Super Pizza Burgers

We love cooking out on the grill, and we make a lot of homemade hamburgers at our house, and my family and I are always thinking up new burger recipes or enhancing old ones. We enjoy all kinds of burgers. Sometimes we like "plain jane" hamburgers, and sometimes we like something a little different. One of our favorite hamburger recipes is one I created myself, and I call it "super pizza burgers." I came up with this burger recipe I really like pizza, especially the meats and cheeses that are usually involved. As the name implies, this burger recipe includes many of the ingredients you'd find on a deluxe pizza, so it's sort of a "pizza on a bun." Well, actually, I don't use traditional hamburger buns with my pizza burgers. Instead, I use slices of Italian bread. You can make the bread slices as thick or as thin as you like. I like to make mine about one inch thick. Don't worry about the bread's getting soggy - the cheese will prevent that from happening.

Here's the recipe. I hope you enjoy these great homemade hamburgers. They're a real mouthful!

Super Pizza Burgers recipe

Ingredients you'll need:

• 1 pound ground chuck
• 1/2 pound ground Italian sausage
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 onion, cut into strips
• 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
• 8 slices Italian bread
• 4 slices provolone cheese
• 4 slices mozzarella cheese
• 16 slices pepperoni
• pizza or marinara sauce

Directions: Combine ground beef, Italian sausage, parmesan cheese, garlic, basil, oregano, and salt and black pepper. Form into four oblong or square patties. Grill or fry until done.

Place onions and bell peppers in a microwave-safe bowl and cook for a few minutes until just tender.

On four of the bread slices, place a slice of provolone. On the other four slices of bread, place the mozzarella. Place four pepperoni slices on top of each mozzarella slice. Cook in the oven on broil until bread is toasted and cheeses are melted.

Place hamburger patties on the buns and top with onions, bell peppers, and pizza sauce. These homemade hamburgers are easier to eat if you cut each one in half. Serve the super pizza burgers with a tossed green salad or some fresh fruit, and you'll have a complete meal!