Taco..Pizza…

It’s taco..and pizza combined.  That is genius.  Who thought of this idea? I’d like to shake their hand and give them the key to my..fridge. 🙂  I don’t know about you, but sometimes coming up with a dinner idea that everyone will like (not even love..just like) is hard.  So when the mention of a taco pizza fluttered into my mind, I knew it was something we needed to try.  Sure enough, it was a pleaser.  The boys in the family liked it because it was a pizza.  The girls liked it because it was a taco salad sitting nice and proper on top of a mouth-watering crust.   It was a win/win for everyone. 

For the crust, I used this recipe. (My favorite recipe for pizza crust found here)

For Pizza Crust
Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups warm water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

The How-To:
* In a large mixing bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer), mix the water, yeast, sugar, honey and oil. (If using active dry yeast, increase the amount of yeast to 2 3/4 teaspoons and proof the yeast in the water until foamy before mixing in the sugar, honey and oil.) 

*Mix in 1 cup flour and the salt. Continue mixing in all the remaining flour until you get a nice, soft dough. Knead until dough is soft and smooth, about 10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes with a stand mixer.

*Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl cover with damp cloth.  (I usually turn my oven on the lowest temperature while I’m making the dough, then turn it off when I’m finished with the dough.  Then, I cover the dough, while still in the mixing bowl, with a damp cloth and place it in the warm oven.  It rises beautifully.)

*Let rise for an hour.  Punch down and roll out (into the size and shape your pizza) onto a floured surface.  Transfer to a pizza stone or cookie sheet

*Bake at 450* for 20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy to your liking. (I like my crust crisp with a hint of softness, so I usually cook it a bit longer..)

*Take crust out of the oven and set aside

The Toppings:

This is where it gets really fun.  You can top your pizza with anything! 😀 I give you full permission to be crazy here and pile it high with things like:
Ground hamburger or turkey, browned/drained
Chopped tomatoes
Diced onions
Green peppers (diced)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Black olives, sliced
Shredded lettuce
Sour cream
Guacamole
The possibilities are endless and you can’t go wrong.  Anything that sounds good on a taco..add it. Go ahead. You can do it. 🙂

The How-to: (toppings)
*Brown hamburger or turkey meat. Drain and set aside
*Add 1 packet taco seasoning mix (or your own homemade version of taco spice mix) to the hamburger or turkey. Mix well. (For more punch, add more spice..we like subtle flavors so one packet works well for us.)
*Layer the meat on top of the pizza crust
*Top with the rest of your toppings

No need to place back in the oven, unless you really want to.  (If you do want to bake it a bit, don’t add lettuce, sour cream, guacamole or tomatoes until you remove it.  The lettuce will wilt, sour cream will turn runny…just don’t do it. Wait until after you remove it from the oven to add all the goodness.) 

And there you have it. Taco Pizza.  Two great meals combined to make one fantastic crowd pleaser.

Bite Size Taco

So, with Cinco de Mayo coming up, why not celebrate with a little bite-sized taco?  These little finger food fiesta treats are oh so yummy and easy to make.  (and eat!) All you do is stuff your food inside a little chip bowl. How easy is that? The hard part is deciding WHAT to stuff the chip with.  For me, we used all the things we’d normally put in a taco. Tomatoes, guacamole, cheese, sour cream and meat.  But you could use beans, refried beans, shredded chicken or pork.  Then, top with your favorites like, cheese and guac. Delicious!!  But, in case you want the nitty-gritty on how we made our hamburger..here’s the secret recipe:

*1 lb. cooked, ground hamburger, drained
*1 small can tomato sauce
*1 can diced tomatoes, drained well
*1/2 onion, chopped
*1 teaspoon chili powder
*1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
*salt/pepper to taste
*1 bag ‘bowl’ like chips (I use Tostitos Scoops.)
*1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Optional toppings:
sour cream, guacamole, additional onions, etc..

The How-to:

*cook hamburger with onion until fully cooked and no pink remains
*drain and set aside
*in skillet, pour tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, and spices
*add cooked hamburge
*let simmer for 20 minutes

Take chips and fill 1/2 full with hamburger mixture. 
Top with cheese, sour cream, cilantro, basil..or any other  additional toppings your heart desires. 

One of the fun things with this dish, is that you can make it as spicy or as low-key as you like. You can even get crazy and skip the individual spices and add a taco seasoning mix packet instead. It’s all up to you.  Your mouth will have a party because of this little meal.