Butternut Squash & Sausage Pizza

dinner — lunch

It is ridiculous. If you're not big on sausage, you can totally make it with grilled chicken or even a vegetarian protein you like!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH & SAUSAGE PIZZA RECIPE

Ingredients

Paleo pizza crust mix(Or crust of your choice)
Nonstick cooking spray
1 1/2 cups baby arugula leaves, loosely packed
1/2 cup fresh basil, loosely packed, plus 4 leaves
4 cloves garlic
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. salt plus more for seasoning
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper plus more for seasoning
2 cups butternut squash, cubed and roasted (separately, in oven with olive oil at 450 degrees until soft & browned)
2 cups kale, loosely packed, sliced into thin strips
1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup part-skim ricotta or non-dairy ricotta
2-3 sage leaves, chopped
Organic chicken sausage
Crushed red pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray
Bake pizza dough according to package (or use your own dough of choice)
Meanwhile, combine the arugula, the 1/2 cup of basil, 2 garlic cloves and the lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the 1/4 cup of oil and the water; pulse until a thin paste forms. Add 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 tea-spoon of the black pepper; pulse. You now have delish home-made pesto!
Heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion for 3-5min. Chop the remaining garlic and add it to the skillet
Add the kale, sage, butternut squash, chicken sausage and 1/4 teaspoon each salt & black pepper; Stir for 3 to 4 minutes until tender
Spread 1/4 cup of your home-made pesto on the crust. Top with the vegetable mixture and tomatoes. Season the ricotta with salt and black pepper and add in dollops to the pizza. Bake until crust browns and cheese melts, 20 to 25 minutes. Slice the remaining basil and top pizza with it. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper to taste.