Pizza Chicken

 That's right, pizza chicken, not chicken pizza. It's the easiest recipe, and the toppings can be customized to suit your preference for pepperoni, Italian sausage, mushrooms, olives, onions, peppers or everything. 

Looks like pizza. Smells like pizza. Tastes like pizza. Must be pizza.

Can you tell that I'm focused on eating Keto right now? It's true. If you're eating low-carb these days, you'll appreciate that this dish uses easy-to-find grocery store ingredients and it satisfies your carb cravings completely. If you're not on any of the low-carb regimens, you can still enjoy this dish as one of the fastest ways to satisfy that pizza craving by getting this authentic pizzeria flavor into your mouth in about thirty minutes. Now that's satisfying no matter which diet you're following.

Not only is this chicken raised humanely, but it's also remarkably delicious.

So, here's my recipe, but it's one of those "no recipe" recipes because you use as much or as little of any one ingredient as you wish. Everything is sliced, browned, chopped ahead of cooking time, which means you can prep everything the night before and just pull it all together just prior to cooking time. Bring out the red and white check napkins, pour the red wine, toss a green salad if you're in the mood, and there, my friends, is the easiest Friday night ever! Well, unless you order pizza delivery and use paper plates, but we're eating Keto here, right?

PIZZA CHICKEN

Ingredients

8 large chicken thighs with skin and excess fat removed*

Link to Springer Mountain Farms for the only chicken in my kitchen

Pepperoni slices

Italian sausage, crumbled and cooked

Sliced mushrooms (very thin)

Shaved red onion

Sliced green pepper

Fresh basil leaves or a chiffonade of leaves

Dry oregano

Dry basil

Red pepper flakes

Grated parmesan

Shredded mozzarella

Any seasoned, cooked sauce like Marinara

Sliced Kalamata olives (Not ripe olives from a can. They have no flavor)

*Boneless thighs will work but remember to reduce your cooking time by about ten minutes. Breast meat will dry out too much, but if you want to try it, reduce cooking time by half and check the temperature to be sure that it's almost fully cooked.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400F and set one rack in the middle of the oven.
2. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, powdered garlic, oregano and basil. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and place on a large sheet pan or two smaller cookie sheet pans.
3. When the oven is ready, place the pan/s on the middle rack and set the timer for 30 minutes. Check at this time, but be prepared to cook for another 10 to 15 minutes.
4. While the chicken is cooking, you can prep all of the vegetables and assemble a simple green salad to accompany your pizza.
5. Once the chicken is almost done. According to the U.S. government's food safety site, chicken should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. You'll want to go to around 160.
6. Removed the pan/s from the oven and reset the oven for 550F.  This is when you'll want to drain the pan of any juices and fat that the chicken may have released. Move the middle rack up one notch so that it's nearer to the top of the oven. This will help to melt cheeses and crisp things up a bit faster. While you wait for the temperature to rise, you'll add the toppings to the pan.
7. Spoon some of the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with some of the cheeses. Top evenly with remaining ingredients, pushing toppings into spaces between the chicken parts. Spoon more of the sauce and distribute the fresh basil leaves (if using) evenly. Top generously with Mozzarella and check on the oven.
8. Once the oven is ready, pop in the pans and set the timer for 10 minutes.
9. When the timer goes off, remove the pan and set aside for five to ten minutes before serving.

Tips

• Depending on the size of the thighs and how generous you are with toppings, I recommend that you allow two thighs per person if the chicken thighs are large, and three if they are smaller. 
• Remove the sausage from the skins and pre-cook. I added a few red pepper flakes and a bit of dry oregano and basil to this. Or you can just use hot Italian sausage and not bother.
• I shave the red onion and slice the mushrooms as thin as possible for faster cooking.
• For the final cooking, preheat your oven to as high as possible. Most home ovens will reach temps up to 550F. During this time, you'll add the toppings to the pan.
• AND FYI: *Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones or steroids in pork and poultry.