Chicken and Spinach White Pizza

Chicken and Spinach White Pizza

As we were about to put our pizza in the oven tonight the husband asked me, "Are we predictable because we eat pizza almost every week, or are we unique because we eat different kinds of pizza?" My answer?

"You obviously don't read my blog, do you?"

"Your blog is my life! I don't really need to read about my life," he told me.

So although the husband may not care to read what we ate for dinner, you, I hope are interested. And you already know that Friday often means pizza night in our house. But tonight we had a pizza that was a little different than any pizza I've made before. As much as I've thought about and wanted to make pizza with spinach, I'd never done it until tonight.

It was easy to talk the husband into having spinach on his pizza. Our favorite local brewery makes an amazing veggie pizza that he has come to really enjoy, so he agreed when I mentioned spinach - but he told me to go easy. I seriously wanted to tell the guy to hush up and let me make dinner, but I listened to him and put a little less spinach on his side. Baby steps. The man was willing to eat spinach pizza. Baby steps.

I topped our whole wheat pizza crust with baked chicken, cheese, a little cheese sauce and spinach. And it was good. Surprisingly, the husband told me I could have put a little more spinach on his side it was that good. (He admitted he had been scared when he saw me loading my side. And I don't mind telling you he was scared of a little spinach. It's not like he's going to read this or anything.)

Chicken and Spinach White Pizza

Eating Well's Pizza Dough:

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 package yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup hot water, (120-130°F)
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

Chicken:

6 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast

2 tablespoons jerk marinade

White Sauce:

1 tablespoon salted butter

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon whole wheat flour

Italian seasoning, to taste (about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon)

1/2 cup 1% milk

Toppings:

1 cup chopped frozen spinach, thawed

1/2 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 tablespoon cornmeal

Mix the dough in a food processor. Mix the flours, yeast, salt and sugar; mix the water and oil in a measuring cup. Slowly drizzle the water/oil into the processor until the dough comes together. Lightly spray the counter with cooking spray. Put the dough on the counter and cover with a lightly sprayed sheet of plastic wrap. Let it rise on the counter while you get everything else ready.

Marinate the chicken and cook it in a 350-degree-F oven for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Chop the onion, and thaw and drain the spinach.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

In a small saucepan, heat the butter and garlic over low heat. Stir in the flour and herbs; mix until smooth. Slowly stir in the milk and continue to mix over medium heat until the sauce thickens.

Prepare a cooking sheet with a light spray of cooking oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. Spread the dough out evenly. Spoon the sauce onto the dough; top with chicken, spinach, onions and mozzarella.

Cook the pizza for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Enjoy!

Cooked to perfection!

Because it's late on a Friday night and I'm feeling lazy, there are about 1,350 calories in this entire pizza, 40 grams of fat and 80 grams of protein, according to my math skills and Lose it! Share it with seven of your friends or Saturday's lunch.