Taco Pizza

Tonight I made a taco pizza.  I had some cheddar cheese in the fridge but I didn't feel like just making tacos.  And since I was working from home today, I used my bread machine to make a pizza dough.  It doesn't take very long to make if you subtract the amount of time that the bread machine is working and the time it's in the oven... and since I'm not in the kitchen during those times and can get some work done I don't mind if the total time before it's ready is a little longer.

This time I made a cornmeal pizza dough because I wanted a little of the sweetness of the cornmeal to mimic the corn tortillas I usually use for tacos.  But this could be made with whatever pizza dough you like.  This is a very adaptable recipe and you can also any combination of toppings.  We went with chicken, cheese, bell pepper, green onion, jalapeño and tomato (on mine)I only put the tomato on my half of the pizza since Jeremy didn't want any.  If I'd had more cheese, I would have used more but since I put some in the omelets I made this morning, I was running a little low.

The dough recipe I used was a little softer than the pizza dough I usually make by hand.  But it was delicious nonetheless.  If I have a stiffer dough, I often top the pizza while the dough is still on the peel.  But since I knew the dough wasn't going to slide easily, I topped it once the dough was on the pizza stone so it didn't make a mess.

If you don't have a pizza stone, I recommend investing in one.  It makes delicious crunchy pizza crust.  I find it's better than just a baking sheet for that because you can preheat the stone in the oven.

This was a very tasty pizza and I'll certainly make this again.  :)

My Slices

Recipe:
1 can (12.5 oz.) of chicken breast
1 tbs. ground cumin
1 tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese (or more if you want it cheesier)
1/2 bell pepper, diced
2 green onions, sliced
10-12 jalapeño slices (from a jar) diced
1/2 tomato, diced (or more if using on the entire pizza)
1/3 c. taco sauce (I used Ortega's medium taco sauce)
1 recipe of pizza dough or 1 pizza crust

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put a pizza stone in the oven to preheat with it if you have one.
2. Drain chicken. Add chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and oregano.  Mix well, shredding the chicken with a fork as you mix.
3. Roll out the pizza dough. When it's rolled out, remove the stone from the oven and put the pizza dough on it.  (If not using a pizza stone, place the dough on a baking sheet.)
4. Spread taco sauce on the pizza. Add chicken, cheese, and other toppings, spreading evenly over the pizza.
5. Bake in the oven for approx 20 minutes until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted and beginning to brown. (The timing can vary depending on what type of crust you use... so keep an eye on it.)
6. Let cool for 5 minutes on a cutting board.  Slice and serve.