What Leftovers?

We've continued to enjoy beautiful, sunny, warm days here in Kitimat, and at our house, we're taking full advantage!  The grill has been going every evening, and we're having tons of fun coming up with new creations.  Sometimes, it's new spins on old favorites!

One of the best things about barbecue season?  Delicious leftovers!  Rummaging through the fridge for a midnight snack is so much more fun during grilling season!  Not to mention how easy it is to pull together a quick lunch or speedy supper.  Like tonight, for example; we enjoyed one of our favorite meals, Barbecue Chicken Pizzas.

Now, normally when we enjoy this dish, it requires quite a bit of preparation, or a phone call to the local pizzeria!   And to be perfectly frank, in this weather, I wouldn't be turning on the oven.  However, since we had grilled a chicken the night before (butterflied, over apple wood chips, and finished with sweet chili sauce), we were half way there.  I knew that I would use my charcoal grill to cook the pizzas, so there was no need to turn on the oven.  But what about the dough?  I like to make my own pizza dough, but tonight I was looking for something a bit less fussy.  What to use?  And then I remembered....the three Naan bread that were in my freezer!  After defrosting on the counter for a few hours, they were thawed and ready to go!

I was able to use ingredients that we already had on hand for the majority of the recipe.  Picked banana peppers are a staple in our house, and we had a large bottle of President's Choice Tequila Habenero Barbecue Sauce that served as the sauce.  I opened new packages of cheese, but cheese is another staple that we always have in the fridge.  Another leftover served as our started; I had prepared a bowl of Greek salad the night before.  The tomatoes, cucumber, feta and olives had been marinating in a bowl of Greek vinaigrette and were delicious served over a bed of crispy greens.  

Leftovers sometimes (well, a lot of the time!) get a bad reception, but I think they're great!  There's so many ways to bring leftover food to life again, aside from popping it in the microwave!  Here's the recipe that I (loosely) followed:

Charcoal Grilled Barbecue Chicken Pizzas

1 barbecued chicken breast, shredded

3 Naan bread

Prepared barbecue sauce

Pickled banana peppers

Grated cheese (I used a combination of cheddar & mozza)

Olive Oil

Light charcoal in the grill and allow to reach a "high warm" temperature.  Brush both sides of the naan bread with olive oil and heat over the grill until lightly toasted. Spread sauce on bread, and then top each bread with chicken, peppers, and cheese.  Close the lid and allow to cook, checking occasionally, until the cheese is melted and the pizza is heated through.  Enjoy!!!

My next challenge will be to actually make the dough from scratch and cook it on the grill.  I've been doing some research on this and I'm sure you'll be seeing the results soon!  

I've also been looking into grilled desserts (in fact, I'm field testing one tonight!) and I'm looking forward to sharing the results of my "study" with you in the near future!

Have a great week, and I'll see you on Friday!