Pizza Casserole FTW!

I had to immortalize this for-EV-ER because it was seriously delicious. Three layers of cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and peppers. I might not have been able to pick it up and eat it like a slice of pizza but it sure tasted like one! 

Not bad for a back up plan.

I had meant to make a cauliflower pizza crust to put my toppings on so I could have pizza night with my kids and not cheat on my low-carb lifestyle. However, in a fit of forgetfulness last night, I ate the cauliflower I was saving to do so with. With sad face, I figured I was going to sit through the smells, sounds, and sights of pizza night while I ate scrambled eggs or something. Well, okay, it probably wasn't as dire as all that but it didn't sound nearly as appetizing as PIZZA!

I started rummaging through my almost empty crisper (shopping day is tomorrow) and found a wayward half of zucchini that had manage to survive the "zoodle" carnage. It would not live to do another day. One of my favorite food bloggers, Marye Audet-White (from RestlessChipotle.com and LowCarb-ology.com fame -- to name a few) made a lasagna out of zucchini and I thought why couldn't I make pizza casserole out of it instead? 

So I did!

Ingredients

9 thin slices of zucchini

1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese

9 slices of pepperoni

1/4 cup diced onions

1/4 cup sliced mushrooms

1 tsp minced garlic

3 TBS ranch dressing (I don't like red sauce on pizza so use whatever sauce you like)

add peppers to taste

Directions

1.) steam zucchini until slightly tender

2.) saute the onions, mushrooms, and garlic with a pinch of salt until mostly cooked and really tender

3.) in a dish w/sides (otherwise the cheese is going to ooze everywhere) -- put down three slices of zucchini, 1 TBS ranch, 1/3 of the cheese, 3 pepperoni, and 1/3 of the onion-mushroom mixture. Rinse. Lather. Repeat three more times. Top it with the peppers.

4.) cover with plastic wrap and microwave 2-3 minutes until hot, bubbly, and everything is delicious looking.

5.) let it cool for a couple minutes and then slide it out of the bowl onto a plate and devour! (... or just eat it out of the dish to save clean up after.)