Spicy Breaded Chicken and Butternut Squash Pizza with Muenster Cheese

While everyone is going all pumpkin-crazy because fall is upon us (although I'm having a hard time noticing that because it's still around 90 degrees most days here in my corner of the world), I am all about the butternut.

Butter-what? Yes, butternut. Squash, that is. Don't get me wrong, I think pumpkins are great. Starbucks can make one hell of a melted ice cream drink using a little pumpkin flavoring. And you can make your own, lighter varieties of those drinks at home using some real pumpkins. Or you could use any other winter squash - one of which is butternut.

I could go on and on about how great this vegetable is...low in calories, jam-packed with vitamin A, tons of B6, and a respectable amount of potassium. With a little seasoning and a bake in the oven, it is just a delight to eat. Probably the most difficult part about cooking a butternut squash is cutting it open. Last week I baked one up until soft (about 50-60 minutes in the oven at 350), pureed about a cup of it, and incorporated it into some mac & cheese. Excellent choice, if I may say so myself - you could not even detect the squash and the mac was just so tasty, not to mention, secretly healthy.

If you don't believe me on the health of this stuff, check it out on World's Healthiest Foods, one of my favorite nutrition resources, thanks to my physician.

Even a medium or small-ish sized butternut squash gives you plenty to eat, so after making my mac & cheese I had a sizable amount of leftovers. And since I will never let a leftover go to waste, I just knew that a pizza was where some of these squash cubes were going to end up.

Ingredients:

• About 1 cup pizza sauce
• 1 cup butternut squash, cooked and cubed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt, pepper, seasonings, to taste
• 1 cup chicken breast pieces, baked and breaded
• 1-2 large eggs
• 1-2 tablespoons milk
• 3/4 cups breadcrumbs
• 2-4 tablespoons spicy seasoning blend
• 4-5 slices muenster cheese, cut into fourths

Directions for the prep:

• Preheat your oven to 350.
• For the butternut squash: Cut the butternut squash in half and place on a lightly oiled pan, cut-side up. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil on each half and add any seasonings on there you like. I did garlic powder, salt and pepper, although a little bit of cayenne pepper goes very nicely on butternut. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the flesh of the squash is very tender. Cut into cubes when done.
• For the chicken: Prepare an egg wash mixture (1-2 eggs and 1-2 tablespoons of milk), and a breading mixture (3/4 cup breadcrumbs, 2-4 tablespoons your favorite seasoning blend. I'd recommend something with a little spice in it.). Coat the chicken pieces in the egg wash first, then in the breadcrumb mixture. (I used chicken breast tenderloins, but you can use regular chicken breasts or any other chicken parts.) Place on a lightly oiled pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, until cooked through but not dried out. Cut into small pieces when done. 

 

Directions for the za:

• Place a pizza stone in the oven and turn the temperature to 500. 
• Roll out some dough for the pizza crust. I did a thin and crispy white/wheat blend of a crust, which was delicious, of course. 
• When the stone is hot enough, carefully take it out of the oven. Place it on your work surface and place the dough for the crust on top of that. 
• Evenly spread pizza sauce on the crust, and then add all toppings. I didn't do my toppings in any particular order this time - it was really just a mix of cheese, chicken, and squash. Yep, nothing better than a good random medley of toppings on a pizza inspired by fall, my third favorite season!
• Pop it back into the oven, bake it away for about 10 minutes (maybe only 8 or so if you did a thin crust like me), and then take it out to cool it and enjoy! 

I sprinkled just an angel's dusting of black pepper onto the finished pizza. But what I should have done was sprinkle a leprechaun's handful of red pepper flakes. The mild nutty sweetness of butternut squash can handle a little heat. And that is just what I intended to do with these leftovers. Now that is nutty.