Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza & the first day of spring

The birds are chirping, the flowers are dancing in the breeze, ahhhh…..the first day of spring…..

Maybe somewhere, but definitely not in Iowa!  Our forecast High temperature for today is a balmy 25 degrees, but with the 30 MPH winds whipping around out there, I’m going to guess it feels more like 10 degrees!  Is there a petition to fire Punxsutawney Phil I can sign???

Oh well, we all make mistakes.  Like this pizza for example, let me explain…..

I was craving a bacon cheeseburger…..you know, my favorite food group!  So I was digging thru a stack recipes that had piled up on the counter, looking for the hamburger bun recipe.  I pulled out the dough machine, pour in the ingredients, put it in the machine, and realized that there were no eggs…..wait, what did I just make?  Pizza Dough…..crap…now what?  I’m going to go take a shower.  Is it just me, or is the shower a great place to think?  Maybe it is the steam from the hot water, or the rumble of the exhaust vent, or the blaring heavy metal coming thru the speakers…..DUH…..Bacon Cheeseburger….. PIZZA!!!  I already had all of the ingredients, I just needed to adjust how they were put together 🙂

As for the onion rings…

I used Alexia Panko crusted onion rings because that was what I had in the freezer.  Next time I will use the battered version instead.  I also put them on top of the pizza before I baked it.  That made them extra crunchy, and is unnecessary since they are already cooked!  Another blonde moment, please forgive me…it was not my day 🙂

It may have started out a mistake, but it turned into a very happy one!  This pizza is unique and fills the spot when you don’t feel like another basic pizza.  Enjoy!

Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza

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Serves	6
Prep time	15 minutes
Cook time	45 minutes
Total time	1 hour
Meal type	Main Course

All-time favorite bacon cheeseburger, in pizza form.

Ingredients

• 1 Batch pizza dough
• 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
• 1 Pound grass-fed 80% ground beef
• 1 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)
• 5 -6 Slices uncured bacon
• beer batter onion rings
• 1/2 head lettuce (shredded)
• 1 Medium tomato (diced)

Directions

Place baking stone in the center of the oven, and preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Cook and drain bacon slices.

Chop bacon, set aside.

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet.

Drain off excess fat.

Separate dough into two large balls. Roll out on a floured surface to a size and shape that will fit your baking stone or whatever pan you are using.

Cover a pizza peel or flat baking sheet with cornmeal, to prevent sticking.

Place rolled dough on pizza peel.

Cover top of dough with barbecue sauce, leaving an clean edge. (This photo is from the BBQ chicken pizza)

Sprinkle ground beef over sauce.

Cover with shredded cheese.

Add the chopped bacon.

Add the onion rings - Note: it made them crunchier, you could wait and add them after the pizza is cooked.

Slide onto the preheated baking stone and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling.

Remove pizza from oven and add shredded lettuce and tomatoes.

Cut into 8 slices and serve.

Note

The pizza dough recipe is here: Pizza Dough

You can also make one big pizza instead of 2 smaller ones.  That is when the baking sheet comes in handy to move it!  We need one pizza with veggie cheese, so they have to be separate.