Spicy Chicken and Pepper Jack Pizza with Whole Wheat Crust

Rotisserie chickens are my new favorite convenience food item. The first time I had ever purchased one, was when I prepared a recipe from “Just Tell Me What to Eat!”. Immediately I thought to myself, why haven’t I been doing this all along? It makes life so much easier, because I’m not one to have leftover chicken in my fridge just waiting for a purpose (although I do at the moment after making this pizza, since I only used half of the chicken). And my grocery store carries three different types: Savory (which I used here), BBQ, and Lemon-Pepper. The possibilities are endless!

Pizza is one of my favorite foods because no matter what I’m craving, it can be put on top of a pizza crust. This time around I just wanted something with a little kick. With the help of a rotisserie chicken and some leftover homemade salsa, this pizza turned out perfect. (There’s no shame is using jarred salsa, but you should really try the homemade stuff sometime, especially since it’s takes minimal effort.)

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp canola or olive oil

1/2 cup chopped sweet onion

One small red bell pepper, sliced into 1/8″ rings

One small green bell pepper, sliced into 1/8″ rings

1 recipe whole wheat pizza dough

1/2 cup salsa (I used homemade)

1-1/2 cups cooked and shredded chicken (about half a Rotisserie chicken)

2 cups shredded Pepper Jack cheese

Chopped cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, with a pizza stone* on the middle rack.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes. Add bell peppers; sauté 5 minutes or until crisp-tender.
3. Meanwhile, roll pizza dough onto a corn meal dusted pizza peel*.
4. Stir salsa into cooked vegetables; spread over crust. Top with chicken and cheese.
5. Shimmy the pizza from the pizza peel onto the pre-heated pizza stone and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until it the crust turns golden brown and the cheese starts to bubble. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, garnish with cilantro if desired then cut into slices.

*If you do not have a pizza stone or peel, roll dough out on a corn meal dusted baking sheet/pizza pan.

Source: Adapted from My Baking Addiction