Taco Pizza!

As you've probably noticed, pizza is my favorite food. But running a close second (or third, if you count doughnuts as a food) is tacos. Mmmm....tacos....

So tonight I decided to combine the two to make Taco Pizza! Ok, really, it was kind of like a Mexican Pizza from Taco Bell, but much tastier. And probably much healthier now that I think about it. Basically this was a result of my having leftover taco meat and leftover lavash bread on hand. But it worked really well, and it was a really quick dinner. So give it a shot!

Taco Pizza

2 lavash flatbreads (mine were about 10 x 7 inches)

1/2 lb lean ground beef

1/4 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced bell peppers

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

salt to taste

1 cup shredded cheddar or jack cheese (I used 2% fat and it worked really well)

1 cup fat free refried beans

1/4 cup salsa

2 tablespoons Catalina dressing (or taco sauce if you want to go spicier)

Place the lavash on a large cookie sheet and bake for about 5 minutes at 350 degrees, or until lightly crispy.

I used leftover taco meat to make these a speedy meal, but if you're starting from scratch cook the bell peppers, onion, and beef together in a medium skillet until the beef is no longer pink and the veggies are slightly soft. Season the beef/veggie mixture with the garlic, cumin, and salt.

Meanwhile microwave the refried beans in a small bowl for about 30 seconds until they're warm. Stir in the salsa and dressing/sauce to thin the beans out for a more "sauce-like" consistency. Spread the bean/salsa mixture over the lavash, evenly covering them in a thin layer. Sprinkle each pizza with 1/4 cup of cheese. Then divide the meat and veggies evenly between the two pizzas. Finish by sprinkling the top of each pizza with another 1/4 cup of cheese.

Bake the pizzas at 350 degrees for about 7-8 minutes, or just until the cheese starts bubbling. Cut into squares, and enjoy! Serves two...or maybe four people with small appetites!

Unmotivation

I've been feeling rather unmotivated about blogging lately...as you've probably noticed. At some point in the last couple of months it turned from "ooh, fun, I should blog about that" to "it's already been a week since I last blogged, gotta come up with something". I think it's perhaps because I've been in a bit of a culinary rut.

Not that I haven't been making good food...I have...it's just a lot of it is food I've already talked about! Offering pictures of more veggie tacos or more lemon bars or another batch of those addicting crackers just seems redundant.

And I haven't read anything particularly inspiring lately...mostly because I have started watching way too much tv again! But I figure that tv will be over in another month or two, and I'll have all summer to catch up on reading....

So anyway, I apologize for the lack of interesting reading around here lately. I'm going to try to get myself out of this rut...I think I'm going to make biscuits this weekend, and hopefully sometime in the next week or two I'm going to attempt falafel, which I'm pretty excited about! So bear with me...and my overabundant use of ellipses...and hopefully I'll have some new and exciting recipes to try soon!

Veggie Tacos, Wheat Rolls, Apple Pie, Macaroni and Cheese and Molasses Cookies

I'm in New York on vacaaaaation! When I get back, hopefully I'll have some fantastic pictures and stories to share! But in the meantime, I thought I would leave you with the links to some of my favorite recipes.

I don't recommend eating them all at once, you might die of delicious over-indulgence. But if you split them into two meals, I think you might have a couple of tasty dinners on your hands!

Veggie Tacos

Apple Pie

Macaroni and Cheese

Wheat Rolls

Molasses Cookies

Bon appetit! I'll be back in a week!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things: Steak Tacos

These definitely aren't as veggie friendly as my last taco recipe. In fact, they're pretty much loaded with meat, so if you're vegetarian, avert your eyes!

This is one of those meals that sort of randomly came together based on what I had lurking in my fridge and pantry. Since I basically made it up as I went along my recipe is not very specific, but the end result was completely delicious! So think of this as more of a set of guidelines than a recipe...and have fun with the leftovers in your fridge! Besides, how can you go wrong with tacos in any shape or form?

I made chicken ones for the boys too, since they're not as picky as me, but the steak still won hands down. I got the shells at La Mesa Tortilla Factory, so they were golden and tasty, and crunched ever so satisfyingly ever time I took a bite. The steak was maybe a little too well done...I got a little distracted, but it was garlicky and limey, and when topped with a little cheese, a little lettuce, and a little salsa, was pretty much sublime.

Now that you're hopefully droolingly ready to make these for yourselves, here are the aforementioned guidelines:

Steak (or chicken) Tacos

about 1 lb meat, sliced into about 1 inch strips

1 lime

1-2 tablespoons salad dressing or oil

1 small onion, roughly chopped

4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

10-12 corn taco shells (or small flour tortillas-I used those for the leftovers and it was equally fantastic!)

about 2 cups of shredded jack or cheddar

about 1 cup of salsa

about 1-2 cups of lettuce, roughly chopped

The night before you plan to make these, get a large ziploc bag, and throw in the meat, the lime (juice it into the bag, then just chuck the rest in), the onion, the garlic, and the oil or dressing. I used vegetable oil for the steak, and balsamic vinaigrette for the chicken. Make sure the bag is securely closed and then pound the meat for a minute or two, making sure that all of it gets coated and the garlic and onion are pretty evenly dispersed.

The next day bust out your handy dandy George Foreman grill (or a grill pan or even a large skillet) and cook the meat for about four minutes on each side, or until cooked to your satisfaction. I discarded the lime pieces and the biggest chunks of garlic so that the garlic breath issue wouldn't be too scary.

While the meat is cooking toast the taco shells in a 300 degree oven until warm. Shred the cheese, chop the lettuce, prep the salsa, open your container of sour cream...etc. Once the meat is done let it rest for a minute or two so that you don't boil your fingertips off, then quickly shred/cut it into bite-size pieces. Place a layer of meat in the bottom of each taco shell, then top it with the toppings that your heart desires. Mmm....tacos.....

Oh and p.s. you will probably have some leftovers, which I can testify will probably taste even better the next day!

Veggie Tacos aka See Mom, I Do Eat Vegetables

I've made this vegetarian friendly meal several times since we went to Apple Annie's in September. I like it for three reasons: (1) it means I eat a lot of vegetables in one meal, (2) it only takes about 20 minutes or so to make, and (3) it's delicious! Not as delicious as Valarie's potato tacos, but still, quite tasty.

Basically you saute a bunch of vegetables together for a few minutes, blister a few corn tortillas, put the veggies in the tortillas, sprinkle with cheese and salsa, et voila! Veggie tacos! I don't think I could ever totally be a vegetarian because I would really, really, really miss bacon, but sometimes meals like this make me think twice. It's the perfect meal to serve if you're serving a crowd of both omnivores and herbivores, and it wouldn't be hard at all to make vegan if you just make sure to buy vegan tortillas and skip the cheese. It's also a pretty flexible meal--I use potatoes and bell peppers and onions because that's what I always have on hand, but some zucchini or jicama or tomatoes could also be quite tasty in these. So have a veggie taco party, and experiment with the flavors a little bit!

Veggie Tacos

1 medium baking potato, cubed

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or one serrano pepper, minced)

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 cup corn

1/2 cup black beans

8-10 (six inch) corn tortillas, blistered

shredded cheese and salsa for garnishing

In a large skillet heat a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat, toss in the potato cubes, coating evenly in oil. Cook the potatoes, lid on, for about five minutes. While the potatoes are cooking, dice the bell peppers and onion. Take the lid off, toss the bell peppers, potatoes, and onion together. Cook for another five minutes or so, stirring often. Once the potatoes seemed cooked through, but the other veggies are still a little bit crisp, add the spices, black beans, and corn. Cook for another minute or so, stirring constantly, until all vegetables are hot through, but don't let it go too long, at this point they get mushy fast.

While the vegetables are cooking, place a small empty skillet over very high heat. Working quickly (but carefully!) place one tortilla at a time in the skillet. Let it sit for about 30 seconds on each side, or until the tortilla blisters slightly and no longer looks uncooked.

Place a few tablespoons of the veggie mixture into the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese, top with salsa, and enjoy!