Melissa i
Strong

Tanksgiving Pizza

 

 

When we are in Hueco Tanks for Thanksgiving it can be a challenge -- the camper oven is just too small to get a proper bird into it so over the years I have come up with some creative alternatives!

One year I decided to cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner in Estes Park and stuff it into a hundred plus Ravioli (Scroll down on the blog page  to see the 11/24/11 post on Thanksgiving Dinner Deconstructed aka Thanksgiving Ravioli Recipe).  It actually turned out great!  I froze about a 120 or so ravioli and transported them to Hueco.  On the day I made a gravy sauce, cranberry sauce and a butternut squash sauce to go on top.  A big hit but I have never repeated the process since it was labor intensive!  A few years later we were heading back for Thanksgiving and that was when, Tankssgiving pizza popped into my head.  I made it again this year and it was a big hit!

 

2 1/2 flour

1 package of rapid rise active (approx 1 tsp.) yeast

1 tsp salt

2-3 large onions

2-3 split chicken breasts

2 large butternut squash diced

your favorite box stuffing

parmigiana cheese

fresh sage (or dried)

salt

pepper

2 tbs spoons of olive oil plus extra for drizzling

 

 

 

 

The dough:

I use this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quick-and-easy-pizza-crust/  It states "Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or baker's peel dusted with cornmeal. Spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving."

 

The toppings:

 

Chicken breasts--easier to work with than a huge turkey.  Bake 2-3 split breasts seasoned with fresh sage, salt and pepper. Let cool and dice.

 

The base/sauce of the pizza is caramelized onions--so caramelized 2-3 large onions.

 

Roasted butternut squash--after dicing, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil and roast at 400 for 40 minutes.

 

Prepare the stuffing.

 

Make the dough according to allrecipes.com and bake on 375-400 for 5 minutes--take out of the oven and start layering with caramelized onions, chicken, squash, little clumps of stuffing dropped and a lite sprinkling of parmigiana cheese.  Bake at 400 for 25-35 minutes.