Mmmmm, Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Happy Monday, hope you had a glorious weekend.

Ours was basketball laden, but I'd much rather have the kids active and busy than yelling at each other over Minecraft ("Get out of my house!!!" has been shouted by each of my rascals). Please tell me I'm not the only one.

So, we had some families over on Saturday night to celebrate the conclusion (survival!?!) of another basketball season.

Whenever we have friends over (which I love to do!), I like to serve something convenient, yet homemade...so, many of you know that equals soup in my world.  But, since this was mostly guys/boys, I thought I'd opt for pizza, would hate to scare them off with too many veggies.

Started with some homemade pizza bites (string cheese and pepperoni rolled up in a crescent roll, baked for 10 minutes served with marinara, which the kids usually skip anyway) are generally a quick, no-mess option for the kids to grab while running through the kitchen or taking a break from a big game of horse.

I was also excited to experiment a bit with some pizza recipes while ensuring the the stand-bys are safely within reach for anyone who isn't quite as adventurous.

So, the first pie started with pizza sauce and added minced garlic. Most tomato/pizza/pasta sauces are waaaaaay too sweet for me, so no matter the brand, I always sprinkle in some minced garlic (and maybe even some grated onion) to balance out that sweetness that makes me cringe.

Continued to top with sausage, pepperoni, onions, red peppers and LOTS of cheese. My favorite part of cheese is when it is crispy and brown...me and the Maillard reaction, we are great friends!  It was tasty.

The crowd pleaser was the Buffalo Chicken Pizza.  The sauce should have been bleu cheese dressing...I have no idea how that one got away from me, I was aghast when I realized there wasn't any in the fridge or pantry.  No fear, queen of improvisation, just used ranch instead. Just as tasty and delightful.

Next, the cooked, chopped chicken was tossed in melted butter and hot sauce before being spread on the creamy dressing.  Then, added some chopped onion before layering with cheese.

Here is my lesson-learned through this first try at this...next time, use a little less dressing.  

Ranch, blue cheese, and other dairy based dressings have a tendency to run and spread when heated, unlike tomato based sauces...so, my pizza was noticeably larger in circumference coming out of the oven than going in. 

Still tasted great, but duh...somehow those scientific principles escaped me...perhaps it was whatever was in that coke that my husband served me.

I know we thoroughly enjoyed this tasty combination of guy-friendly foods into one happy marriage of buffalo chicken and pizza, give it a try and tell me how much they loved it!