Lisa's Garlic Chicken Pizza

A number of years ago, on a Christmas Eve when both of our teenage daughters wanted a little extra time with friends, we ordered a take-and-bake garlic chicken pizza rather than making our own dinner. It's been a favorite of our family's ever since and remains a Christmas Eve tradition.

But that doesn't mean we restrict our orders to the holiday season. And as of last night, nor does it mean we have to order a garlic chicken pizza in order to enjoy eating one. That's because I set out to recreate the signature garlic cream sauce in my kitchen. We quickly proclaimed the experiment a close approximation to the original we had grown to love.

Before I made the cream sauce, I removed a pizza crust from the freezer, diced some cooked chicken, minced several green onions and sliced a handful of cherry tomatoes moments after I plucked them from our front garden. Then I mashed cloves from half of a garlic bulb through my garlic press and began to make a basic white sauce.

I looked at a coupon from the pizza store and discovered they use three cheeses on their garlic chicken pizza - although there was no mention of which cheeses. I pulled out some lowfat cream cheese and grated Parmesan to add flavor and depth to my sauce. It worked beautifully. Enjoy:

Lisa's Garlic Chicken Pizza

Serves 2-3

1 pre-made pizza crust

cloves from half a bulb of garlic

4 green onions, minced

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, diced

6-8 cherry tomatoes, diced

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup of lowfat milk

2 tablespoons lowfat cream cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan

salt to taste

additional Parmesan for topping

Over medium high heat, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Raise heat to high and add milk, stirring constantly until it becomes thick like gravy. Return to medium high heat and stir in cream cheese so it is fully incorporated. Add garlic, Parmesan cheese and salt to taste. Allow to cool and thicken further, for about 20 minutes.

Spread sauce across pizza crust. Top with chicken, green onions, and tomatoes. Sprinkle more Parmesan over the top and then bake according to crust instructions. Right before removing from oven, set under broiler until top is golden brown.

VOE - We're try to go easy on dietary fats, but feel free to add several handfuls of grated mozzarella to the top if you want. We suspect that may be the 'third cheese' used by our favorite pizza chain.

Blue Alfredo with Chicken and Artichokes

I was determined to eat lunch at home today, despite the fact that our refrigerator is growing quite bare in preparation for our trip next week. I foraged until I found one lonely artichoke heart, some unseasoned pre-cooked chicken from several days ago, a few garlic cloves, fresh-grated Parmesan and blue cheese. And the milk needed to be used up because it was nearing the expiration date. After I found 1 1/2 boxes of pasta in my cupboard, the wheels started turning.

On this cool, rainy, and gray day, how could I satisfy my tastebuds without spending a dime? What I ended up with was a rich (tho' not too rich) and satisfying pasta sauce that is definitely worth a repeat - maybe even for company!

Blue Alfredo with Chicken and Artichokes
Makes one large serving

1 large clove of garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup lowfat milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
2 artichoke hearts, finely diced
1/2 cup cooked chicken, finely diced
1 tablespoon blue cheese crumbles

cooked pasta

Saute garlic in butter over medium high heat, until it browns slightly; 1-2 minutes. Add flour and stir together until smooth. Stir in milk continuously until a thickened sauce emerges - about 5-7 minutes. Add Parmesan and stir until melted. Stir in artichoke hearts and chicken. Pour over cooked pasta and top with blue cheese. Serve with fresh green beans or a crisp salad.