Grill 'er Up

Last night's dinner was one that we made a lot the summer before Alex deployed. Somehow though between now and then, we kind of forgot about it.

Well I'm sure glad my memory was jogged and I remembered it because WOW! Everyone should make this recipe. It is the perfect summertime dinner!

I present you with West Coast Grilled Chicken Pizza...

First you make {or buy} pizza dough and roll it out. Then you grill one side of it, flip it over and then top with tomatoes, grilled chicken chunks, crumbled goat cheese, and mozarella cheese.

Then you toss it back on the grill and it looks like this....

That would be good enough on its own but nope...then you really put it over the edge by topping it with a fresh spinach & avocado salad!

It may sound kind of odd but I promise you the flavors just meld together so well. Crunchy crust, creamy goat cheese, tangy salad.

Also, if you've never tried grilling pizza before, I encourage you to try it! It's really not as hard as it may seem and the crust ends up like something you would get out of a brick oven pizzeria.

If you're looking for a summery, light, healthy, and delicious dinner you must try this!

West Coast Grilled Chicken Pizza
Adapted from: Everyday Food

Ingredients

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked & cut into chunks

3 tablespoons olive oil
All-purpose flour, for shaping dough
1 pound store-bought pizza dough, fresh, or thawed if frozen {We used half of our usual homemade whole wheat pizza crust recipe}
2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced crosswise
2 scallions, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced
1 log (5 ounces) soft goat cheese, crumbled

Enough shreded mozzarella cheese to sprinkle over the pizzas (probably 2-3 handfuls)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 bag (5 ounces) baby spinach
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

(To cook the chicken breasts we just seasoned them with Mrs. Dash and then grilled them up before we started grilling the pizzas. NOTE: The original recipe does not call for chicken so you could easily leave this out to make it a vegetarian pizza.}

Directions

1. Heat grill to medium. Brush a large rimless baking sheet (or an inverted rimmed sheet) with 1 tablespoon oil. On a lightly floured work surface, roll and stretch dough to two 8-inch ovals or rounds. Transfer to prepared sheet. Brush tops with 1 tablespoon oil.

2. Transfer dough to grill. Cook, without turning over, until undersides are firm and begin to char, 2 to 3 minutes. Using tongs and a large spatula, place crusts on baking sheet, grilled side up.

3. Scatter crusts with tomatoes, scallion whites, and cheese (and chicken, if desired); season with salt and pepper, and slide back onto grill. Cook, rotating occasionally, until cooked through and cheese begins to melt, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board.

4. In a medium bowl, combine spinach, avocado, scallion greens, vinegar, and remaining tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Pile mixture onto pizzas; halve, and serve.