Chicken Ranch Pizza with Bacon

This recipe is from my daughter-in-law, who is a wonderful cook! This pizza would be especially good served at a brunch, but would be great for dinner also.

1 (13.8 oz.) refrigerated pizza crust
1/3 c. Ranch dressing
1 (9.75 oz.) can chicken, drained
½ pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
3-4 chopped green onions
2 c. (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
½ c. shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425˚. Grease a 13 x 9 pan. Place pizza crust in pan, stretching to fit. Top with Ranch dressing. Add the remainder of the ingredients in the order listed. Bake 15-18 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit 4-5 minutes before serving. Serves 3-4

Pasta Carbonara

This quick recipe is featured on page 108 of my cookbook.

½ # pasta of your choice
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 eggs
¾ c. grated Asiago or fresh Parmesan cheese
½ c. half and half
fresh parsley
salt and pepper

Cook pasta in salted water. Cook bacon and set aside. Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, cheese and half and half. Set aside. Drain pasta, leaving some water clinging to it. Working quickly, add hot pasta to egg mixture. Add bacon; season with salt and pepper, and toss all to combine (heat from pasta will cook eggs). Sprinkle fresh parsley. Serve immediately.


This Italian dish originates with men who camped outdoors for months at a time when working in coal mines. They were able to bring some of these ingredients with them. Eggs and milk were readily available from local farms. All they needed was a pot and a campfire. The abundant use of pepper resembled coal flakes.