Stuffed Thin Crust Cheese and Bacon Pan Pizza

About two weeks ago, I made my own pizza dough and had yet to use up the remaining half of it. And with bacon, cheese, and a slew of other ingredients that aren't necessarily the healthiest, I set out to make a stuffed thin crust cheese and bacon pan pizza... just because.

After rolling out your pizza dough (if refrigerated, let the dough rest out of the refrigerator by a warm heat source for about half an hour to once again relax the gluten), lay it into a cold 10" skillet (or whatever size pan you have). Using about 1/4 c shredded cheese (or more; for this recipe, I used a Mexican blend since that's what was in my fridge), form a cheese ring of sorts and fold over the excess dough, tucking in the dough and pushing it into the base of the pizza (as pictured above).

In a microwavable safe dish, add some crushed garlic, ground black pepper, and a small knob of butter; microwave for about (20-40 seconds, or until the butter melts and you can smell the garlic). Brush on this garlic-infused butter onto the top of the crust. Sauce the pizza itself with 2 tbsp pasta sauce, and top with 3/4 c shredded cheese and 2 slices crisped and crumbled bacon. Heat up an oven to 350° F; while the oven's heating up, cook the pizza at med-lo heat on the stove top. When you hear the pan start to sizzle, transfer the pan (make sure it's oven safe!) to the oven and bake for 7-10 min. At that point, the crust will have risen and the cheese will be slightly bubbling. To finish up the cooking process, put the pizza under the broiler for about 2 min to brown the crust.

Take the pizza out of the oven, and top it all off with a freshly torn basil leaf, as shown above.
 

Simple and satisfying for one (or maybe... maybe two), the result is a thin, crispy pizza base with perfectly melted cheese, a familiar salt profile from the bacon, and a cheese-filled crust to end (or start) with. For more photos of the cooking process, click here.