Turkey, Bacon and Spinach Pizza with Old Bay

Have you ever tried food seasoned with Old Bay? If you have, you've probably tried it with seafood. And it was probably delicious. But I say...ignore the conventional, add this to your pizza! I don't remember specifically the last time I had any food seasoned with Old Bay, but I will remember this turkey, bacon and spinach za forever.

Does the picture have you convinced at all? I know you can't taste it through the screen, and even if you try really hard you probably won't be able to smell it either. But if I might just fill in those blanks for you, the taste is like no pizza you've ever experienced. This is one for the top 10 list for sure. A quote after the husbands first bite: "Wow. I think you did it again." That was a proud moment for me. And the smell is just outta control. Like whoa. Old Bay has got a savory, spicy, earthy aroma that you'd most likely encounter in restaurants around the Gulf Coast. But bring it into your kitchen, and oh my! And did I mention that there's bacon in it? That alone should get your tasters and smellers in gear.

So, gather your ingredients for the za toppings:

• 1-2 cups pizza sauce
• 6-8 slices of bacon
• 1/2 chopped onion
• About 1/2 lb. ground turkey
• 1-2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
• About 2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Get cooking, good looking!

• Place your pizza stone into a cold oven. Turn the temperature to 500. 
• Fire up the stove with a skillet on one burner. I love my cast iron skillet, but if you don't have one you can still cook these foods in a normal sort of pan. While the skillet is heating, chop your bacon into small pieces - smaller than bite-sized. Place those pieces in the hot skillet and begin to cook these, but don't cook them all the way through just yet. Maybe keep them on there for about 2 minutes.
• While the bacon is in the pan, chop up your onion. Add those pieces to the pan and cook with the bacon until the onion pieces are translucent, about 3-5 minutes. 

Bacon + Onions = Divine smelling kitchen

• Add the ground turkey to the pan and keep breaking it up so you don't have any large chunks. 

Use about 1/3 of a package of ground turkey

• Now add the magic. (Cue to add the Old Bay.) You don't need a ton of this - really less than a tablespoon would be fine. I didn't measure mine specifically - just sprinkled a smattering on there until it was fragrant!

Oh, hello back there, Old Bay.

• When your turkey is cooked through, turn off the heat. Add the chopped spinach to the mix and stir it around until it wilts. You may have to do this in batches, as raw spinach tends to occupy a lot of volume. 
• Now get your stone out of the oven and place it on your work surface. Place prepared pizza dough on top of the hot stone, followed by the sauce. Spread the sauce evenly on the dough working it as far to the edges as you can. 
• Top that with the bacon/onion/turkey/spinach mixture, evenly topping the pizza. Sprinkle the mozzarella on next, followed by the chopped parsley. 
• Place it back into the oven and bake for about 10 minutes. I did a bit of a thinner crust with this one, so mine cooked in under 10 minutes. Just keep an eye on it and you'll know it's done when the crust and the cheese on top turn golden. 

Yummy yum-ness. You'd better come with your appetite and your pizza party hat on. You've just made a real masterpiece, friend. You really don't understand the magic and wonders Old Bay can bring until you've tried this pizza. During the eating of this pizza I constantly asked myself...what is this sorcery? But all I can figure out is that I will need to stock my kitchen with some new Old Bay very soon if this za making continues. 

Za and beers for two, thank you!