Mushroom Pizza with Sausage

Pizza can be a great vessel to try new foods and flavors.  Tonight I piled on the ingredients my family loves: Italian sausage, onion, bell pepper, and marinara.  Then I topped the pizza with a great abundance of mushrooms: white button and portabello.  The portobello could be mistaken for meat with its thick tender texture.  Our daughters didn't even bat an eye at the amount of mushrooms on their pizza because everything else was the same!

Mushroom Pizza with Sausage

Serves 6

1 pound refrigerated whole wheat pizza dough

Cooking spray

4 ounces ground Italian pork sausage

1 cup thinly sliced onion

1 (8-ounce) package presliced white button mushrooms
1 (6-ounce) package sliced portabello mushrooms

1 cup diced red or green bell pepper

1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup lower-sodium marinara sauce (such as McCutcheon's)

1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preheat a pizza stone in a oven set to 450 degrees. (How to create your own pizza oven)

Place dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray; let dough stand, covered, for 15 minutes.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; coat pan with cooking spray.  Add sausage to pan; cook 3 minutes, stirring to crumble. Add onion and mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes. Add bell pepper; sauté 2 minutes.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Sprinkle cornmeal on parchment; roll dough into a 12-inch circle. Spread sauce over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Top with sausage mixture. Sprinkle cheeses over sausage mixture.

Transfer the pizza (with parchment paper) to the baking stone.  Bake for 17 minutes or until crust is golden.