Cheeseburger Pizza {She Made/Ella Hace}

We're baaaack! After a short 2 month hiatus, girlichef & I are back to bring you more She Made/Ella Hace. Our theme this month: Football Eats! Today's recipe combines two of my favorite foods to eat when watching The Big Game (or any other major sporting event)...cheeseburgers and pizza.

My son Nick is the one who actually came up with the idea for this recipe about 8 or 9 years ago when he couldn't decide which of his two favorite foods in the whole wide world he wanted to eat at his birthday party. One day he'd choose pizza, then minutes later he'd change his mind and say he wanted cheeseburgers, only to change his mind again minutes after that. I suggested we serve both, but then he came up with the genius idea of combining to the two into a Cheeseburger Pizza, that way he'd get the best of both worlds. And the rest as they say is history.  Now Cheeseburger Pizza is a beloved family favorite.


My favorite thing about this pizza are the mini-meatballs. Tiny morsels of juicy hamburger meat that are loaded with flavor. Sometimes I have to make a double batch of meatballs because I can't help but nibble on a few while preparing my pizza, and neither can my Hubby or the kiddies. But the ingredient that really brings this Cheeseburger Pizza to life is the pickles.  If you love pickles on your cheeseburgers, then you definitely want to top your pizza with them before baking. (Sigh!) So incredibly delicious! Unfortunately I totally forgot to pick some up at the store this time and they were sorely missed. My kiddies have all demanded requested that I make this pizza again for the big game on Sunday, because this pizza just isn't the same without the pickles.

Cheeseburger Pizza 


For the meatballs:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs 
• 2 tablespoons grated onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 

For the pizza: 

• 1/2 Quick Beer Pizza Dough
• 1/3 cup ketchup 
• 6 to 8 slices American cheese slices
• 6 to 8 slices crispy fried bacon, crumbled 
• 3 roma tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 medium onion, sliced
• 1 cup grated Oaxaca, Asadero, or Mozzarella cheese
• Sliced pickles 
• Sliced Jalapeños en Escabeche (optional)
• Mustard (optional) 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray or vegetable oil. Mix together the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, grated onion, minced garlic, seasoning salt, salt, and black pepper until well combined. Shape mixture into mini-meatballs. Arrange the mini-meatballs on the greased cookie sheet and bake at 350°F for about 20 to 25  minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.

Roll out pizza dough to desired thickness to fit your pizza pan or baking sheet. (I used a 10x15-inch jelly roll pan.) Place dough on a greased baking sheet. Spread ketchup over the pizza dough. Arrange American cheese slices on top of ketchup, followed by the sliced onion and tomato. Top pizza with mini-meatballs, crumbled bacon, pickle slices, and grated cheese. Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cheese has completely melted and the dough turns light golden brown. To serve top with mustard, if desired. Enjoy!

Now head on over to girlichef's blog to check out her delicious Jalapeño Cheddar Pretzel Bites!

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