Upside-Down Pizza

Father's Day. Patrick on the porch. Mom made him steak the way he likes. Medium. He ate slow. He patted my hand once. The patting was the saying.

Patrick on the porch in the afternoon. Coffee in the good cup. The cottonwoods.

Ribs in the smoker Saturday. Six hours. Apple wood. Dry rub.

Cattle were good. Horses were good. The week was the week.

Mended the chute hinge Wednesday. Welder was finicky. Got it on the third try. Patrick used to do this. I do it now.

The Musselshell was clear Sunday. Could see trout in the deeper pools. Did not fish. Just watched.

Drove to Billings for parts Friday. Stopped at the cemetery on the way home. Stood for ten minutes. Came home.

Took a walk to the river before supper Tuesday. The cottonwoods were silver. The water was running. I did not think much. I just walked.

A reader emailed about the elk chili recipe. Asked what beer to use if non-alcoholic was not available. I wrote back: any beer is wrong if you don't drink. Use stock.

Hank, the dog, herded the chickens by accident. He apologized in the way dogs apologize — eyes down, tail low. The chickens were unimpressed.

The wood pile is half what it was at Thanksgiving. I will split another cord on Saturday. The cord will be ready by next winter. The wood always is.

The barn cats are doing their job. Down to one mouse this week, in the feed shed. The cats brought it to the porch as proof. They are professionals.

Three days of horses this week. The work is meditative. The horses know. The owners pay. The cycle holds.

Truck started cold Tuesday. Twelve below. Battery is the original. I will replace it before next winter. I always say I will replace it before next winter. I never have.

Storm came through Friday night. Thunder. The dog hid under the bed. The kids slept through it. The cattle bunched up by the windbreak. Standard.

A neighbor's heifer was choking on a corn cob. I drove over with my emergency kit. Cleared the cob with a length of garden hose. The heifer recovered. The neighbor brought a pie the next day.

Drove the back fence line Saturday. Two posts down from elk. Replaced them in the morning. The fence held the rest of the week.

Hauled three bull calves to the auction yard Wednesday. Got a fair price. Came home. Counted the cash. Put it in the ranch account.

Wrote a blog post Friday night. The first one in two months. About making chili in a snowstorm. Short. Practical. Posted it. Forgot about it.

The Tuesday Roundup AA meeting was eleven this week — three new guys from a referral. The room was full. The coffee was strong.

Worked on the truck Saturday afternoon. Plugs and wires. Two hours. Hands black with grease. Came in. Showered. Ate.

Listened to the cattle market report on AM radio while I worked the shop. Beef is up. Feed is up. The math is the math.

Mr. Whelan from down the road came over Saturday with a story about a horse he sold in 1979. The story took an hour. I listened. He needed someone to tell it to.

The ribs on Saturday got their six hours and their apple wood, and that was the kind of cooking that asks something of you — time, attention, patience. The rest of the week doesn’t always allow for that. After hauling calves to auction, pulling fence posts for elk damage, and driving to Billings and back, what the table needs on a Tuesday or Wednesday is something that goes together fast and fills everyone up without requiring a man to stand over it. This upside-down pizza has been in the rotation here for exactly that reason — it’s the kind of meal Patrick would’ve called “honest food,” nothing fancy, just good.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 can (15 oz) pizza sauce
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup sliced black olives (optional)
1/2 cup sliced pepperoni (optional)
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Brown the meat. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef, onion, and bell pepper until the beef is no longer pink and the vegetables are softened, about 8–10 minutes. Drain any excess fat.
Season and sauce. Stir in the pizza sauce, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Let the mixture simmer for 2–3 minutes until slightly thickened. Spread evenly into the prepared baking dish.
Add toppings. Scatter olives and pepperoni over the meat mixture if using. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella evenly over the top.
Make the batter. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and vegetable oil until combined. Add the flour, salt, and baking powder and whisk until a smooth batter forms with no large lumps.
Pour and bake. Pour the batter evenly over the cheese layer, spreading gently to cover. Bake uncovered for 25–30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the batter layer comes out clean.
Rest and serve. Let the pan rest for 5 minutes before cutting. The batter bakes into a crust on top; when served, each piece flips so the crust is on the bottom and the meat and cheese come through on top.

Nutrition (per serving)

Upside-Down Pizza — Saturday Night Simple, After a Week That Earned It