Ultimate Meat Lovers Pizza Burgers

Pizza + Burgers = Happy Dude Food. On the for real though. What guy doesn't enjoy a good burger or pizza?! I've truly never come across these elusive male creatures and I've never encountered a single dude who doesn't in my real life. Honestly, I too love a good burger and pizza pie as much as the next guy. Okay. Maybe not as much, but that's just cause my hips and thighs whisper salad on occasion to me lol. That being said, it was my Fella's B-day recently so instead of trying to sneak veggies in on him, I decided to go all in carnivorous and combine his two fave dishes into one over the top delicious meat lovers pizza burger. I had been seeing a lot of different glorious pizza concoctions like pizza casseroles, pizza fries, pizza dip, and even a more simplistic sloppy joe like pizza burger on Pinterest. I was def feeling pizza flavor pinspired to say thee least. It doesn't take much to inspire me though really. A few random pics of various recipes starring hot melty mozzarella and some purdy pepperoni had me wanting to turn everything into a pizza love child dish. Anyhow, lets chow.

Whatcha' Need:

• 1.5-2lbs Ground Beef 
• 1lb Italian Sausage or ground pork sausage 
• Sliced Pepperoni 
• Sliced Mozzarella
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 TBSP Italian Dressing 
• 1 jar pasta or marinara sauce
• Butter & thick Toasted Buns (or Garlic Toast would be ahhmazing too)
• Addition Seasonings To Taste: Approx. 2 + teaspoons garlic salt (and or) garlic powder, 2 teaspoons lemon pepper, 2 teaspoons chili powder, 2 tsp + Italian Seasoning Blend
• Hearty Buns, Bread, Or Garlic Toast  & Butter

Start by combining both the ground meats, eggs, parm cheese, Italian dressing, and desired Italian Seasonings and herbs in a large bowl. I allowed this glorious meaty mixture to mingle aka marinate in the fridge for about 2 hrs, but not necessary if your in a rush.

This will make about 8-10 hefty burgers or quite a few more slider style ones. Patty them up accordingly and heat until done to your likeness. I'm not into the whole pink burger style myself, so I heat them all the way thru, but to each their own. Since my patties were so bodacious, I cooked them for approx. 20 minutes over medium heat & flipped them 2-3 times. I could only fit 4 of these 1/3 lb (ish) burgers comfortably in my largest frying pan at one time, but the extra work, time & effort was WELL WORTH IT in the end ;)

Once the burgers are cooked to your liking, drain some of the excess grease & smother/cover them in marinara or pasta sauce. Reduce heat, cover pan with a lid, and cook for about 10 minutes or until sauce thickens and is heated thru.

While this is all going down, toast up some buns, butter, and sprinkle them with Italian Seasoning and Garlic powder 

Turn off heat, top with Sliced Pepperoni, and sliced Mozzarella. Put the lid back on the pan and allow the cheese to get gooey and for all this awesome to mingle for about 5-7 minutes.

Put this glorious lil' lovely on a toasted garlic bun and prepare to rock your world and break some hearts lol. I served mine up with some Italian seasoned mashed potatoes, but this would go grrreat with just some buttery noodles or veggies or just about anything really ;)

I hope you dig it and thanks for popping in! Big Hugs <3

Easy Granny Smith Apple Bacon Provolone Grilled Cheese

So it's been a hot minute since I posted aye!!? I've been a bit of a busy lil bee as of late. Tending my garden, enjoying my greenary, and all that glorious outdoorsy shtuff.

(Meet Johnny Cashew, My loyal chipmunk bud whom apparently loves old pancakes, completely off subject, but toatally cute hehe)

Finding hours to sit down and create a real blog worthy post have just been dang near impossible. Now, with summer winding down, I'm determined to get back in the blog game and share some of these funky lil recipes I've been conjuring up over the past few months. Starting with this twistedly delicious grilled cheese. Purrrrfect for an easy meal when you don't feel like heating up the entire house, but ya still want something that will stick to the ole ribs. Pair this sammy with a nice pasta salad or ear of corn in the summer or with a nice soup or chowder in the winter. She's versatile, lovely and sure to be an EASY fam fav ;)

Whatcha' Need:

• 1lb bacon (turkey bacon, if you'd prefer)
• Sliced Provolone or Mozzarella Cheese 
• 1 or 2 Granny Smith Apple(s)
• butter
• thick sliced white bread (would be great on french bread too if your feeling extra fancy lol)
• Optional Spices: 1/4 tsp each of Chili Powder, Lemon Pepper, Cinnamon, and Italian Blend Spices (salt.... I  find regular bacon, butter/margarine, and provolone cheese to be plenty salty without adding extra salt to the equation, but if using turkey bacon I'd probably add a dash to the mix along with some olive oil)

Start by sprinkling the bacon with your desired dry seasonings and frying or baking it to your kinda crispiness. (The granny smith apple will give it just enough yummy sweetness so I used a few more savory herbs and spices to balance all that sweetness out) Pppersonally, I prefer frying my bacon the old stove top way, because it is easier for me to gather all those beautiful bacon drippings for later use. Also, I find it way easier to monitor more closely each glorious bacon slice progressing to it's done perfection However, if you prefer, go the ole oven route. By frying the bacon I was also able to make this a one dish situation! Score. Just make the sandwiches in that very same pan further increasing that yum factor via bacon drippings infusing into the buttery bread. OH YEAHS :)

Moving on. While the bacon is cooking up, clean, peel, and thinly slice your Granny Smith Apple(s). (I only used one large apple because my fella wasn't down with anything green interfering with his bacon and cheese sandwich, but you might need two if your dealing with a less picky bunch lol. He's not game for trying too many new "weird," food things, but his loss really ;)

Once the bacon is done and cooled, and the apple is ready to roll, drain off most of your excess bacon grease into a sturdy container to save for wonderful recipes later down the cooking line. Place that bacon pan back on the stove, lower the cooking temp, and start prepping your sandwiches. 

Start by slightly buttering one slice of bread. Place it buttered side down in the pan. Then, top it with a slice of provolone, two thin slices of apple, and 3-4 slices of bacon. Butter another piece of bread and place it on top of that yummy layered awesomeness, butter side up. I also like to sprinkle just a dash of dried seasoning on the buttered bread for added yum, which in this case was dried Italian blend and chili powder to carry on that lovely lil flavor profile.

Not thee clearest pic ever, but you get the gist ;)

Cook for about 3-5 minutes and carefully flip with a trusty spatula. Cook another 3-5 minutes on the other side or until golden brown and cheese is melted into that gooey glorious stage.

Just keep'er simple peeps and serve this lil lovely up w/ some chips, a small side salad, or even just a few pickle spears. It's a pretty filling sandwich so no need to over complicate this situation. I hope you enjoy this lil fun, delish twist on thee ole basic grilled cheese. This beaut of a sammy pairs the ever so classic pork and apples combo, but in a fresh, fast and fun new way. Though it's way, way easy and made with fairly simple ingredients, it def won't disappoint on the goodness scale ;) Winner, winner, easy pork and apples dinner.

 Big Hugs and thanks a ton for stopping by! <3