Crockpot Puffy Pizza Review

So, I made Crockpot Puffy Pizza. Kinda. I know it wasn't on my meal plan until Friday, but we switched the Farm Show trip to Friday, so I made it today. Sorta. Here's what I did:

Grace's Crockpot Pizza Casserole

• 1lb. Italian sausage, crumbled, browned, drained
• 15 oz. can tomato sauce
• 2 T Italian seasoning
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 T cornstarch
• 1 box Jiffy pizza crust mix
• 1/2 C. hot water
• 1 C Italian cheese blend
• 1 C mozzarella cheese

Combine first 6 ingredients in saucepan and heat until bubbly and thickened; pour into 4qt crockpot (I used non-stick spray inside mine first, and it did help with the clean up.) Separately, combine crust mix and hot water; allow to stand for 5-10 minutes in a warm place (per box instructions.) Mix Italian cheese into crust mixture and spread on top of sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese.

My casserole was done after 2 hours on high (my crockpot cooks hot- next time I will cook on low and see if I can stretch it to 4 hours. I ended up taking the lid off and leaving it on "warm" until we were ready to eat since it cooked so quickly this time.)

I would make this again; the kids ate it, and John and I both had seconds. I think this would work with a variety of combinations- the ground beef like the original recipe calls for, or other pizza toppings (ham, bacon, and pineapple, anyone?) in place of the Italian sausage. (The original recipe suggests adding your toppings on top of the crust/cheese, but I think I would put them down in the bottom with the sauce, unless you like your pepperoni or whatever to be on the crispy side.)

However, I would not call this "pizza." In fact, I was careful to call it a "casserole" to my kids, knowing that if I got their hopes up for "pizza," they would be disappointed and not eat it. This is definitely more of a casserole, anyway, so just be prepared. That said, using the crust mix, I did not end up with anything that was "quiche" consistency, like some of the commenters did.

Overall, I would make it again, but it's not going to be a weekly or even monthly recipe for us. Unless the kids really start requesting it tomorrow.