Breakfast Pizza

Breakfast pizza will always remind me of college. Back in 2013 when I had my old blog at UMaine, this was one of the first recipes I made up and wrote about. I probably made 50 of these pizzas back in the day in the crappy Orchard Trails apartments and thoroughly enjoyed every single one of them. They're filling, cheap, easy to grab and go, great leftover and soooo delicious..... especially at 3 am, which is most likely when we ate the majority of them. Oh, how I miss college!

Loaded with bacon, sausage, cheese, veggies and a thick layer of egg on a crispy but tender crust - it's like a quiche but it's a pizza so it's automatically better. So. Good. Eat it hot or cold! It's a great crowd pleaser and perfect to serve a group for breakfast or lunch, especially if you have a big day of hiking or skiing. Or just sitting on your ass, who cares.

I haven't made a b-fast pizza in so long because since I stopped eating gluten around 4 years ago, I haven't been able to find a crust that rises well on the sides to contain the eggs. You could use a 9x13 baking dish and use a gluten free crust and have it curve up the sides but I haven't tried that yet. Anyways, I made this pizza for my boyfriend to eat during his week of work in VT and it brought back so many college memories. He was obviously pumped about it, too, and said it was just as good as he remembered. These pizzas are the bombbbb.

I like the combination of spinach, peppers and onions but you could throw in mushrooms, asparagus, tomatoes, jalapenos etc. It's a very flexible recipe. I also of course like both sausage and bacon but you could use one or the other, or even ham. I've also used different cheese such as mozzarella, monterey jack and even chunks of cream cheese scattered on the top which is great for added creaminess.

My go to pre-made pizza dough for lazy days is Portland Pie Co. I use their garlic dough for the breakfast pizza which is delicious and smells fantastic baking. You just want a crust that you trust will rise well on the sides. Feel free to get all ambitious and make your own dough if you want. I'll save that for another day!






Breakfast Pizza

Ingredients:
1 large pizza dough
4 pieces of bacon, ideally maple
1/2 lb breakfast sausage, casings removed
1 onion, diced
1/2 large red bell pepper, or one small one, diced
6 oz package baby spinach
7-8 eggs
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp hot sauce
Salt & pepper
8 oz cheddar cheese
Optional 4 oz cream cheese, cut to small chunks for added creaminess

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Cook bacon in skillet until cooked through and fairly crisp. Drain fat except 1 tbsp and cook sausage with casings removed, crumbling, until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside. Leave 1-2 tbsp of fat in pan.
• Add onion and pepper to the pan and cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Just before it's done cooking, add in the spinach and stir, just to wilt it and remove the pan from heat.
• Lightly spray a large baking sheet (optional dust with cornmeal). Stretch out the pizza dough to fit on a large baking sheet. Lay on sheet with crust thick enough on the side so eggs won't run out. 
• Layer on the veggies, sausage, bacon and cheese. 
• Thoroughly whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Pour carefully over the veggies and be cautious of the sides of the crust so it doesn't overflow. If it does a bit, it's fine, just pick up the side again to prevent it from going crazy on you. If you can fit eight eggs go for it. 
• Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, more or less, until the crust is golden, eggs are set (but still slightly soft, not over cooked) and the bottom is crispy to your preference.