Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza

If you've had "chicken, bacon, ranch" anything, I think most of you will agree that it is a wonderful combination. Chicken, bacon, ranch pizza? Might be the best way to have the trio. This past week I made this pizza and even added a few sautéed mushrooms - which I didn't regret!

The recipe is as follows:

1 can Pillsbury pizza dough (or your favorite recipe)

1 C Ranch

1/2 lb. Bacon

2 large chicken breasts

1 T vegetable oil

Shredded mozzarella cheese

2 C raw mushrooms

1/3 C butter

1-1/2 t garlic powder

S & P to taste

To begin, preheat your oven to 375 degrees and cook up your meats and mushrooms.

Cut your chicken breast into bite-sized pieces and cook in the vegetable oil.

Crisp up your bacon in a frying pan. When it is fully cooked, place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess fat. Then, cut into bite-sized pieces for the pizza.

Melt the butter and add in the mushrooms. Once coated, sprinkle in the garlic powder, salt & pepper. Cook these about 15 minutes, or until they are as tender as you prefer.

While the meats and mushrooms are finishing up, roll out your pizza dough onto a non-stick or sprayed baking sheet and bake for 4-5 minutes to keep your dough from getting soggy when you add all the ingredients on top. Don't cook the dough too long, just enough to give it a head start!

(Tip: I have always poked my pizza dough with a fork all over to prevent the crust from bubbling up)

Once the dough is done pre-baking and the meats and mushrooms are ready, spread however much ranch you'd like on the crust. I put 1 cup in the ingredients, but this is your "pizza sauce", so if you usually like it saucy then load it up! Otherwise, maybe use a little less - you can always drizzle extra ranch over it at the end.

Continue with the chicken, bacon and mushrooms. Finish it off with a sprinkling of mozzarella or your favorite pizza cheese.

Now it's ready for the oven! Bake the pizza on the middle oven rack for 20 - 25 minutes or until the cheese begins browning. Everything you put on it is cooked, so just keep an eye on it for however well-done you prefer your crust.

(If you notice the cheese is ready and beginning to brown, but the crust is still a bit soft, move your oven rack to the bottom and put the pizza down lower. This will concentrate more of the heat on the crust, and give the cheese a little break. Make sure to check it often so it doesn't burn!

...and voilà! Your chicken, bacon, ranch pizza is ready to eat!