Asparagus and Chicken Pizza

I love pizza. If I didn't care much for my health or wallet, I could probably eat pizza at least once a week. One of the qualities I love so much about pizza is that anything goes. Literally, anything. You can eat pizza in just about any setting, too. It's nice stadium food, but it can be dressed up with goat cheese and roasted veggies and served with a glass of wine.

Making pizza is pretty great, too. Especially with the wide variety of pre-made crusts. I prefer the Jiffy mix (a whole whopping 49 cents for a box!), and add Italian herbs while I mix it. I think the crust gets a bit more firm than the chilled doughs, too. But that might be due to the directions; the box calls for you to pre-bake the crust, then add toppings. I'm sure this would work just fine for the roll out doughs.

Greg and I love chicken on our pizza, but it's often such an expensive item to add. It just makes more sense to make our own. Asparagus was on sale this week, so that prompted the Asparagus-Chicken combo. We also added the zest of 1/2 lemon. It turned out really well! It felt very summery because of the asparagus and lemon (it washed down great with a glass of fresca). I think the bright green is so pretty, too. All in all, I'm pleased with how this turned out. I think a bit of asiago cheese would compliment the stronger flavor of the asparagus, and next time I'll probably add a bit in.

Recipe:

1 box Jiffy pizza mix
1/2 tsp Tuscan spice blend (We really like Penzey's).
1/2 C. hot tap water
1/2 can of pizza sauce
8 oz. shredded mozzarella
1/4 C. parmesan, shredded or grated
3-5 sprigs of asparagus, depends on how thick they are
lemon zest to taste
3 chicken breast tenders
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/8 tsp each of rosemary, basil, oregano
1 tbs corn meal

-Mix Pizza mix with Tuscan blend and water according to directions, let stand.

- Heat olive oil and spices in a pan. Cut chicken into bite size pieces. Add the chicken to the oil, stir fry until just about cooked.

-When the dough has risen, sprinkle corn meal onto a baking sheet. Spread the dough out into a rectangle. If you use the Jiffy Mix, I've found it very helpful to keep my hands wet to keep the dough from sticking to me. Pre-bake according to directions.

-Rinse asparagus and cut into 1 inch pieces. Cut width in half if needed.

-When pre-baked, add pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, parmesan, asparagus and chicken. Add the zest of lemon on top.

-Bake as directed by pizza dough. Let cool.

-Enjoy!!!