French Bread Pizza

Summary

• Source: Rachel Ray
• Genre: Italian
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cooking Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 1 two-foot long loaf French bread
• 1 small jar pizza sauce
• 1-2 lbs Italian sausage (I prefer spicy, sweet works fine)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
• 1 small white onion, chopped (optional)
• 2-3 tbsp fresh garlic, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1.5 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
• 0.5 cups grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 stick pepperoni, chopped
• 2 tbsp Italian seasoning mix
• 8-16 ounces shredded Italian cheese blend (should contain mozzarella and provolone at the very least)
• 1-2 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 2-3 tsbp parsley flakes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F (verify with an oven thermometer).
2. Split bread lengthwise and hollow it out. Cut in half across, making four shells for pizza. Spread thin layer of pizza sauce in the bottom of each shell.
3. Heat skillet on medium and brown sausage in olive oil until deep brown in color and crumbly. Add red bell pepper, onion and garlic to skillet and cook 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and season with a pinch of salt and black pepper to taste.
4. Transfer cooked meat and vegetables to a bowl. Add ricotta, Parmesan, pepperoni and Italian seasonings to the bowl and mix well. Transfer contents of the bowl into the four bread shells and then top with tall mounds of the cheese blend.
5. Place bread shells on a cookie sheet and bake in the preheated oven until cheese is fully melted and bread is very crisp, roughly 10-12 minutes (switch the oven to broil for the last 1-2 minutes for extra browning of the cheese if desired). Top pizzas with parsley and red pepper flakes and serve immediately.