ZUCCHINI PIZZA PIE

ZUCCHINI PIZZA PIE
1 1/2 pounds zucchini *
2 eggs
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
1 pound Italian sausage
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
8 ounces tomato sauce
Salt, to taste
1 small onion, sliced, 2 1/2 ounces
1 green pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 ounce parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup

In a large skillet, brown the Italian sausage; remove it from the pan and drain, setting aside a tablespoon or two of the fat. Add the garlic powder, Italian seasoning and tomato sauce to the sausage.

While the sausage is browning, shred the zucchini. I used the shredding disk in my food processor. Squeeze out any excess moisture with paper towels. In a large bowl, beat the eggs lightly. Stir in the zucchini and 2 ounces each mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Spray a 10x15" baking pan with nonstick spray then line with parchment paper; spray again. Spread and press the zucchini mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Bake at 400?10 minutes. After removing from the oven, move the oven rack to the next to the lowest position.

Meanwhile, in the same skillet used to brown the sausage, saut?the onions, green pepper and mushrooms in the reserved fat until tender-crisp, season with salt to taste and set aside. Spoon the meat mixture over the zucchini crust. Top with the mushrooms and green pepper; sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and cheddar and the parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, watching that it doesn't get too dark. Let stand about 5 minutes before cutting and serving. I used my kitchen shears to cut the pizza. Don't forget to move your oven rack back to the normal position.

Makes 6-8 servings
Can be frozen

* Weight before trimming.

Per 1/6 Recipe: 484 Calories; 38g Fat; 27g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 7g Net Carbs
Per 1/8 Recipe: 363 Calories; 29g Fat; 20g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 5g Net Carbs

Although this tastes good, I'm not sure if it's worth all the steps involved in making it. Don't expect to pick this up with your fingers. This is knife and fork food. If you enjoy the flavor of pizza, and want to increase your veggie intake, I think you'll like this. You could use ground beef instead of the sausage. In fact, the original recipe called for ground beef but I like sausage on my pizza so that's what I used.

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