When you think of an English muffin, breakfast usually comes to mind. An egg and bacon sandwich, melty peanut butter with jelly, or something as elegant as eggs benedict. While English muffins are great for breakfast, they also make a toasty lunch or snack!
Everyone’s tried English muffin pizzas at one point in their life. They offer all the flavors of traditional pizza without the hassle of dough.
Pizza took off across North America during the 1950s. There were numerous contributing factors to the rise in the sudden popularity, but one that profoundly shaped every day cooking was the desire for more convenient foods.
Takeout pizza from restaurants offered a great way to save on time but could be costly. Domestic brands knew one way to appeal to the 1950s ‘housewife’, was combining the convenience of opening a can or jar with the thriftiness of eating at home.
In 1954, Hunt’s brand tomato sauce started advertising the ‘English Muffin Pizza’ with the hope of selling more canned tomato sauce.
The ad called it a 10-minute pizza and included a prominent photo of a can of Hunt’s Tomato Sauce.
Back then, Mozzarella was not too familiar to the average home cooks, so the ad refers to it as ‘pizza cheese.’ Helpfully, the marketing suggests brick, Swiss, or other good melting cheeses.
Although these shrimp, bacon & pineapple pizzas take a bit of time to make, they are well worth it. Don’t be put off by the odd sounding combination of ingredients, they pair well!
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- 1/2 cup Panko, crushed
- 1 Tbsp flour
- 300 gm WILD jumbo shrimp
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
- 230 gm cheese, shredded (your choice) I like either smoked cheddar or a pepper jack cheese.
- 1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped
- 4 English muffins, any variety, split
- 150 gm bacon, sliced & chopped
- 1/2 large red onion, sliced
- 200 gm fresh mushrooms, sliced
- guacamole & diced tomatoes for condiments if you wish
Ingredients
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- Crush panko crumbs slightly. In a plastic bag, place the Tbsp of flour. Add shrimp & shake to dust with flour. Add beaten egg to bag & shake to moisten shrimp. Add panko crumbs & OLD BAY seasoning. Shake to coat shrimp well. Set aside in refrigerator.
- Shred cheese & chop pineapple. Slice English muffins & very lightly butter.
- Grill bacon until cooked but not crisp. Set aside on paper towel. Sauté onions & mushrooms in bacon drippings, remove from griddle. Wipe griddle, then spray with cooking spray & cook shrimp 3-5 minutes. Push to one side & warm pineapple for a couple of minutes. Toast muffins.
- Place muffin halves on a baking sheet; cover each half with some of the cheese, mushrooms, onions, more cheese & pineapple.
- Broil 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with bacon & shrimp. Serve with guacamole & diced tomatoes on the side.
