Foodie Friday: Upside Down Pizza

Here is another recipe that I discovered through Pinterest. (I love that site!) The original recipe is called Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza Pot Pie, but I like the name Upside Down Pizza better. I have decided that we will have some form of pizza one night a week at our house and this delicious recipe was last week's pizza.

Upside Down Pizza
Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 pkg. yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp.)
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour (you can use all-purpose, but bread flour makes a fluffier crust)

For the filling:

• 1 lb. Italian sausage
• Pepperoni, sliced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced or crushed
• 2-3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 jar pizza sauce

For top of crust:

• 2 Tbs. melted butter
• dried oregano and basil

Directions:

Make the dough first.  Dissolve the yeast in the water.  Mix in the other ingredients until they are well blended.  I use a stand mixer with a dough hook, but you can also do this by hand.  Let the dough rest while you cook the sausage.

Brown the sausage with the onion and garlic.  Drain and rinse under hot water to remove the extra fat.

Heavily grease a 9×13 casserole dish.  Layer the mozzarella and then the sausage over the top.  Pour the sauce over the sausage, using a spoon the spread it out.

On a floured surface, roll out the pizza dough with a rolling pin.  It should be about the shape and size of the casserole dish.  Carefully lift the dough and place it on the casserole dish.  Trim any dough that is hanging over the sides.  Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with oregano and basil, if desired.  Bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes.

You can flip the pieces upside down for serving. The cheese ends up on top.