Spinach & Chicken Pizza Blanco

It’s Valentine’s Day weekend and my husband and I aren’t really into celebrating with lavish gifts or going out on the town. We tend to stay in, cuddle up in pajamas and watch movies or catch an episode of America’s Funniest Videos on tv. But we did have an impromptu date night last night (hence, no blog update for yesterday.) Normally on Fridays we like to have pizza but instead we went out to one of our favorite city neighborhoods and had dinner at an Indian restaurant. So since we missed out on pizza yesterday, I figured we’ll have pizza tonight with a bit of love mixed in. It is Valentine’s Day weekend after all and it was a great time to use my heart shaped cookie cutter for something savory.

I was tempted to bake up some cutesy heart shaped sweets today but nothing was really grabbing me or my sweet tooth. I’ve seen so many heart shaped sweets lately that it seems savory items have gotten left out! For a festive pizza, I rolled out my pizza dough and used my heart shaped cookie cutter to make these individual pizzas. They were a lot of fun to make, especially if you have a special someone to make them with!

1 prepared pizza dough, uncooked and at room temperature
1 chicken breast, cooked and diced
1 cup fresh spinach, cut into thin ribbons
1/2 mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
white pizza sauce, prepared (recipe follows)

At least 45 minutes before baking your pizza, preheat your oven to 500 degrees.

Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Prepare a sheet pan by sprinkling cornmeal on the bottom to prevent the dough from sticking.

Form your pizza crust on the prepared sheet pan. Place your dough on the pan and spread out in a freeform style if you wish. If the dough is too sticky to handle, lightly flour your hands before forming into your crust.

Place a few tablespoons of the white pizza sauce on the dough. Top with fresh spinach and chicken. Place a layer of shredded cheese over the pizza and finish off my sprinkling with italian seasoning.

Place the pizza and baking sheet in your preheated oven. Bake the pizza for 5-8 minutes until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown.

Remove the pizza from the oven and transfer to a cutting board. Wait 3 to 5 minutes before slicing and serving, to allow the cheese to set slightly.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan or fontinella cheese
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced

Melt butter in a small saucepan and add minced garlic. Allow garlic to saute for about a minute and then add flour; stir until thoroughly mixed.

Slowly whisk in milk, adding gradually. Stir in remaining ingredients. Will thicken upon standing. Use on pizza dough then top with your preferred toppings.