Squash Crust Pizza

Not only does this recipe use a massive amount of Summer squash (Ok, maybe not massive.. but a lot for this year since my garden hasn't been producing zucchini up the wazoo like it normally does) but it tastes great, is a low-carb pizza option, and it is nice and savory for you sweetened squash haters.

Squash Crust Pizza

4 cups shredded Summer squash (like zucchini, yellow crookneck, scallop, etc)

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 large tomato, diced

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 tsp basil (even if your Italian seasoning has it in there, I always like to add extra)

1 green bell pepper, chopped

Directions

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Place the squash in a colander and sprinkle with salt; let drain for 15 minutes then squeeze out the moisture. Combine the squash, eggs, 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1 1/2 cup mozzarella in a large bowl. Press the mixture into a greased 12 inch pizza pan. Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. I used a pizza pan with holes in it so my crust would be sure to get crispy all the way through. Knowing that the zucchini would continue to drain as it was being cooked, I placed a sheet of aluminum foil under the pan (on the next shelf down, not directly under) to catch the drippings.

While the crust is baking, combine the tomato sauce, basil and Italian seasoning. Spoon the sauce mixture over the baked crust. Top with the bell pepper, tomato, onion, crumbled bacon and the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Increase oven temperature to 425. At this point you should be safe to remove the foil from the oven (I did, and everything was fine). Return pizza to the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes or until heated through. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

I didn't clue my family in that this was a different kind of pizza. Of course they knew once they bit into it, but that way they didn't have any preconceptions. I was a little nervous about how this one would go over. But they all liked it! My husband had three helpings! And even my 14-year-old neice who is a self-proclaimed squash hater licked her plate clean.

Just a note about the crust: I made a few crusts, two for dinner and one to snack on. The snacking crust got cooked a little bit longer until it was nice and crispy. I then broke it up into "crackers" which were promptly devoured by my girls.