Pizza Lentils

If I could eat pizza for every meal I'm pretty sure I would.  It's just straight delicious.  Now that I can no longer indulge in your standard gluten containing pizza crust I need to get creative in order to get my pizza consumption.  I've tried cauliflower crust​.  I used to make my own dough with standard whole wheat flour and have since found a GF flour that works with that same recipe.  I even just bought the domain, www.healthierpizza.com knowing that someday I will dedicate an entire site to pizza.  So yeah I love it.  

The problem with pizza and a being healthy is they don't exactly go hand in hand.  It's usually pretty fatty and pretty carb heavy which is a bad combo if your goal is stay or get trim.  This "version" of pizza was a random throw together that I did the other night and it turned out pretty good.  I will say with the protein and fiber from the lentils this dish fares on the healthier side too.  
In the dish I used a homemade pizza sauce.  I have to apologize in that I have no idea what I added to it.  I think I just googled "homemade pizza sauce" and semi followed a recipe.  It's super simple especially if you start with a tomato sauce and not whole tomatoes.  If you want to get really ambitious go for the whole tomatoes it will be worth it.  Also the longer you can let it simmer the better but in a pinch 10 minutes will do.  Just try to avoid adding sugar, there's no need!  

I should also mention that I did this in our new Fagor pressure cooker.  We love this addition to our kitchen and use it all the time for all sorts of dishes and foods.  This could easily be done in a saucepan or deep skillet.  I was able to saute in this then just add the lid and set the timer and walk away.  Pretty slick!

One of the beauties of pizza is that you can pretty much make it however you want.  My favorite combo is pepperoni, sausage, and mushrooms so I got as close to that as I could with the ingredients I had on hand, minus the mushrooms.  Feel free to add whatever you like on your pizza to make this your own.  Hope you enjoy!!!

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion diced
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 chicken sausage, chopped
• 1/2 cup pepperoni, chopped
• 1 cup lentils
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce, I might use more next time!  I'm a sauce guy
• 1 1/2 cups water or broth
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese, pick your favorite.  We used parmigiano reggiano
• Fresh herbs (Basil or Oregano) for garnish

Directions

1. Over medium heat, add your olive oil to the pot and add onions and garlic.  Cook for 3-4 minutes until slightly translucent.
2. Add the sausage and pepperoni and cook for another 5 minutes.  
   
3. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil if you are cooking on your stove top.  Once boiling reduce to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until lentils are cooked through and most the liquid is absorbed.
   
4. Top with cheese and herbs and serve.  
   

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*A variation if you aren't looking for a GF dish would be to transfer to a baking dish after lentils are cooked, top with cheese and then top with some Italian bread crumbs.