Balsamic BBQ Chicken Pizza

This pizza had several inspirations.

1. I was craving CPK's BBQ Chicken Pizza!
2. I was craving Giada de Laurentiis' Balsamic BBQ sauce (the recipe can be found on FoodNetwork.com).

I have a new found respect for pizzerias... pizza dough is relatively easy to make however getting it to taste unforgettable is hard! This dough was sweet since I used honey and it worked well with the Balsamic BBQ sauce.

I made the pizza in steps. First, I made the basalmic BBQ sauce. The recipe doesn't call for any crushed red pepper flakes, but I love the subtle heat they give, so I added approximately 1 teaspoon.

While the sauce was coming to room temperature, I made the pizza dough. I don't have a stand mixer, so I used my hands! Those who know me are familiar with the fact that I CANNOT stand the texture of flour. It creeps me out. For the sake of my cravings, I put my fears aside.

Turned out to be a very wise decision. As the dough was left to rise, I coated the chicken in the balsamic bbq sauce, and baked them off. The baking took approximately 20-30mins, as I used boneless skinless tenders (they were on sale!).

On a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, I stretched out the pizza dough, slathered it with BBQ sauce, topped it with the diced chicken (thoroughly cooked at this point), added some red onion and jalapenos on one half (my fiance eats spicer than I do), and finally put some shredded cheese (use what you like- I used mixed shredded cheese I got from Costco- I'm a woman on a budget!). Put the pizza in the oven and in 20min it was done. In 30 minutes, my craving was satisfied!

This tasted so delicious... only thing I forgot to add was cilantro. There was plenty of dried basil, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes but fresh cilantro would have added a whole other layer of flavor!

Find your favorite pizza dough (store bought, homemade, whatever you prefer) and try this pizza. Comments welcome :)