Semi-Homemade Bacon Pizza

College football started on Saturday. Thank goodness it is finally here! One of the unique quirks of Corvallis, Oregon is the overwhelming zeal and interest most folks take in Oregon State football. I had no interest in football whatsoever until I moved to Corvallis and now watch the Oregon and Oregon State games so I have some understanding of what (some) folks are ranting and raving about. Z. and I enjoyed a semi-homemade bacon pizza while watching the first Oregon game of the season.

This pizza is simple. Basically, you take a frozen pizza and add toppings to it. We have been making pizzas like this for years. Cheap Tip #54: Having a long-distance sweetheart is not frugal (ask Z.). Yes, we were long distance for three years. When we saw each other we wanted to do something nice for dinner but when you have to have a separate budget for gas just to see the other person, we could not always go out for dinner. Z. and have always loved pizza and came up with an idea to make a basic, cheap pizza a little more special. The first time we made this pizza we went on an adventure just to find thickly-sliced peppered bacon. That pizza was well worth the effort that went into it. We loved bacon pizza even before we knew of the existence of American Dream's bacon pizza!

Why not make a pizza from scratch? Neither one of us is great with yeasted breads. I can make my own version of naan but it is still a challenge for me. Neither one of our several, tiny apartment kitchens were conducive to rolling out a pizza. Even now, we do not have the counter space for this kind of endeavor. Plus, the sale price of our preferred brand costs less than making a pepperoni pizza for ourselves would.

The topping selections are endless; just use your imagination. We have found that we like to start with a pepperoni pizza and add:

• bacon
• green bell pepper
• onion
• garlic
• and in this case, a chimayo chile pepper

 Here is a basic outline of how to make a jazzed-up frozen pizza. Enjoy!

Semi-Homemade Bacon Pizza

1. If using bacon, cook until browned. Set the bacon aside while reserving the bacon drippings.
2. Cook vegetables until soft. If using onions, cook onions first, about 5-7 minutes then add shorter cooking vegetables like peppers and garlic.
3. Meanwhile, preheat oven according to the directions of the pizza.
4. Cook pizza about 10 minutes. 
5. Spread cooked vegetables evenly across the pizza and top with extra cheese if desired.
6. Return to oven and continue baking until done.