12 Great Recipes to Make This Summer

Did you know that Washington state produces some of the highest-quality dairy products? Take advantage of your local dairy products by making one of these udderly great recipes.

By Erin Lem June 24, 2015 Partner Content

You’ve beelined it to your local ice cream parlor on a hot summer day and regularly dish out yogurt at snack time. In fact, dairy may be your kids’ favorite food group. Luckily for you, Washington state produces some of the highest-quality dairy products around. All of the milk produced by Washington dairy farm families is rbST free and it all comes from happy cows. Red Tricycle Seattle writer, Helen recently visited a WA dairy farm and got inspired to take advantage of these high-quality dairy products in your own kitchen. Flip through the photo gallery to get cookin’.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

With BBQ sauce, pineapple and rotisserie chicken, this pizza recipe screams summer. We suggest getting your kids in on the cooking fun by having them help add the toppings to the whole wheat pizza dough. A special thanks to Kim of the food blog, Kim's Cravings for sharing this family recipe with us!

Ingredients:
1 large pizza crust store-bought or homemade (If using store-bought, I like Mama Mary's Whole Wheat Pizza Crust.)
⅓ cup + 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
1 cup grated smoked Gouda cheese, divided (Mozzarella works well, too.)
1 cup cooked and shredded chicken (I use rotisserie chicken.)
¼ onion, thinly sliced
½ cup canned or fresh pineapple chunks
fresh cilantro for topping

Chef notes: To decrease calorie count, go lighter on the cheese or cheese-free. You could also reduce the amount of barbecue sauce and/or chicken used.

Method:
1. Preheat oven according to pizza crust instructions and prepare pizza baking pan/stone, if using.

2. Toss 2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce with the cooked, chopped chicken to coat it. Set aside.

3. Spread ⅓ cup (more or less, depending on preference) barbecue sauce over pizza crust. Add a layer of ½ cup of cheese over the barbecue sauce. Next, top with chicken, the reserved cheese, sliced onion and pineapple.

4. Bake pizza according to crust instructions. I baked my pizza at 450 degrees F. for about 10 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven, top with fresh cilantro, slice and serve.

What's your kids' favorite pizza toppings? Did they like this recipe? Leave a comment below!

This recipe is courtesy of Kim of Kim's Cravings. Visit her blog to discover even more great recipes that are all focused on healthy, clean and delicious meal ideas for families.

What dairy product can your kids not get enough of? Which of the above recipes are you planning to make? Leave us a Comment below and “like” this story to share!

The Washington Dairy Products Commission celebrates the contribution of local dairy farm families. By producing wholesome and nutritious dairy products and caring for their cows and land, local dairy farm families are a key ingredient to making the northwest a great place to live. Learn more at www.akeyingredient.com.