Taco Pizza

I have been in a pizzay (is that a word? haha) mood lately. I have been making a lot of my own pizzas, crust and all. I must say I much prefer my pizzas over any take out or frozen too! I think (hope) my family agrees. No one has complained at least.

Taco pizza is a fun spin on a traditional pizza using a salsa/bean combo in place of the normal tomato sauce. It can be topped with any sort of toppings you like and associate with tacos, I will list what we use in our home.

What You Will Need:
Dough to use for crust (click here for the dough recipe I use)
0.5-1 lb (depending on taste) hamburger
1 cup shredded cheese
1 cup salsa
1 can refried beans
black olives
fresh tomatoes (to top)
lettuce
sour cream
avocados

Step 1: Prepare the crust-
I use the same dough recipe for everything I make from dinner rolls to bread to cinnamon rolls, etc.  The link for this recipe is above.  You can also buy prepackaged pizza dough mixes or an already made crust-in which case you can skip this step.
Once dough is ready roll out on a lightly floured surface.  Roll a little larger than the pan you will be using, you want the dough to hang over slightly.
Before placing dough on pizza pan lightly oil pan (I use olive oil) and lightly sprinkle with yellow corn meal (optional).
Place dough on pan.
Roll up over hanging edges to create the crust.
Lightly brush the edges with more olive oil (optional-helps crust to brown nicely).

Step 2: Prep Sauce and Toppings-
Take 1 cup of salsa and puree until smooth (this is optional, I like a smooth sauce).
In a large mixing bowl combine salsa with 1/2 can of refried beans.
Spread on top of pizza crust.
Cook hamburger and drain grease.
Add some taco seasonings (you can use a packet or click here to learn how to make your own)  I honestly do not even premake my own taco seasoning anymore.  Now that I know what spices to use I just add in my own to the meat until I like the way it tastes.  The spices you need are Chili Powder, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Cumin and Paprika.  I do about 3 palm fulls (as Rachael Ray would say, about 1 Tblsp) of the chili powder and 1 palm full of the rest.

all ready to go in the oven

Step 3: Build and cook pizza-
Once hamburger is done place on top of pizza "sauce"
Add 1 cup of cheese (more if you like) and black olives
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until crust is done.

Serve with desired toppings.  This may vary from person to person.  My hubby tops his with more salsa, black olives and fresh tomatoes.  I like fresh tomatoes and lettuce, sour cream and avocados.  Our kids eat the slices as is.
Enjoy!

Love,
Christy

Oooh SPICY!

One thing that has happened since I became a mom, I pay more attention to those nifty little ingredient labels on food packages. This has really opened my eyes.  I cannot believe some of the things they put in commercially processed foods.  I don't feel comfortable feeding a lot of these unknown processed ingredients with names I cannot pronounce to my family.  Therefore I have started on a quest to learn to prepare more and more of my own foods.

Before my quest the idea of something like making my own lasagna or bread seemed so far fetched.  Who actually does that?  Who has time for that?  Why would they want to when they can buy it already made?  The answers are simple, when you make it yourself you can control whats in it and its surprising how easy it really is.

There were still some staples on my shelves that never even occurred to me that I could make.  One of these was Taco Seasoning.  I love taco seasoning.  I use it several times a week, its a great and easy way to season meat.  Then one day the thought just popped into my head, obviously this was an imitation of something much better.  There must be a way to make my own.  I looked at the ingredient list for any recognizable spices and googled away.  From this I came up with a great recipe. 
Even if you are not concerned with commercially processed foods give this a try.  Its a money saver as well as good for you, much cheaper to make your own.

The bowl on the left contains the home made Taco Seasoning:

6 Tblsp Chili Powder
2 Tblsp Cumin

4 Tblsp Paprika

3 Tblsp Onion Powder

1 Tblsp Garlic Powder

1/2 Teasp Cayenne Powder (optional, makes seasoning extra spicy)- I left this out as I didn't have any.

Mix together and store in airtight container. Use 2-4 Tblsp (or whatever desired amount)  and a small amount of water (maybe 1/8 cup) to season meat.

On the right is the pre packaged taco seasoning which, according to the package itself, contains:

Maltodextrin, Salt, Chili Pepper, Onion Powder, Monosodium Glutamate, Corn Starch, Garlic Powder, Spice, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Silicon Dioxide, Natural Flavor, Etgoxyquin.

Which looks better to you?  Which sounds better to you?

I have been using this taco seasoning for a few weeks now and LOVE IT!  Its great to sprinkle on meat to give an extra kick.  I put it in hamburgers sometimes, its a multipurpose spice that you will love to have in your kitchen.

Love,

Christy