Pesto Chicken Pizza

So, a high class meal is nice, but let's get back to what this blog is really all about: PIZZA!

After last week's dinner, I had lots of pesto and chicken left over. As fate would have it, there was also an extra pizza crust in my fridge, just waiting to fulfill its destiny as a conveyance of deliciousness.

Thus was born the Pesto Chicken Pizza.

Ingredients:

1 Pizza Crust

2 Cooked Chicken Breasts

Jarred Pesto

Grape or Cherry Tomatoes

Shredded Cheese

Steps/Analysis:
Preheat the oven to 415 degrees and lay the pizza crust out on a baking sheet. Then, spoon on a thin layer of pesto.

(Again, I'm using chicken breasts that I had already cooked and prepared for the week. If you haven't planned accordingly, residence in a 375 degree oven for about 35 minutes will get you where you need to be.)

Cut the chicken into roughly bite-size pieces and distribute them evenly over the pizza. Cut your tomatoes in half (or into smaller pieces if necessary) and repeat.

Sprinkle a layer of cheese over everything. Now, based on the nature and genre of the meal, logic dictates that you should definitely mozzarella cheese if you have it. I only had my usual Mexican blend on hand. Necessity being the mother of invention, I went for it and never looked back.

The final step is to brush a little olive oil around the outer crust so that it crisps up nicely in the oven.

10-15 minutes and you've got yourself dinner!

Serving/Notes:

You may want a little salt and pepper, but otherwise I was very happy with this creation. I've got a pretty solid repertoire of pizzas, if I do say so myself, and this is a nice addition to it.

The use of Mexican rather than Italian cheese seemed negligible. The substitution certainly didn't ruin my evening.

Chicken Pesto Supreme

I realize that a lot of my posts so far this fall have been a little too 'Freshman' and not 'Graduate' enough in complexity or class. Salami's great and all, but it really shouldn't be the focal point of one's diet.

With that in mind, I offer you a nice little dish I'm going to call Chicken Pesto Supreme. It's a little meaty and a little cheesy. It's got starches and vegetables. What more could you want?

Ingredients:

2 Cooked Chicken Breasts

Frozen Cheese Ravioli

Frozen Peas

Cherry or Grape Tomatoes

Jarred Pesto

Steps/Analysis:

I cooked my chicken breasts in advance--I like to bake a bunch of them at a time and keep them on hand for meals throughout the week. If you haven't, though, no big deal. Trim their fat and salt and pepper them generously. Place them in an oiled baking dish and get them in a 375 degree oven for about 35 minutes.

With your chicken taken care of, set a pot of water over high heat and get it to boiling. When it's there, salt the water and carefully pour in enough ravioli for two people.

Keep an eye on that pasta! Depending on the brand you buy, it should only take about 5 minutes to cook through.

In the meantime, get the frozen peas in a large bowl with just a little water and microwave for 2 minutes or so. Halfway through, you'll want to give the peas a stir.

Drain off the water from the greens when done.

Next, slice a handful of tomatoes in half and add them to the peas. (Hopefully, you've selected a bowl large enough to house and serve the entire meal. If not, you may want to consider making a switch now.)

Drain the ravioli and give your chicken breasts a rough slicing. Add them to the bowl as well.

Finally, spoon on a healthy amount of basil pesto and stir to coat everything nicely. Just be careful not to be too vigorous about it; you don't want broken ravioli.

Serving/Notes:

A little salt and pepper are all that you need to accompany this meal... maybe a hank of bread, but not much else. Make sure you get a little of everything on your plate. The flavors and textures all play nicely with one another and the more variety you get on your fork, the happier you'll be. Enjoy, this classy, date-night dinner.