Strawberry Balsamic Chicken Pizza

I have found the mother of all pizza topping combos and I can’t get enough! It all started when I wanted a salad with chicken and strawberries. I opened the bottom drawer of the refrigerator and grabbed the bag of lettuce. To my HORROR, the lettuce was wilted, brown, and rather inedible. WHAT AM I GONNA EAT NOW?!

I had shredded chicken, beautiful fresh berries, and nothing to eat with them. I thought about something I could make that would pair well with chicken and strawberries. I usually put a balsamic vinaigrette on my salads and I had pita bread that needed to be used up ASAP. Add in some mozzarella and VOILA..PIZZA! Yes, I thought I was nuts, too.

When I was looking for the cheese, I also found half a package of bacon and half an onion. I thought the saltiness from the cheese would be a creamy companion for the bacon but wanted one more layer of flavor which I found with caramelized onions. I’m not a huge fan of raw onions, but caramelizing an onion gives it a depth that works with this pizza. It is buttery goodness on top of cheese and bacon and c’mon, need I say more??

Trade tomato sauce for a balsamic strawberry sauce (oh yeah, it’s as good as it sounds, I ate it with turkey meatballs today). Balsamic vinegar and strawberry jam marry together in a sauce that makes my taste buds dance. This sweet yet balanced sauce is used in place of a traditional tomato sauce and it is used to coat the shredded chicken.

Now I had pita bread, sauce, cheese, chicken, toppings, and berries for topping the freshly baked pizza. All that was left was to pop this bad boy in a 375 degree oven for about 8-10 minutes.

When the pizza came out, I put a layer of sliced berries and few sprigs of basil on top. Not only was this pizza delicious but it was pretty, too. TIME TO DIG IN!

My favorite thing to make with pita bread is personal-sized pizzas. As the only one who was going to be eating this for lunch, I had to find something I could make in small batches. You can easily double, triple, or quadruple the recipe to make this for a larger group. Serve as an appetizer at a party or for family pizza night.

Ingredients (for 1 personal pizza)

1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
2/3 cup Strawberry jam
3/4 cup shredded chicken
1 slice whole wheat pita bread
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
about 1/4 cup caramelized onions
2 slices cooked bacon, chopped into 1/2-1 inch pieces
fresh basil for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Prepare the balsamic berry sauce by heating balsamic vinegar in small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil then turn down heat. Simmer for 4 minutes to thicken, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir strawberry jam into balsamic vinegar and mix well. Cook another few minutes. Turn off heat and set aside to cool.
4. Use a few tablespoons of the balsamic berry sauce to completely coat the shredded chicken.
5. Spread the remaining sauce (you may not end up using all of it) onto pita bread, spreading almost to edge of bread but leaving a small crust.
6. Top with shredded chicken, mozzarella, caramelized onions, and chopped bacon.
7. Bake on lined baking sheet (I line it with foil for easy clean up in case the cheese melts over) for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and top pizza with sliced strawberries and fresh basil. Drizzle with a balsamic reduction if desired. Cut into halves or fourths and enjoy!!