Our Best Pizza Ever-Chicken and Artichoke Hearts with Pesto Sauce and Fresh Mozzarella

We have made a lot of pizza at home over the years and with the current pandemic we have been make it about every other week lately.  We do a lot of pepperoni by itself or with a variety of toppings. But we do tend to make two pizzas at a time and we also go for some variety.  We had some chicken in the freezer that I pulled out for the meat on the second pizza.  For a crust, I made our extremely reliable and easy recipe from Tyler Florence.

For a sauce on the pizza we used the Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto.  

Here is the crust with the pesto on it:

I add some Artichoke Hearts from Costco.

After adding the chicken the pizza is starting to look pretty good!

Finally, I add the Belgioioso Fresh Mozzarella and it goes in the oven with its companion pepperoni based pizza.

Bake it until it is golden brown and delicious and you end up with this magnificent pizza.

The pesto sauce gives a very different cheesy, herbal flavor versus the more typical marinara sauce.  Chicken as a meat is a good match for the other major topping of the artichoke hearts.  Finally, the fresh mozzarella completes the profile of brighter, less heavy flavors.

As I said, we tend to make a lot of pizza.  We always have enjoyed what we have made but this one really stands out as the best pizza we have ever made.  And with all the quality ingredients we get from Costco at a great price it is really easy and affordable to make.

I absolutely recommend getting some pesto, cheese and artichoke hearts from Costco and making your own killer pizza like this.

I am really confident you will love it.

Enjoy!

Dinner with Kirkland Signature Pesto on Pasta with Sabatino's Sausage and Normandy Vegetables- A True Costco Meal

We like to cook but sometimes it is nice to have a meal at home that you put together yourself but is also a real time saver.   That was this dinner.  I started by turning on the Griddler and getting it warm. At the same time I got the water boiling for the pasta.  For a sauce for the spaghetti I chose the Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto.  This is an excellent pesto at a great Costco price.

For the meat serving I chose the Sabatino's Smoked Mozzarella with Artichokes and Garlic Chicken Sausage. Being a chicken sausage they are somewhat lower in fat than beef or pork sausages but they taste great. They are also fully cooked so all you have to do is get them warm.  However we do like to brown them for maximum taste but that is your choice.  While I used our Griddler for quick indoor cooking these are also fabulous over a charcoal grill.

They were on sale at Costco earlier this year and we tried them in part because of that.  But we will definitely consider buying them again for their great taste and convenience.  They come in a three pound package with four smaller packages of four each for a total of 16 sausages.

For the vegetables we had some Kirkland Signature Normandy Style Vegetable Blend.  Having frozen veggies on hand is a nutritious and convenient strategy.  All you have to do is microwave them and you are ready to eat.

While we cooking the pasta I microwaved the veggies and grilled the sausage.  Dinner came together very quickly and easily.  And it was a breeze to serve.

This meal was complete with vegetables, meat and pasta.  It was also darn tasty too and pretty affordable.  Add in the fact that it came together in minutes make this a real winner for a weekday supper or an easy weekend lunch. Actually, it is a fine meal anytime but when you need some speed this really rocks!

Enjoy!