Remove from heat, and stir in Parmesan cheese.

For the pizza assembly

1.       Spread dough into roughly a 12-inch circle on prepared baking sheet.

2.       Spread the sauce over the dough then use the back of the spoon to spread into an even layer.

3.       Top with chicken.

4.       Sprinkle top evenly with mozzarella cheese.

5.       Bake for 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden, and the cheese is melted.

6.       Remove from the oven, sprinkle with thyme, oregano, and crushed red pepper. Cut and serve immediately.

This recipe is adapted from Dinners, Dishes & Desserts

The sauce will be thick kind of like a cheesy, garlic gravy.

The pizza pie before it is baked

Makes 6 large slices

Mmmm who can resist melted cheese and a garlicky crust?!