Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza

Source: Pampered Chef "It's Good For You" cookbook

Notes: I have added some of my own commentary (it italics) below. This recipe is super easy and tasted soooo good. I used to love Perkins' Bread Bowl Chicken Caeser Salad (now it's just a salad in a dish, boo) and this reminds me a LOT of that, especially if you eat it warm!

The salad dressing mixture was awesome, too - I might keep a mental note of that just for mixing up my own salad dressing in the future (See Step 3 below). So good!

It's a little tricky to eat, but way delicious - you just kinda need a fork. :)


CHICKEN CAESAR SALAD PIZZA

1 pkg (10 oz) refrigerated pizza crust
3 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce (basically I chopped them into chunks/pieces in the 1-2-3" range, seemed to work okay - whatever seems reasonable for hunks of lettuce on an individual slice - you don't want them too big) (you're going to buy a bag, aren't you? LAME!)
2 cups diced cooked chicken (thereabouts - about 1, maybe 1 1/2 chicken breasts?) - (I seasoned mine with a parmesan-herb powder while cooking, but you probably don't have to)
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper (I used one pepper - didn't measure)
1/3 cup pitted black olives, drained/sliced (I used one little can of pre-sliced olives)
1/4 cup (1oz) grated/shredded Parmesan cheese, divided (just buy it. It's easier.)
1/2 cup creamy Caesar salad dressing
1 garlic clove, pressed (LOVE LOVE LOVE using fresh garlic! There is no other way!)

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Lightly sprinkle large round baking stone (prob a regular pizza pan would work too!) with flour and unroll pizza crust, shaping into an approximately 12" circle. Bake 12-14 minutes or until crust is light golden brown.

2. Meanwhile, slice lettuce; dice chicken and bell pepper. Slice olives (or just buy a can of pre-sliced ones, which is what I did. Works the same and is obviously way easier!). Place lettuce, chicken, pepper, and olives in a large bowl; set aside.

3. In a small bowl, combine salad dressing, half Parmesan cheese (1/8 cup), and garlic pressed w/ garlic press. Mix well.

4. Spread 1/2 of the dressing mixture evenly over crust. Add remaining salad dressing mixture to lettuce mixture; toss to coat. Top crust with salad mixture. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

(my cookbook touts this as being low fat, low cholesterol, and low calorie. Which would probably be true if I'd have used a light dressing, but, we all know those never taste quite as good, haha. Still, it's pretty good for you!)

Leftover Quality: Surprisingly good! I wasn't sure how it would hold up as leftovers because of the lettuce (leftover salads are usually full of fail), but when I ate it for lunch today, it was still really good. I would recommend heating up the leftovers a little bit - it doesn't need to be hot, but make it a little warm and it tastes exactly like it did when it was freshly made.