Chicken Pot Pie....PIZZA?

Sometimes I get ideas from watching Food Network or reading cookbooks/magazines, sometimes I get ideas from talking to people and sharing recipes/tips, and other times ideas just pop into my head out of nowhere. I knew I wanted to make pizza but I wanted to make something new and unique and for some reason, my homemade chicken pot pies popped into my head so I thought to myself - "I wonder if that would make a good pizza?". Hence, Chicken Pot Pie Pizza, And as if that was not enough, I also made Bacon Brussel Sprouts Pizza, and Meatball Sub Pizza. *Cue the debate of what "SHOULD" and "SHOULD NEVER" be a pizza topping!

I spent the afternoon preparing all of the ingredients. I roasted chicken thighs with salt, pepper, olive oil and then cut up the meat, baked and chopped the bacon, and baked the meatballs.

For the pot pie sauce, I used the same base sauce that I use in almost all of my pot pies. It begins with butter followed by diced onions, carrots, and celery which I cook for several minutes, until soft. I add some garlic and cook for a minute and then I add flour. After the flour cooks for several minutes, I whisk in chicken stock, milk, heavy cream, salt, and pepper. Once it has thickened, I add frozen peas and then the chicken, but since I was making pizzas this time, I left out the chicken.

I started with a layer of sauce, sprinkled on grated Parmesan cheese, the chopped chicken from earlier, and then a layer of mozzarella. Into the pizza oven and the results speak for themselves. Side note - I am in LOVE with my new Bertello outdoor pizza oven!

The Meatball Sub pizzas started with a layer of tomato sauce, garlic powder, Parmesan cheese, pearl onions, mozzarella cheese, and the meatballs.

The Bacon Brussel Sprouts pizza started with a layer of gruyere cheese sauce that I made earlier (equal parts melted butter and flour cooked, milk, grated gruyere), shaved brussel sprouts, bacon pieces, and then a layer of grated asiago cheese.

For dessert, I tried making a recipe that I saw recently floating around Instagram. It did not have a name so I am calling mine Cookies and Cream Pudding Cake and it is SO easy. I used a boxed white cake mix and baked according to package directions with the one exception of adding crushed chocolate sandwich cookies to the batter.

Once the cake was cooled, I poked holes using the back of a wooden spoon and poured over one package of instant vanilla pudding which I had mixed with two cups of milk according to the package directions, and then one container of whipped topping after the pudding had begun to set.

After I spread out the topping, I added more crushed cookies and refrigerated for several hours. The pudding makes the cake so moist and the entire cake is quite light. Perfect!