Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pulls

My apologies for the lack of recipe posts these last couple weeks, but truthfully . . . I'm struggling to get food on my own table these days!  You'll just have to continue to be patient.

Lest the photo below makes you think "heart attack waiting to happen", think again!  I'm pretty much an anti-Paula Deen type person when it comes to butter and fat.  However, this is so worth the calories and the flavors are unbelievable!  Don't think it gets much better than cheese, bacon and ranch!  We made this twice last week for lunch with a fruit or veg.  (That might give you some insite to how sad our menu has been lately.  Rationalization: includes dairy, protein, easy to put together, yummy goodness -- ok it will work.)  This would also make a great appetizer also!  Can't wait until football season!

Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pulls

1 unsliced loaf of (round is preferable) sourdough bread

8-12 oz cheddar cheese, thinly sliced
3 oz bag Oscar Mayer Real Bacon bits
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tbsp ranch dressing mix
Using a sharp bread knife cut the bread going both directions. Do not cut through the bottom crust. Place slices of cheese in between cuts. Sprinkle bacon bits on bread, making sure to get in between cuts. Mix together butter and Ranch dressing mix. Pour over bread. Wrap in foil the entire loaf in foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Unwrap. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Notes:  We made ours on a French bread loaf because that's what we had on hand ($.96 - marked down at Walmart).  I reduced the amount of bacon bits and butter.  I would suggest cutting the butter in half and using the same amount of Ranch dressing mix.  We used sliced munster cheese the first time and monterrey jack/colby shredded cheese the second time.  The cheese covers more bread if you use shredded.  I also sprinkled a little more cheese on top once we opened the foil and let it melt a little more.  I found it easiest to cut the bread in strips along where we had scored it (just in one direction like you would regularly slice bread).  Then we pulled it apart more on our individual plates.
I snagged this recipe off Pinterest from Plain Chicken.  Check out her site for more "pull" and other great recipes!