Monday, February 20, 2012

Buffalo Chicken Pizza, From Start to Finish

I've loved Frank's Hot Sauce since the first time I tried my friend Joel's buffalo chicken dip many many moons ago. I can't remember where we were or why he made it, all I remember is that is was goooood.  And then for weeks we would all say, "Remember how good Joel's dip was?!"

Then he told me he made it into pizza. And that was awesome too.

So when I saw this crockpot buffalo chicken recipe on YoungMarriedChic's blog last week, I knew I had to make it!

Shredded Buffalo Chicken
6 raw chicken breasts
1/2 cup Frank's Hot Sauce
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

I whisked together the sauce and poured it over the chicken.  Mine cooked on high for 3.5 hours.  During that time I flipped it back and forth a couple times. When you think it is about done, take a fork and shred it up really stirring up the juices that have formed.  Let it cook for another twenty minutes.

I have big plans for this shredded buffalo chicken- salads, sandwiches, with sides of veggies.

But first, pizza!

I had gotten into the habit of using Trader Joe's pizza crust- which is great- but I was so excited to have some time to make my own crust again!

I used a recipe for Wheat and Honey crust from eat8020's blog.  Since we're reminiscing, I should tell you this is the same recipe I used the first time I ever made pizza crust before I had the KitchenAid.  

1 1/3 cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp honey
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cups white flour
1 tsp salt

I used my KitchenAid to make this so in my big mixer bowl I put the yeast, olive oil, honey, and topped it with the warm water. I used my hand mixer to mix the ingredients together for thirty seconds. Then the mixture sat for about ten minutes until it gets foamy.  I added the flours and the salt and mix again for one minute .  I used the dough hook to "knead" the dough for 6 minutes. Next, I put the dough in a nicely olive oiled bowl, forming the dough into a bowl and coating it with the olive oil. I put a nice clean kitchen towel over the top of the bowl and let it sit for about an hour while it doubled in size.

The next part is the best part, punching the dough down!  I punched it down and turned it out on my floured counter.  I knead (kneaded?) the dough a few times, placed the bowl over the dough and let sit for twenty minutes.

After that twenty minutes, put it in the oven on 325 for another twenty minutes.

During this time I got everything together for the pizza.
Ranch
Frank's Hot Sauce
Celery heart
Tomatoes
Buffalo chicken
Shredded cheese

I stirred together some ranch and Frank's Hot Sauce in a 1:2 ratio and found the heart of the celery and chopped it up finely.  II grabbed some tomatoes from the fridge, shredded some cheddar jack cheese, and set aside some of the buffalo chicken.

Pour the sauce on the pizza.  Top with the cheese, chicken, and tomatoes.  Bake for 7-9 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serve hot with the celery heart on top!

Enjoy!

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