My hubby and I had a blast coming up with a “Battle of the Burgers” challenge awhile back! I conned him into this, because he loves my Mozzarella-Stuffed Pesto Burgers so much, that he never wants any other kind of burger! :/ Personally, I get bored with the same thing over and over, no matter how good it is!

So I hinted to him, to, let’s just have fun, and create our own burgers, and add anything we want! 😀 (Ok, almost anything. As I still had to creatively use what we had on hand!) Let’s be real. Truffles and gold-dusted buns were not going to happen. Ever. 😉

My hubby is a pizza fanatic, so that was an easy direction to go in, plus I had frozen bread dough on hand and the inspiration for the whole idea of making these killer burgers into what I’m calling, “Burger Bombs!”, was born!

I had a packet of Knorr’s basil pesto mix in the cupboard, and we LOVE that mixed into burger meat, so that was a good start! And since he was craving a pizza-style burger, I mixed equal parts lean ground beef with spicy Italian sausage, along with a few extras! 😉 A GREAT start! 😉

Always, when making filled burgers, make one patty slightly larger than the other. The smaller one will go on top and you just bring up the larger bottom edges to form and seal the whole patty to ensure that nothing, or near nothing, leaks out.

Don’t make them too thin, or they will cook too quickly and are sure to crack and fall apart.

Then top them with my creamy, cheesy filling keeping it away from the edge so that you can seal your burgers well. 😉

The last secret, for all of the burgers that I make, is to sprinkle them with a nice amount of coarse ground black pepper before grilling! My Grandma used to season her hamburger patties this way, and they were always so delicious!!

I cannot stress this enough. Oil your grates before placing whatever you’re grilling onto them first! It not only prevents sticking, but also makes killer grill marks! 😉

And so the BATTLE BEGINS!!! 😀 😀 😀

Above are both of our burgers and secret weapons! 😉

And below is the assembly of my hubby’s concoction! (*Minus sautéed mushrooms and black olives that he wanted because we didn’t have any.) 🙁

But STILL a fantastic combo!

If you know me at all and have followed my blog, you know how much I love using those frozen bread dough loaves! They come in SO handy, and I happened to have some on hand!

So I came up with the idea to wrap them in the dough and then bake them making mouthwatering and show-stopping BOMBS!

(*When the weather is good for longer than 24 hours so I can plan ahead, I’m going to experiment with doing the whole thing on the grill!)

But for now…..

THIS was going to be GOOD.

Burger EUPHORIA good.

They baked up beautifully, just as I had hoped!

(*I was nervous about this! So I was very thankful that they turned out!)

And just look how GORGEOUS they ended up being!

I was so very pleased with the results!! Could you imagine ordering this at a restaurant or local popular pub? I bet they’d be a huge HIT!

And they were actually easier to eat because they were encased in a “shell” and nothing fell out like most burgers do!

So you can go all whole hog wild and add any pizza topping that you like such as sautéed bell peppers and mushrooms, olives, a pineapple slice….or even anchovies! 😉

Hey. Whatever floats your boat! 😉 😀

But I can tell you this!!! This truly was “the bomb”!!! It was a killer-good burger and all of the elements; from the filling, to the seasoned beef, the toppings, and all baked into a crispy, cheesy, pepperoni-topped shell, all came together and just plain ROCKED!

But don’t think that the battle is over before it even started!!! Ooooooh, no. Not by a long shot! 😉 Mine is coming soon!!! And I personally think that it’s even better of course, ya know! 😉 Ha! 😀

BOTH came out delicious so it was a win-win battle! (Don’t you wish ALL battles were like that?) Me, too. 😉 🙂

So keep these in mind for this summer! Or like….now, because they were really that much fun, easy to make, and delicious beyond!! You can even make the burgers the day before, then just finish them the next day!

Now….what should I call my “dream pub”? 😉 🙂

Take care all!!!

2 burgers

Sausage & Pepperoni Pizza Burger Bombs

Ingredients

For Burgers:

1/2 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. ground spicy italian sausage
1 packet Knorr Pesto Mix
1 tsp. dried oregano
coarse ground black pepper

For Cheese Filling:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened in microwave
2 Tbl. finely grated fresh or purchased ground parmesan cheese
4 fresh basil leaves, rolled and finely sliced
1/2 tsp. fresh dried oregano leaves (crushed between your fingers), or purchased
1/2 tsp. minced dried onion
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp. garlic salt

Quick Pizza Sauce:

1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 tsp. oregano
1/16 tsp. garlic salt
1/16 tsp. sugar
1/16 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 fresh basil leaf, rolled and thinly sliced

Rest of Ingredients:

2 kale leaves, torn to size
6 thick slices fresh mozzarella cheese
16-18 slices slices pepperoni
1/2 of a 1 lb. loaf Rhodes frozen bread dough, thawed overnight, (*make breadsticks, rolls or hot dog buns out of rest of dough)
2 Tbl. melted butter
1/4 tsp. garlic salt

Instructions

The night before, spray a frozen bread dough loaf with no-stick spray, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and place in fridge to thaw overnight.

In large mixing bowl, mix together burger ingredients, except pepper, until well incorporated but don't over mix. Cover and chill.

In medium bowl, mix together filling ingredients.

In small bowl, stir together the sauce ingredients. Cover and chill.

Divide burger meat into fourths, making 2 parts slightly larger. On baking sheet, flatten into 4 patties.

Place half of filling onto larger patties to within a 1/2 or so of the edges. Place smaller patties on top, smooth up edges to seal. Hold patty in your hand and make sure all edges are very well sealed.

Sprinkle tops with coarse ground black pepper.

Heat grill to medium heat, oil grates, and place patties onto grill. Grill each side for 8 minutes. Remove to plate and loosely cover. Place in fridge to cool down.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Take a 4th of the bread dough, and pull and stretch into a 6" circle. Place a fourth of the sauce onto center, then top with a thick fresh mozzarella slice, 4-5 slices of pepperoni, grilled burger, a fourth more sauce and a kale leaf.

Bring sides of bread dough up and over the burger and pinch seams closed, (giving it a little twist helps). Turn oven and place seam side-down onto sprayed baking sheet.

Brush top and sides with garlic butter.

Top with 4 more slices pepperoni, and two thick slices fresh mozzarella torn into pieces.

Repeat making a second burger.

Pop into preheated oven and bake for 22-25 minutes until golden browned, crispy and hollow-sounding when tapped.