Cheesy Muffin Pizzas

I buy a rotissiere chicken every week and I'm always looking for fun new ways to use up the leftover meat.  I happened to catch an episode of Giada at Home where she made these cute little Cheesy Muffin Pizzas with a ball of pizza dough, one leftover chicken breast, and lots of cheese. They caught my attention right away and I thought they'd be a perfect after school snack for the kids.  I was right.  It's always a sure bet that everyone loves anything miniature sized, especially kids.    

These cute little mini pizzas are a savory combination of diced chicken breast, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, mascarpone cheese, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and chopped spinach.  The cheese gets all bubbly in the oven and they bake up to the beautiful golden brown.  All twelve of these mini pizzas were devoured in record time.

Cheesy Muffin Pizzas

Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

via giadadelaurentiis.com

Serves 3-4

one chicken breast cut into 1/4 inch cubes

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup chopped baby spinach

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan

1/3 cup purchased tomato-basil sauce

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 - 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil, for coating muffin tins

all-purpose flour, for dusting

1 pound ball fresh pizza dough

 

 In a large bowl, combine the chicken, mozzarella, spinach, mascarpone, Parmesan, tomato-basil sauce, basil, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper.

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Brush a standard 12-cup muffin pan with olive oil.

Lightly flour a work surface. Roll out the pizza dough to a thin large round, about 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3 1/2- to 4-inch-diameter round cutter, cut out 12 rounds for pizza crusts. Working with 1 crust at a time, settle 1 dough round into the prepared muffin pan. Press and pull the dough up the sides of the cup. Rotate the pan and repeat until the dough covers the bottom and sides. Pack in 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling. Repeat with the remaining dough rounds and filling.

Bake the pizzas until the crusts are golden brown and the filling is bubbling, 16 to 18 minutes. Let stand 5-6 minutes. Then use a small knife to loosen the pizzas. Arrange on a platter and serve.