Baja Chicken Taco Pizza

400th New Recipe Night post!! Wahoo! What a long strange trip it's been. Samuel was asking me yesterday about the origins of NRN, and I told him how I used to be so bored with cooking, and when I started doing this, Daddy would come home and I would say, "Guess what? It's New Recipe Night" and he would always say "oooh what are we having?" Sam wanted to know what I used to cook before this. I told him the only things I would make were Hamburger Helper (which I still actually love but don't make anymore because of all the additives etc), shepherd's pie (one of Sam's top 5 faves), goulash (which we still have occasionally but healthier), and lasagna like twice a year. He thought about it and said that sounded pretty good to him! So you can see my talent is wasted on some. Oh well, I think he'll be happy later. He was actually pretty happy when I started, too. He's never been a picky eater. He just doesn't like when I sneak in vegetables. My other 2 yahoos are a whole different story.

This recipe sounds like too many descriptors in one name to me. But it does sum it up, I guess. Steve and I like to have grown up pizza once in a while. Every now and then I will buy a Digiorno frozen pizza to have on the nights I have worked much and slept little, and am remarkably zombie-like. But we usually buy 4 Cheese. Or occasionally Pepperoni, which Nathan and I don't like. Steve likes Supreme but he's the only one. But now they have ones that come with breadsticks, which Nathan really likes. He calls them Pizza Sticks, and he will just eat those instead of any of the pizza, so we can get something a bit more exotic. Like 3 Meat. And also they just came out with Pizza & Wyngz (which I suspect they spell that way because they aren't really). I bought one of those, but we haven't tried it yet. But to get back to the point, tonight we had this. A grown up pizza. From Simple & Delicious June/July 2011.

Baja Chicken Taco Pizza
1 cup ranch salad dressing
1/4 cup salsa
1 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp minced fresh cilantro (from a friend's garden woot)
2 cups cooked cubed chicken breast
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 prebaked pizza crust (I used Boboli...you can get them at the Day Old Bread Store)
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
2 cups shredded mozzarella
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 medium ripe avocados, peeled and thinly sliced (there's not much Steve doesn't like, but avocados are one thing...so we left these out)

In a blender or food processor (or awesome Tupperware choppy thing that I got for FREE), combine the ranch dressing, salsa, lime juice, and cilantro. Cover and process on high for 1-2 minutes or until smooth; set aside. In a small bowl, combine chicken and taco seasoning; set aside.

Place crust on ungreased 12-inch pizza pan. Spread salsa mixture over crust. Sprinkle with chicken mixture, tomatoes, onion, and cheese. Bake at 425 for 17-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Sprinkle with lettuce; top with avocado slices. Serve immediately. 6 servings.

If you don't serve it immediately, what happens? Do the cooking police come? I think it's too risky and I wouldn't try it. Just serve it immediately.

I didn't even try this with Nathan and my niece who was also here at suppertime. They just had plain chicken. But the rest of us ate this. I only used about half the ranch/salsa stuff and I still feel like it might have been too much. A few of my bites I was like "oh, to much." But Steve really liked this, and Sam did too. He even had 2 pieces. So my 10 year old ate as much as my husband. Sigh. The times they are a-changing. Definitely keeping this recipe.