Sausage-Loaded Pizza Bellas

By asally04

1⁄2 of recipe (1 pizza-bella): 189 calories, 6.5g fat, 565mg sodium, 14g carbs, 3g fiber, 4.5g sugars, 17g protein

Ingredients

• 2 sticks light string cheese
• 2 large portabella mushrooms, stems
• chopped and reserved
• 2 frozen meatless or turkey sausage patties
• with 80 calories or less each
• 1 ⁄4 cup diced bell pepper
• 1 ⁄4 cup diced onion
• 1 ⁄4 cup pizza sauce
• Optional toppings: garlic powder, red pepper flakes

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
• Break each string cheese stick into thirds and place in a blender or food processor—blend at high speed until shredded. (Or pull into shreds and roughly chop.)
• Place mushroom caps on the sheet, rounded sides down. Bake until slightly tender, about 8 minutes. Remove sheet, but leave oven on.
• Meanwhile, bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat. Cook sausage patties for 4 minutes. Flip patties and add pepper, onion, and mushroom stems. Cook, stirring veggies, until sausage patties are cooked through and veggies are slightly softened and lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer cooked chopped veggies to a medium bowl and blot away excess moisture. Chop or crumble sausage.
• Blot away excess moisture from mushroom caps. Spread with pizza sauce, sprinkle with shredded string cheese, and top with cooked veggies and sausage.
• Bake until mushrooms are tender, filling is hot, and string cheese has melted, 8 to 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Makes 2 Servings