Cheeseburger Pan Pizza

I spent the weekend in San Francisco at Foodbuzz Festival 2012 eating, drinking, and meeting a great group of like-minded food bloggers. Every event at the festival this year was centered around food and drink. When I got home I promptly changed into my yoga pants and was determined to eat nothing but leafy greens for a month.

Then I made this pizza. I’ll get to the leafy greens soon.

Cheeseburger pizza is just that, a cheeseburger in pizza form. There isn’t any ketchup or mustard cause, well, that would be gross. There are no pickles either. Again, ewww. Pickles on pizza, I don’t think so. But I have included lots of cheeseburger goodness that is not just kid-friendly but also extremely husband-friendly as I have come to discover.

The grocery list – pizza crust dough (recipe here), pizza sauce, barbecue sauce, lean ground beef, onion, green bell pepper, fresh mozzarella cheese, and cheddar cheese. Not pictured but also needed – minced garlic, salt, and fresh ground pepper.

Here is how it’s done.

Spray a large pan with non-stick cooking spray and place it over medium heat. Cook the ground beef, crushing with a spoon, until no pink remains. Drain as much of the grease from the pan as possible and return it to the heat. Season with salt and pepper. Add the diced onion, green bell pepper, and garlic.

Add the barbecue sauce and mix well to combine.

Simmer the mixture on low for about 5 minutes while we move on to the crust.

Coat a 16″ x 12″ rimmed baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. The precise measurements of the pan aren’t that important but it should be close to this size. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured board into the shape of a rectangle and then transfer it to the pan, using your fingers to pull and stretch the dough right up to the edges of the pan.

My recipe for pizza crust (click here)  makes just enough dough to make one pan pizza. If you are purchasing the dough, depending on the size, you may need to purchase 2 crusts and use both. Or just make a smaller pizza. That works too.

We are going to parbake the crust for 5 minutes at 450 degrees. Parbaking is just what it sounds like. We are partially baking the crust so that it will stand up to the substantial ingredients we are going to load it up with. We’re giving the crust a head start.

Don’t be concerned if the crust puffs up a little. Remove it from the oven after 5 minutes and as it sits, it will deflate a little. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. And, yes, I know. I need to clean my oven. I’ll get right on that.

Pour 1 cup of your favorite pizza sauce on to the parbaked crust. By all means if you’ve got a favorite recipe for pizza sauce, have at it, but there are several jarred varieties out there that are darn good. I like this one from Trader Joe’s. Spread it out evenly over the crust using a pastry brush.

Spoon the cooked beef mixture over the top.

Have you tried to grate fresh mozzarella? It’s all squishy and smooshy and messy so let’s not do that. Instead, slice it thinly and then just tear the slices and place the pieces evenly over the beef mixture. I like the way the pieces melt and fresh mozzarella is so, so, so much better than the bagged shredded variety.

Top the pizza with the shredded cheddar cheese. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

I think you might be able to bribe someone to clean bathrooms or fold laundry for this pizza. Just a thought.

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Cheeseburger Pan Pizza

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Change the number in the box above to adjust serving size. Please note that size of cookware and cook time may vary.

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Ingredients

• Pizza crust dough store bought or homemade (see [url]my recipe here∞http://www.fromvalerieskitchen.com/2011/08/pizza-crust/[/url])
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• fresh ground pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup barbecue sauce
• 1 cup prepared pizza sauce
• 1 8 ounce package fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Coat a 16" x 12" rimmed baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Roll out the pizza crust dough and pat it down, shaping it so that it fits right up to the edges of the pan. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees.

2. Meanwhile, coat a large frying pan with non-stick cooking spray. Cook the ground beef over medium heat, crushing it against the pan with a large spoon, until fully cooked and no pink remains. Drain as much of the grease from the pan as possible. Return the pan to the stove and add salt and pepper to taste. Add onion, bell pepper, and minced garlic. Add barbecue sauce. Combine well and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes over low heat. Remove from heat.
3. Pour the pizza sauce on to the parbaked crust, spreading it to the edges with a pastry brush or the back of a spoon. Spoon the cooked beef mixture evenly over the top. Tear the slices of mozzarella into small pieces and place evenly over the beef mixture. Sprinkle with the cheddar cheese.
4. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes or till cheeses are melted and bubbly. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

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