Cheddar Apple Onion Bacon Pizza

Two notes!  First, I've installed a print button, with options to remove images and non-recipe verbiage, in case you'd like to print a recipe.  It's down at the bottom of the post, let me know if you like it.

Second, I wrote the CSA Cookoff segment this week on HOMEGROWN.org, since I was merely walking a half marathon while Jennifer was having a blast at Farm Aid.  You can check out my Slow Cooker Sweet Potato and Chicken Curry recipe here!

In the pre-braces life, a favorite 'I don't want to cook' supper when it was just me and the kids was popcorn, apple slices, and cheese cubes.  I liked to make it with Gala apples, though my favorite apple is the delicious Larry variety from the Shenandoah valley that I got in a fruit share in our first ever CSA farm share. That easy meal satisfied the sweet, the salty, the need to chew and the desire not to be hungry in an hour.
Until we embark on the post-braces life, I will miss that meal . . . and corn on the cob, and everything bagels with lox, cream cheese, red onion, capers, and summer tomato.  Note to self, sneak out and get a bagel with the fixings before all the tomatoes are gone.  I never was a fan of Laffy Taffy, so I can't say I'm missing it.
Last week my mom brought me a red delicious apple, and since I'm not a fan of eating red delicious plain, I was primed to think of pizza.  When I saw this Apple Harvest Cheddar at Costco (with apple pieces and cinnamon--how cool does that sound?), I thought it would be good on a pizza with apples and something else, so I bought it.  I didn't really think I wanted to try corn on the pizza to recreate my easy supper, but caramelized onions and bacon sounded like good replacements.

Conveniently, I'd caramelized a mess of onions in the crock pot (I used and love Dorothy's method, though I'm going to try Alanna's Sweet, Dark and Dreamy method next time.  For research purposes) and froze them in recipe-size portions, so it was easy to grab what I needed.  I also had bacon baked and frozen.  My freezer can be a magical place.  Is yours?

In the interests of full disclosure, in addition to my mom giving me the apple, my neighbor gave me a big bag of onions that I used to make these caramelized onions.  I bought the rest of the stuff.

It's possible I'm becoming a foodie.  The jury is still out, but go ahead and try this pizza (with any type of cheddar cheese, of course, if you're not near a Costco) while the deliberations continue.

Cheddar Apple Onion Bacon Pizza

1 pound pizza dough (see my Pizza Primer for hints, tips, collages on pizza-making at home)

olive oil for brushing the crust

1/2 cup caramelized onions (recipe links above)

1 small apple, cored and sliced (core to Crystal the Composting Guinea Pig, or the worms, or compost)

1 slice bacon, crisply cooked and chopped into small bits (yes, only 1)

1 to 11/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used Apple Harvest Cheddar cheese)

Preheat oven (and a baking stone if you have one) to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  On an oiled piece of parchment paper, stretch out dough into an apple shape--or whatever tickles your fancy like a wiener dog spotting a squirrel.  Brush dough with olive oil, then spread caramelized onions across it.  Top with apple slices in a pleasing pattern (you may not use the whole apple, and can eat it or give it to Crystal, she's still grieving over Quartz).  Top with bacon and cheese.  Slide the parchment and pizza onto the preheated baking stone (or onto a cookie sheet if that's what you've got) and bake for about 5 to 8 minutes.  Shimmy the crust off the parchment, and continue baking directly on the stone or cookie sheet another 3-5 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.  Cool on a rack, then slice and serve.

This post is shared on the From The Farm Blog Hop, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesdays, Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up, What's Cookin' Wednesday, What's In The Box, Food on Friday