what's cooking wednesy - stuffed pizza

I actually made this for Mike on his birthday, but forgot to post it. This is the type of pizza we've seen before on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives that makes Mike thinks it would be a good idea to drive a couple of thousand kms to get. So I found this highly rated recipe on allrecipes.com and whipped it up for his birthday.



Stuffed Pizza

• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage
• 1 (4 ounce) package sliced pepperoni
• 1 (8 ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1. Combine the crushed tomatoes, brown sugar, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon olive oil, and salt in small saucepan. Cover pan, and cook over low heat until tomatoes start to break down, about 30 minutes.
2. Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll one piece into a 12 inch thin circle. Roll the other half into a thicker, 9 inch circle.
3. Place the 12 inch dough round into an ungreased 9 inch springform pan. Sprinkle dough with 1 cup of cheese. Shape sausage into a 9 inch patty and place in pan on top of the cheese. Layer pepperoni, mushrooms, green pepper, red pepper, and remaining cheese on top of sausage patty. Top with the 9 inch dough round and pinch edges to seal. Cut several 1/2 inch vent holes in the top crust. Spread sauce evenly on the top crust, leaving a 1/2 inch border at the edges.
4. Bake pizza in the preheated oven until the crust is set, the cheese is melted, and the sausage is cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes. Let hot pizza rest for 15 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

Recipe Notes: The actual recipe had instructions for making your own crust. I have a recipe I use myself, but if you don't make homemade you can always buy it at the grocery store. This was good. Although I didn't have any tinfoil on hand, so the top got a little too brown, but it was fine. I don't think I'd make it all the time, it is a bit much, but nice for a special treat. I would like to try it without the sausage, since I am not a huge sausage fan, but Mike likes it on his pizza.




What is What's Cooking Wednesday and how can I play?

What's cooking Wednesday was born out of a desire to get out of that what's for dinner rut. Playing is easy, on Wednesday post a recipe that has been tried and tested by you and then pop over here and add your name to the Mr. Linky. When entering your name also add the name of the recipe in brackets and make sure you link to your What's Cooking Wednesday post and not just your blog's front page. And don't forget to link back here, the home of What's Cooking Wednesday.

So for example I would write Shan (Speedy Chicken Stir Fry) in the name section. For the URL section I would post this: http://shanrev.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-cooking-wednesday-speedy-chicken.html

I'll let you in on a little secret, my WCW recipes are almost never made on a Wednesday. So feel free to cook and photograph whenever you have time and join us posting on Wednesday