Pizza with Bacon, Sauteed Onions & Mushrooms

Oh, pizza, pizza, pizza.  Our Friday night tradition.  Growing up, it was one of my family's weekly traditions that we loved and looked forward to.   And my husband is totally on board with the idea of keeping that tradition alive in our family now.

More often than not, our pizza are the clean-out-the-produce-drawer kind but occasionally, I try to think of a good pizza combination ahead of time.  Recently, we had some friends over and made both a margherita pizza and this bacon, mushroom and onion one.  Margherita is always a classic but this one was so incredible.  Probably because you sautee the onions and mushrooms in the bacon fat (which is really the best and only way to go). You don't need a lot of bacon -- 2-3 strips was enough to get some bacon on every slice.

Pizza with Bacon, Sauteed Onions & Mushrooms

• pizza dough (I use this recipe the most)
• tomato sauce (jarred or homemade)
• 1-2 cups of mozzarella cheese, grated (I used half fresh mozzarella and half part-skim)
• 3 strips of bacon
• 1 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 1 cup onions, thinly sliced
• fresh basil, chopped (optional)

1. If using a pizza stone, set it in the oven on the lowest rack.  Preheat the oven to 450.  
2. Roll out your pizza dough into desired shape.  
3. Meanwhile, in a large pan over medium-high heat, place bacon strips and cook until both sides are done, flipping about halfway through.
4. Remove bacon from the pan and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Roughly chop.
5. Keep about 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat in the pan.  Reduce the heat to medium-low, and then add the onions to the pan.
6. Cook the onions for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, and then add the chopped mushrooms.  Season with salt and pepper.
7. Continue to cook onions and mushrooms for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned.
8. Dust cornmeal onto pizza stone to prevent sticking (or a baking sheet) and place pizza dough on it.  Cook crust for about 7 minutes.  Remove from oven and then add sauce, cheese, and sauteed mushrooms and onions.
9. Place pizza back in the oven and continue to cook for about 8-10 minutes until pizza is done.  Remove from oven, top immediately with bacon and basil.  Let cool for a few minutes and then slice and serve.