It'sa Pizza! Mama mia!

I bought a pizza stone about 2 years ago and never used it. Through the inspiration of Janet, a good friend and the writer of Cooking in Cucamonga, I realized it was time to break it out of the cupboard. So, that's exactly what I did. One of my favorite things to eat is pizza--I think there are many who would agree with me. It can contain just about any topping and I'll eat it...emphasis on the "just about." I really love pizzas that change it up a bit, though I tend to revert back to black olives and cheese on occasion. Normally, I get Combination because I love the flavors of the veggies and meat.

But, tonight it was a bit of change for both my husband and me (he loves Hawaiian or just plain cheese). I'm a new reader of Annie's Eats, and a pizza she made totally inspired this dish. One thing I love about cooking is that there's so much room for freedom; if you don't like one ingredient, usually you can substitute it for another. My pizza consisted of bacon, cilantro, red onion, grilled chicken (thanks, honey!), ranch, green onions, and Tapatia Ranch for dipping. I really wish I would've had buffalo sauce, so I've added that in the recipe below. Here's the recipe:

Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza

Serves: 4
Source: inspired by Annie's Eats Chicken Ranch Pizza

Ingredients:

1 ball of pizza dough
1/4 to 1/2 cup ranch

6 slices of bacon, cooked

1 chicken breast, grilled

a few stalks of cilantro, chopped

1 green onion, diced

1/4 red onion, diced

2 cups shredded colby jack cheese

your favorite buffalo sauce for dipping

Directions:

Pre-heat the pizza stone in a 500-degree oven. Allow pizza stone to heat for at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grill the chicken, cook the bacon, dice the onions (red and green), and chop the cliantro. Set the green onions and cilantro aside, you'll add those as a toppping when the pizza comes out of the oven. Tear off a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper big enough to hold your pizza dough. Sprinkle it with corn meal, semolina flour, or regular white flour if you're in a pinch. Roll out the dough to about a 12-14 inch circle. Spread the ranch on the dough, leaving about a 1/4 inch rim around the edge. Sprinkle some cheese on it so there's a thin layer barely covering the ranch. Add the red onion. Once the bacon and chicken are done, but up into small chunks and sprinkle over the cheese. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the chicken and bake for about 12-15 minutes until the cheese bubbly and the crust is lightly browned. When the pizza is done, take it out of the oven and sprinkle the green onions and cilantro on top. Pour the buffalo sauce either in a small bowl for dipping or right over the pizza. Cut into slices and enjoy!

Variations:

Other good toppings to put on either before or after cooking would be fresh tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, pepperoncinis, or olives. The topping choices are endless. Another good variation on the chicken would be to grill it with the buffalo sauce already on it, or use barbeque sauce instead!