Ridiculously Easy Chicago-Style Pizza Pie

Chicago-style pizza is great, but it can be a pain to make and way too expensive to buy from a restaurant... so I came up with this easy-to-make recipe. The best Chicago pizzas usually feature cornbread crusts, but the pie crusts make a surprisingly tasty substitute! I use this recipe by Dan-Amer #1 for the sausage (http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-bulk-italian-sausage-chicago-style-329000), but store-bought sausage should work just as well.

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Serves: 4
• Yields: 1 pizza pie

Ingredients

• 1 (9 inch)  frozen pie crusts, thawed
• 1  lb Italian sausage, sliced or crumbled
• 1  small onion, sliced
• 4  ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 1  cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1⁄4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 (15 ounce) can  pizza sauce
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  italian seasoning (optional)
• 2  teaspoons parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Bake the pie crust according to your package's directions. I usually prick the bottom and sides of the crust all over with a fork and bake it for 10 minutes, or until it becomes slightly golden. Remove, and set aside.
3. Brown the sausage for about 5 minutes in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the sausage is cooked and the onions are soft and translucent. Drain of any excess fat. (You can add salt & pepper at this point depending on how salty/spicy your sausage is- I usually don't).
4. Sprinkle the mozzarella and parmesan on the bottom of your pie crust. Top the cheese with the sausage mixture, and spread it out evenly. Next, spread the pizza sauce over the top, making sure the filling is completely covered. Finally, you can sprinkle the Italian seasoning and grated cheese on top, if you wish.
5. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.