PIZZA TOPPINGS CASSEROLE

1 pound bulk Italian sausage

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

4 eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup pizza sauce (recipe follows)

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning and/or basil

3 1/2 ounces pepperoni, chopped

1/2 cup green pepper, chopped (2 ounces)

8 ounces whole milk mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes

1/2 cup red onion, slivered (1 ounce)

Crushed red pepper, optional

Brown the sausage with the mushrooms; drain the grease. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, cream, pizza sauce and seasonings in a medium bowl. Grease a 7x9" deep baking dish (or 7x12" shallow baking dish) and put in the meats, mushrooms, peppers and the mozzarella cubes. Pour in the egg mixture and mix well. Top with the red onion. Sprinkle with a little more garlic powder, Italian seasoning and a little crushed red pepper flakes, if you like. Bake at 350º for 45-55 minutes until nicely browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Mine still had a bit of liquid in the center but it was done. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 6-8 servings

Per 1/6 Recipe: 582 Calories; 50g Fat; 27g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs

Per 1/8 Recipe: 437 Calories; 38g Fat; 20g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs

PIZZA SAUCE

8 ounce can tomato sauce

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried basil, or to taste

Bring all of the ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan. Partially cover the pot and simmer over low heat for 1 hour.

Makes about 1 cup

Can be frozen

Per 1/4 cup: 22 Calories; trace Fat; 1g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs

Per Batch: 86 Calories; trace Fat; 3g Protein; 19g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 16g Net Carbs

I wanted this to be this to be more like a casserole than a quiche so I only used 4 eggs and a little cream to help bind the ingredients together. I wouldn't bother trying to cut this into squares to serve it. A big spoon would be more effective for just scooping it out. I was going to call this Pizza Bake, which was a pretty boring name. This is like eating a big pile of pizza toppings and inspired me to change the name to Pizza Toppings Casserole. Next time I might just omit the eggs and cream and add another 8 ounces of mozzarella. That would be even more like pizza toppings. Click the photo to see a close-up.

Here's a picture of a serving (click the photo to see a close-up):

UPDATE 10/27/12: I just realized that I've never updated this recipe to the way that I make it now. I leave out the eggs and cream and I use a whole pound of mozzarella. Here are the counts for the revised version:

Per 1/6 Recipe: 573 Calories; 48g Fat; 30g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs

Per 1/8 Recipe: 430 Calories; 36g Fat; 22g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs