Blackened Chicken Pizza

This recipe has been sitting in my All Recipes box forever, just waiting for the right time to debut. Well, summer finally arrived and so here it is! While you can blacken chicken any time of the year, it takes a certain season to produce fresh juicy yellow tomatoes. You could use the regular red variety, but the yellow tomato salsa is what makes this pizza extraordinary. It forms the base (or "sauce") and is topped with chopped seasoned grilled chicken and spicy Jack cheese. Each element provides a kick, but the overall result wasn't overwhelming. You can always add more heat if that's your style.

INGREDIENTS
1 recipe pizza dough
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp.  freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or tenders
2-3 yellow tomatoes, diced
1/4 red onion, chopped
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 lime, zested and juiced
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups Pepper Jack cheese, shredded (I used a blend of Pepper Jack, Moneteray Jack, and Habanaero Jack)

DIRECTIONS
1. Prepare pizza dough according to recipe directions.

2. To prepare the salsa, toss to combine the tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, garlic, cilantro, and lime juice in a medium bowl. (I pulsed my salsa in the food processor.) Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drain off the excess moisture. Refrigerate until ready to use.

3. To prepare the chicken, preheat an outdoor grill or indoor grill pan to high heat. Combine the paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper, onion powder, thyme, oregano, and cayenne in a small bowl. Rub over all surfaces of the chicken. Brush the preheated grill with a little oil and grill the chicken until the juices run clear. Let the chicken cool before chopping into bite-size pieces.

4. Preheat oven to 450 F. Brush the prepared crust with a little olive oil. Spread the salsa over the crust. Top with the chicken and cheese.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling. Remove from the oven and let cool several minutes before slicing.

Makes 1 large pizza.

(Adapted from All Recipes)