Jalapeno Popper Pizza

July 20, 2012 Category One-Dish Dinners 1 Comment Tags jalapeno, marriage, pizza

I’ve noticed a pattern begin to emerge in this first year of marriage: whenever I want to thank my husband for something – or, heh, apologize for something – I always wind up making a pizza for dinner. After some reflection, I’ve realized that this is because I think pizza is too unhealthy for a regular weeknight dinner, but since we usually go out to eat on the weekends, I wouldn’t ever get to make it unless I manufactured some kind of stupid, minor reason. So! Thanks, brain, for going to elaborate lengths to justify midweek pizza eating!

I can’t remember if this was a thank-you-for-something-minor pizza or an I’m-sorry-for-something-minor pizza, but I do remember that it was a holy-crap-that’s-delicious pizza. Seriously, why haven’t more people substituted cream cheese for marinara sauce on pizzas? It’s almost like nothing else you do even matters – if you’ve got a pizza crust and some cream cheese, you’re probably in for a pretty good night.

JALAPENO POPPER PIZZA (recipe from Damn Delicious)

Olive oil or olive oil spray
4-6 slices bacon, chopped
2 jalapeños, sliced
1 shallot, sliced (can sub 1/2 white onion)
Pizza dough (I used this recipe)
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups grated monterey jack cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 475. Lightly coat a baking sheet or pizza pan with olive oil or olive oil spray.
2. Heat small skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
3. In small bowl, combine jalapeños and shallot with 1-2 teaspoons olive oil.
4. Roll out pizza dough into a 10-inch-diameter round. Transfer to prepared baking sheet or pizza pan. Bake the crust 5-8 minutes then remove from oven (this makes the next step much easier).
5. Spread the cream cheese evenly over top of pizza crust, leaving a 1-inch border. Top with monterey jack, jalapenos, shallots and bacon.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the crust is crisp and brown on the bottom and the cheese is melted on top.

I actually used turkey bacon in this (look how healthy I am!) and thought it was fantastic. Say thank you/I’m sorry to that special someone in your life tonight!