Barbeque Chicken Pizza

This pizza is incredibly flavorful and was inspired by my friend Ash who made me one last week while Cam was out of the country for work. Thanks, friend!! It was so yummy I knew exactly what I was making him for dinner when he got home on Friday. Not exaggerating, we ate this in about 5 minutes.

Aaaand... if you're staying in on Thursday and cooking for someone you love -- your sweetheart, friend, parents, kids, roommates -- you can easily shape the dough into a heart and voila ~ a special dinner. And quick too so you can enjoy more time together. A simple salad would be great with this,  with a quick dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper. 

Happy Monday!

Barbeque Chicken Pizza
{serves 2-4 ... or in my case, 1 large hubby}

2 chicken breasts
1/4 red onion, sliced
1 handful fresh cilantro
2 C mozzarella, sliced or shredded {great also if you have an extra handful of shredded parm or pecorino for the top!}
your favorite bbq sauce {or mine! though I'd recommend leaving out the spices to keep it sweet}
pizza dough {or you can buy a ready-made one, especially if you live near Trader Joe's!}
4 cloves garlic, minced
EVOO

Rub the chicken in bbq sauce and grill until cooked through; cut into bite-sized pieces. Cam did this part for me -- he is amazing on the grill! Leftover chicken works well too. If you don't have a grill, you can dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces, rub it in salt & pepper & olive oil, and sear & saute it on the stove until it is thoroughly cooked and lightly browned. Mix it with bbq sauce in a bowl and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. Place the dough on a lightly floured baking sheet or pizza stone. Drizzle the dough with EVOO. Evenly spread the minced garlic over it. Next add a layer of bbq sauce. I used almost a cup-worth, but start with less and add more if you think it needs it. Add the mozzarella, cilantro, red onions and pieces of chicken. Add one more generous handful of cheese over everything if you have it -- pecorino or parmesan -- and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until the edges of the dough have lightly browned and the cheese is bubbling.

Serve hot. Drizzle on more bbq sauce if you like and garnish with fresh cilantro. Enjoy!