BBQ Chicken Pizza

Fridays are made for pizzas, aren't they? The worst (and sometimes best) thing about ordering out for pizza is that you aren't sure how much cheese, sauce and topping they put on the pizza and that's hard when you're watching your caloric intake. So, I decided I would make pizzas tonight. I stopped by a local pizza shop and picked up two dough balls (only $2.19 total!!) that would make two 12" pizzas. I'd already de-boned a rotisserie chicken and had it sitting in the fridge. So, I decided to make one of my favorite pizzas, BBQ Chicken Pizza. YUM!

Unfortunately, when I looked in the fridge and pantry, our normal staple of BBQ sauce was depleted!! My heart was set on BBQ Chicken pizza...so what's a girl to do? Make her own BBQ sauce, of course!!! I got this recipe from this website: http://www.bbqrecipesecrets.com/bbqsauce.html

Basic Tomato BBQ Sauce
Ingredients:

1 regular can of tomato sauce
1 can of tomato paste
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tablespoons onion, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon cayenne
fresh ground pepper to taste

Cook the garlic and onion until it's soft (in the olive oil), and then add all the rest of the ingredients. Simmer on low for 20-30 minutes. Keep stirring it often so it doesn't burn, then refrigerate for a few days before you use it. This allows the flavors to blend and mellow.




P.S. These pictures were taken after I already used sauce for one pizza. This batch made enough for two pizzas.

So, I didn't let it blend and mellow for several days - who has the time? But man, it didn't need it! This sauce is TREMENDOUS!!

Now that I had my sauce, I just had to get the rest of my toppings in place. I thinly sliced some red onion, shredded some cheddar cheese and sliced some mozzarella. I cut my chicken into cubes and that's it! I rolled out and tossed (yes, pizzeria-style) my crust, topped it with a thin layer of BBQ sauce, topped with chicken, onions and cheese. Finally, I spread a little sauce over the top. 15 minutes on a pizza stone in a 450 degree oven and voila!! BBQ CHICKEN PIZZA!!!

I made two 12" pizzas. They are both gone. Enough said. :)