McDonald's Cheeseburger Pizza

My posts tend to reflect what's happening in my kitchen. Lately, as you can tell from the candies,  the list of treats, and the eggnog, my focus has been largely (no mistake that I use that root word "large") on these seasonal goodies.  While all of the baking is going on, I've been pulling casseroles and soups that I  made ahead and stashed in the freezer for these busy holi-days. But on Tuesday, I was craving something "new"...and this is what I came up with:

Now this is a dinner you can sink your teeth into! McDonald's Cheeseburger Pizza. While our family doesn't eat a lot of fast food, I do have a guilty pleasure...the tried and true McDonald's cheeseburger. It always hits the spot. Case in point: even when I was in the throes of morning sickness during my pregnancies...a cheeseburger from Micky D's was one of the only things that STILL sounded appetizing. Not the picture of pregnancy nutrition, I know.  But hey, whatever works!

On Tuesday night I was planning for homemade pizza, but after logging a number of holiday baking hours in the kitchen that day, admittedly, I was tempted to hit the drive-thru instead. Then an idea came to me...what if I made a McDonald's cheeseburger ON my pizza? The thought of it was enough to get me back into the kitchen on the quest for ingredients. Luckily, I had all of the "stuff" on hand: ground beef, cheese, onion, pickles, ketchup, and mustard.

I shouldn't brag but...okay, maybe I will... this pizza was genius! It's not like I invented the idea of Cheeseburger Pizza...I've seen it on a number of pizzeria menus. But McDonald's Cheeseburger Pizza? Never seen that. And I rocked this. It tasted just like a McDonald's cheeseburger. Maybe even better....

My husband took one bite and stated, "This pizza is dangerous". I interpreted this to mean "dangerous" in the way that you might feel compelled to eat the whole thing in one sitting. Or maybe he meant dangerous in the way that you might engage in a physical altercation to gain possession of that one last delicious, unhealthy piece. (Which I did...while he was peacefully sleeping later that night.) I shamelessly (albeit stealthily)snagged his carefully packed-for-lunch leftovers right out of the fridge. It was like I couldn't help myself!

If you love McDonald's cheeseburgers, you will love this!

Here's what I did:

I browned a pound of lean ground beef in a skillet with a clove of minced garlic. I seasoned it well with seasoning salt too. Once browned, I drained the fat into my "grease can" and then put the beef on paper towels to drain a little more.

While the hamburger browned, then drained, I oiled up a baking sheet and dusted it with cornmeal. I grabbed a tube (that's right, I didn't make my own pizza crust...again!) of Pillsbury thin crust pizza dough from the fridge and pressed it out to cover the baking sheet. Following the package directions, I pre-baked the crust for 5 minutes before topping. This next step is where I really stepped out of my comfort zone: I grabbed squeeze bottles of both ketchup and mustard and gave the crust a good coating. No exact measurements on this, I just squeezed until it looked good. There was definitely more ketchup then mustard, though. Adjust to your personal tastes.

I topped the condiments with the seasoned, browned hamburger.

Sprinkle with one smallish onion, finely chopped.

Arrange dill pickle slices over the onion layer.

Top with American singles. Oh yeah....  

A side note: I knew that my daughters and their visiting friend would never go for ketchup, mustard, onions, and pickles on pizza, so I made 1/3 of the pizza (visible on the left side here) a traditional pepperoni version complete with pizza sauce and mozzarella.

Bake for another 6-10 minutes (this was according the directions on the pizza dough "tube") until the cheese is melted. I baked mine for 10 minutes.

Slice and enjoy!

Stay tuned for healthier recipes in the New Year...you know, once I make my resolutions. (Judging by the way that I've been cooking and eating since Thanksgiving, I'm sure that I'll need a few.)

But for now, here's this:

McDonald's Cheeseburger Pizza

1 tube refrigerated thin crust pizza dough
oil
corn meal
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
seasoned salt
ketchup
mustard
1 small onion, finely chopped
dill pickle slices
12 slices American cheese

Preheat oven according to pizza dough directions. Coat baking pan with oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. Spread pizza dough out to fit pan. Pre-bake for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, season ground beef with seasoned salt and brown with garlic. Drain. Set aside. Spread pre-baked pizza crust generously with ketchup. Drizzle with mustard. Top with browned hamburger, onion, pickles, and cheese. Return to the oven for 6-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and pizza is heated through.