Easy Sausage Not-Pizza

Eating "Low Carb" has become more than just a trend these days.  The overabundance of starches and sugars in our American diet have plenty of us "going paleo" or sticking to some other sort of low carb diet.  I'm far from an exception to this.  With all of my health issues, getting rid of the junk from my menu is more than just vanity (although I won't deny that it's a factor).  Without counting a single calorie, I've lost about 9 pounds in the three weeks since getting rid of the sugary, starchy addiction.  While the weight is a nice plus, I'm really trying to rid myself of inflammation and allergies that go way beyond the realm of "normal".  I may just be starting to see the beginnings of a slight improvement, but my victory cry won't be sounded until I've gone at least a week since my last case of mild anaphylactic shock.  That's probably a long way off, but in the meantime, I'll share the recipes that are helping me along.

My household loves Italian.  Pizza, pasta... uh-oh, not so low starch friendly.  This recipe is one that my family has been eating with great pleasure. It's easier than real pizza, and tastes great.  I used cheap sausage this time, but have bought sausage straight from a farmer in the past.  You may also want to try taking your favorite ground meat and adding lots of garlic, onions, basil, oregano, cayenne, salt and fennel seed to make your own sausage. Here is everything we used:
24 oz bulk sausage
Italian seasoned tomato paste
Pesto
2 Sweet peppers, chopped
1/2 red onion, quartered and sliced
Olives, chopped
Italian Cheese
Chopped green onion to finish (I usually use fresh basil, but my plant died inexplicably)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, and prep your sausage while you wait.  Just press it out flat onto a 9 x 13 inch nonstick baking sheet. (Don't use a completely flat one, or you'll drip grease in your oven.) Bake this for about 10 minutes, or until just barely cooked.  Remove it from the oven, and blot the top dry with a clean paper towel.  If you've used a sausage that is on the fatty side, you'll also need to drain the grease.  At this point, you also will want to make sure that your sausage "crust" is not stuck to the pan.
 
Now you can top it with your favorite veggie pizza toppings.  For normal pizza I usually thin my pesto and tomato paste combination, but for a sausage crust, I keep it nice and thick.  Just spread your sauces as though you're making a pizza, and sprinkle with cheese and other toppings.  If you like something other than what I used here, try it.

 Place your "pizza" back in the oven until the toppings look done.  If you want to, you can even use the broiler setting to get the cheese nice and bubbly. There really are no rules here.  After you've decided it's done, take it out of the oven and cut it like a pizza. Sprinkle on some sliced green onion or basil and enjoy your easy masterpiece.