Bacon Wrapped, Pepper Jack Stuffed Mushrooms

sliced bacon, cut in halves
pepper jack cheese, 1/2" cubes
button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms would probably work too

1)  Clean and de-stem mushrooms

2)  Place a cube of cheese inside the cap of each mushroom

3)  Wrap each mushroom with 2 halves of bacon, criss crossed with the ends on the top of the mushroom cap (or the opposite side of the cheese).

4)  Place the mushrooms with the cheese side up on a broiler pan and cook in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes until bacon is cooked and crispy.  (Best if you have convection setting to turn on).
                    *These can also be done on the grill but they will have to be started cheese side down and turned over before the cheese all runs out.



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Sauer Kraut and Canadian Bacon Pizza

There was this little "hole in the wall" pizza place that my grandparents use to take me to many years ago and they served a "German pizza".  It was loaded with sauer kraut and Canadian bacon.  I have NEVER been a fan, AT ALL!, of sauer kraut.  So this did not sound very appetizing at all.  We were with a group and ordered several different types of pizzas and "The German" being one of which we had and, I, being the daring person I am, tried it and much to my surprise, I LOVED IT!!!!  I had to try making this at home and this is what I finally came up with:

pizza crust (of your choice, I highly recommend a cracker thin crust for this)
1/4 cup of pizza sauce (I like Contadina brand)
6 oz. sauer kraut (I don't recommend the canned kind)
Canadian bacon (I just buy the pre-sliced kind, any brand that you like)
fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded

1)  Spread pizza sauce on crust (if you are using fresh crust from dough, you will need to par-bake it first)

2)  Place a thin layer of the Canadian bacon covering the sauce

3)  Spread the sauer kraut over the bacon

4)  Spread cheese over sauer kraut

5)  Bake off at a high temp for as long as it takes for the cheese to get hot and bubbly and starts to turn golden and for the crust to get crisp.  I have a convection setting on my oven so I set the temp at 450 and bake the pizza until the cheese starts melting and then I turn on the convection setting to finish off.




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Buffalo Chicken Pizza

I couldn't find a Buffalo Chicken Pizza recipe that would work for me so I came up with my own.  This is sooo delicious and you can adjust all of the ingredients to as much or as little as you want to make it to your tasting.  For the crust, you can use whatever you prefer.  I used a pre-made and frozen thin crust that I get from a small town "mom and pop shop".  I do, though, recommend a THIN crust for this pizza.

pizza crust
ranch dressing
hot sauce
chicken breast cooked and cubed
provel cheese
mozerella cheese
monterey jack cheese


1)  Mix ranch dressing and hot sauce for the pizza sauce that you will put on the crust before any of the toppings.  This, again, is to your tasting.  I used 1 cup of ranch dressing to 1/4 cup of hot sauce (I prefer Crystals brand).  Perfect for me because I don't like to burn my taste buds off.  So, if you like a lot of heat, then add more hot sauce. Then for a 12" pizza crust I used about 3-4 tablespoons of this sauce and once again, this amount is determined by your taste buds.  If you like a drier pizza, then use less sauce and for a saucier pizza, add more sauce.

2) Chicken breast cooked with seasonings and cooking technique of your choice.  I just baked mine in the oven with salt and lemon pepper (the lemon adds a bit of tanginess and the pepper adds a little more heat that hits a different place on your tongue/taste buds than the hot sauce and other added peppers do).  If you like a lot of heat then season with some cayenne pepper or chipotle chile powder or even red pepper flakes but make sure you get the salt on there.  Cut the chicken however you prefer or shred it.  For mine, I cubed it.  For a 12" pizza, I used  about ... ohhhh somewhere between 1/3-1/2 cup of chicken.

3) Top with a mix of shredded provel, mozzarella, and monterrey jack cheeses.

4) Finally, add quite a bit of drizzling of the sauce over the cheese.

5)  Bake off at a high temp for as long as it takes for the cheese to get hot and bubbly and starts to turn golden and for the crust to get crisp.  I have a convection setting on my oven so I set the temp at 450 and bake the pizza until the cheese starts melting and then I turn on the convection setting to finish off.




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