Taco Pizza

Pizza isn't my favorite.  Don't worry, keep reading!  I am still the same blogger you know and love :)  I eat pizza, and enjoy it, but I could also go without it.  Taco Pizza on the other hand, that I love!  Unfortunately my family does not agree with me, so I almost never get it.  For a girls night in, my friend Katie and I have been known to get Taco Pizza from a local place, along with a pack of Budweiser Select.  Only 55 calories a piece.....girl math (counteracts the calories in the pizza).   We may or may not play Just Dance on the Wii as well.  Just one of the things I am really going to miss with moving 800 miles away :(

My 6 year old loves to make pizza at home.  Recently, I got the brilliant idea to make myself Taco Pizza on these nights!  Genius! In the process of cleaning out my freezer, I found a couple balls of Naan dough.  These were the perfect size for our dinner.  My son made his a plain cheese pizza, but I topped mine to the max!  I am so excited to add this to our pizza nights. 


Taco Pizza
Printable Recipe

1 pound pizza dough (recipe found here)
Taco Meat
Refried Beans (optional, I don't use them)
1/4 cup Taco Sauce
1 cup Cheddar Cheese
1 1/2 cup Lettuce, chopped
1 Tomato, chopped
1/4 cup Black Olives, chopped
1 cup Nacho Cheese Doritos, crushed

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Roll dough out onto a greased baking tray.  Pierce dough with a fork.  Bake for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven.

Spread Taco Sauce over dough.  If using beans mix them in with the meat.  Spread meat over the sauce.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.  Top with lettuce, tomato, black olives and Doritos.  You can also top with more cheese and serve with additional taco sauce as desired. 

Chicken Burrito Pizza

In case you missed it, Cinco De Mayo was yesterday!  In honor of this holiday I decided to try a recipe that caught my eye in Shape magazine.  I love all things Mexican - chips and salsa, guacamole, enchiladas, tacos, the rice, fajitas....pretty much all of it.  I think I could eat it everyday, and be a happy girl!  There is a big debate in our house about taco pizza.  Is it pizza?  Is it Mexican?  What is it?  My husband prefers to just ignore it and claim it is neither and not eat it.  I on the other hand like it a lot.  I do not claim that it is real pizza, because really if I want pizza I was the greasy, cheesy, pepperoni goodness - not lettuce.  So I put it in a different category all together.  But I don't get it often.  Then I saw this recipe for Chicken Burrito Pizza and I said too bad for him, I was making it!  No lettuce, so he can't complain, right?  It wasn't his favorite, but I didn't expect it to be.  I on the other hand thought it was great!!  I am so excited for the leftovers for lunch today!

I have a tried and true pizza crust recipe, but decided to try Shape's recipe for crust.  It was good, I might have to use it in the future sometime.  They didn't have a calorie count for the crust alone, just for a whole slice of pizza.  A slice of pizza with both of the toppings is only 107 calories.  I had more than once slice, for sure - but if I can feel half way decent about eating Mexican I am ecstatic!  They called for lowfat cheese, which I didn't use, and I am sure I put more chicken on the pizza then they called for.  But that is the beauty of making your own food, right?

Printable Recipe

Pizza Dough

1/2 cup bread flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
6 Tbls cold water

Combine the dry ingredients.  Create a well in the middle and add the water.  Using your hands to gently combine the dough until it comes together (this can take a couple minutes, it is kind of dry).  You can either then knead the dough for 10 minutes or until firm and smooth, or you can put it in your electric mixer.  Use the paddle attachment, set on the lowest speed for about 10 minutes.  Cover with a dish towel, let it rest for 5 minutes.



Roll the dough out to form a 11 inch circle.  Place it on a metal pizza pan with small holes in it.  Let rest again for 45 minutes before you add the toppings.



Chicken Burrito Pizza
Adapted from Shape

For the Pizza
Salsa (2 Tbls - 1/4 cup)
Pizza Crust
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1 chicken breast, grilled and diced
4 Tbls black beans (I didn't use these)
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion


For the Pico De Gallo
1 large tomato, diced
1 small green chili, diced
1 Tbls chopped fresh cilantro
3 Tbls red onion, diced
Salt


For the Guacamole
1 large avocado
3 Tbls red onion, diced
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
Salt and Pepper to taste
Juice from 1/2 of lime

While the dough is resting work on the pico de gallo and the guacamole.

Pico de Gallo - combine tomato, chili, cilantro and onion in small bowl.  Season with salt.  I squeezed a little lime juice on it as well.  Set aside.



Guacamole - Halve an avocado, remove the pit, and scoop out the flesh onto a plate.  Using a fork, mash the avocado.  Mix in the onion and seasonings.  Squeeze in the lime juice.  I always taste test, and adjust the seasonings.  I really depends on the avocado how much salt and other seasonings you need.  So start light, taste and add more if you want.  I usually add in tomato with my guacamole, but because this was using pico de gallo as well, I left them out.



Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Spread salsa over the prepared dough.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Top with the chicken, black beans and onions.  Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the edges of the crust are golden brown.

Slice pizza and top slice with a spoonful of guacamole and pico de gallo.  Enjoy!!

Make Your Own Pizza

As I was taking pictures while cooking last night, my son says "Mom, everyone knows how to make pizza, you don't need to blog about it." Well, maybe he is right, but I am going to blog about it anyway.

Make your own pizza's is one of my son's favorite dinners. Probably because he gets to put on only the toppings he likes, and doesn't have to deal with what everyone else likes. But he also really likes to help in the kitchen, and this is the easiest meal for him to help with. I like it, because the recipe I use for the crust is relatively low in calories. Each personal size crust has only 135 calories, so you can make pizza low in calories if you put the right toppings on.

Pizza Dough
Makes 4 - 6in crusts
2 cups flour
1 pkg Rapid Rise Yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp if you have a jar like I do)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
7/8 cup Hot water (125-130 degrees)
1 tsp Olive Oil



Mix together all the dry ingredients. Then slowly add the water and oil to the flour. Stir until it forms a ball. Then put onto a floured surface and knead for approx 6 minutes. It should be smooth and not sticky when you are done. I have done this in the food processor as well. Then I think I just pulsed it for 3o sec to 1 min. Put the ball of dough in a bowl and cover for 10 minutes.


While the dough is resting you can get all of your toppings ready. Use your imagination! My favorite is pesto sauce with chicken, black olives, tomatoes and mushrooms. That wasn't what I made last night, but it is very good!

I had made some pizza sauce a couple weeks ago, that I had stored in the freezer. It is super easy to make your own sauce, and tastes much more like sauce from a good restaurant.

Pizza Sauce
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (60z) can tomato paste
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp basil
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp sugar

Just mix together everything in a bowl.


Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Once the dough has rested, roll it out into approx 6 inch circles. Put the dough on a greased cookie sheet, or use the silicone liners. I like to prick the dough with a fork, and bake it for about 5 minutes before I put the toppings on. It just makes for a little bit crispier crust. Now you are ready to assemble your pizza. And the more help the better!


Then bake the pizza's for about 15 minutes. I make sure to rotate them in the oven, so all the cheese gets brown.

They come out just the way you want - because you personalized it :)






Serve up with an ice cold beer - and you have the perfect weekend dinner!