Crockpot PIZZA??!!

Yes, you read that correctly! We are having pizza from the CROCKPOT! Did you even know that was possible? I didn't. But thankfully to Pinterest my husband found this awesome recipe and we tried it out.  It was WONDERFUL!  However, my only complaints would be that there wasn't more AND that my crockpot is round and not oblong.

So tonight after he gets home from work we get to have it again ... but I planned better.  Tonight it's just the 2 of us for dinner SOOOOO there's more to eat! LOL!

Now I'm sure you are wondering ... pizza ... in the crockpot ... no way?! But I assure you it works.  And it's even better then just pizza. It's DEEP dish pizza. With a CRUNCHY crust!

So tonight's dinner is Deep Dish sausage, sauteed mushrooms, and meatballs pizza. Doesn't that sound delicious? I can't wait!  Here's a picture of it after I got it all situated in the crockpot to do it's cooking.


Now you want to make one, right? Because you don't believe me. So here's all you really need to know. First you need pizza crust. You can use already  prepared OR make homemade OR gluten free - whatever you would like.  I used prepared because ... I had it on hand. Then you need your ingredients (cheese, toppings, sauce - which I'll explain in a bit) and voila!

So you take your dough and get it rising, proofing, thawing. Meanwhile assemble your toppings.  For the sauce we used crushed tomatoes the first time, but this time I used whole peeled tomatoes.  When I got home from the store with that can I opened and dumped it into my pot then added in some garlic powder, fresh diced garlic, and basil to taste.  I also heated it on low so that we could "wake up" the spices. After a few minutes on the heat I then used my spoon to break up the tomatoes (some I had to pull apart with my fingers) and then moved it off the heat.

Next you need a piece of wax paper and place it in the bottom of your crockpot. Then you want to take your dough and gently knead it outward and up the sides.  The BIG thing to remember is with each layer to pull up the sides of the dough (to get it to be deep dish) otherwise your toppings and such will all fall out. Then you put a healthy layer of cheese. Today we used an Italian cheese blend, but you can use whatever you'd like ... even cheddar.

Following the cheese is your toppings. I had 3 today so I put down my sliced sausage (which was leftover from last night and already cooked) and made a ring to help hold the sides out and continued around and around until it was pretty full. I wish I had taken a picture, but my hands were SO greasy from oil on the dough I couldn't. And I was the only one home at the time. :(  Then I went around the entire dough and pulled the sides up. I also added some more cheese. Because cheese makes everything better, right?

Then I placed my veggies, which were also precooked. And afterward I pulled the sides of the dough up again. Next I placed chunks of some leftover meatballs from my homemade Parmesan meatballs and pasta the other night (which was also delicious.) After the meatballs were placed I ... yes you read my mind ... pulled the sides up again!

Now comes the sauce! This was the messiest part because my dough kept trying to shrink back down. So with one hand I was holding up part of the dough while the other one was scooping some of the sauce to place on top. Now remember this is not just spaghetti sauce but chunky clumps of flavored and doctored up tomatoes. If you just dump sauce on it might get TOO wet and then cause a different outcome. So I'd stick with whole or crushed tomatoes. Meanwhile, I am pulling up the side while dumping another spoonful of my sauce. Around and around I go until I meet up with my initial spot. Then I went around a second time to make sure the dough wouldn't slide back down.

We are near to the end. The last (and most important step) is a little more of the shredded cheese AND grated Parmesean cheese on top! I covered it so my red sauce could not really be seen.  Then I sort of pulled the dough in on top of the sauce to put a cover around the edge to help prevent leakage over the top.  I then placed the lid on my crockpot and turned it on. So if you want it quickly you can put it on high for 2 to 2.5 hours or on low for 4 to 5 hours.

Then it's time to dig in! We pulled out the pizza on the parchment and placed it on a flat cooking sheet (in this case my favorite Pampered Chef bar pan) to cut it up into yummy delicious slices! Don't you just want to jump in the screen and grab this slice?

I'd love to hear if you try it and what flavor combinations you come up with!!