Spinach Artichoke Chicken Pizza

 

I love pizza.  I always have.  But here's the thing:  I don't like sauce on my pizza.  Nowadays, that's no big deal, since there are so many "gourmet" varieties of white pizza out there.  As a kid, it was a nightmare.  I would come home hungry from every childhood birthday party, the roller skating rink, and Girl Scout meetings.  If the pizza wasn't too "saucy", I could pull off the cheese and pepperoni with a fork and eat that.  But it wasn't the same as getting to eat a pizza that I really liked.

Working at a pizza place throughout high school and college, I got to experiment A LOT with various toppings, and came up with some crazy combinations.  (pepperoni, eggplant, and ricotta, anyone?)  I still like to experiment with white pizza toppings, and Andrew is pretty tolerant of that.  When I can't be bothered to make crust, I use whole-wheat Boboli breads.  (I talked about Boboli a while ago)

For this pizza, I make a low-fat Spinach-Artichoke-Chicken dip, then spread it liberally on a whole-wheat crust.  See, I bolded the parts that tell you how good this is for you!

 

Spinach Artichoke Chicken Pizza
 adapted from this dip recipe on Epicurious

2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese (I use Neufchatel)
2 c. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 c. fat-free sour cream
1/3 c. low-fat mayo
1/4 c. fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 can marinated artichokes, rinsed and chopped
10 oz. package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (use paper towels in a colander)
1 c. cooked chicken, chopped
2 prepared whole-wheat pizza crusts

Preheat oven to temperature indicated on prepared pizza crust package.  Make sure spinach is as dry as possible so that the juices don't mess with your mixture.

Combine all ingredients (except crust of course!) in a medium-sized bowl.  Spread on the crust, leaving 1-2" perimeter around the edge.  Bake according to directions on pizza crust.  I think mine is typically 10-15 minutes at 400-425 degrees.  Just keep an eye on it to make sure it is heating through and the top is browning (if you want it to!)