Homemade Mexican Pizzas

I LOVE Taco Bell Mexican Pizzas!  But...not so good for me. I asked hubby want he wanted for dinner tonight and this was his answer, so I got to work.  I made a few substitutions so not sure how accurate a calorie count will be.  I would say the pizza itself was probably about 500 calories.  I found this copycat at Family Fresh Meals:


Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 package of taco seasoning
8 medium flour tortillas, plus vegetable oil for frying if you want a crispier pizza
2 cup refried beans
2 cup salsa
3 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1 cup of Roma tomatoes, diced
4 green onions, sliced thin
Extra Toppings:
sour cream and cilantro

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cook ground beef over a medium high heat. Once meats starts to brown, add in taco seasoning and water as indicated on the seasoning packet. Cook until meat is fully cooked through. Drain off any access fat.
NOTE: If you have extra time and don't mind a couple extra calories, you can fry each tortilla for 30-45 seconds on each side in vegetable oil. Make sure to drain off on a paper towel. This will give you a more of the taco bell crunch! If not, these still taste yummy with non-fried tortillas.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and spray with non stick cooking spray. Place 4 tortillas on baking sheet. Spread 1/2 cup refried beans evenly over four tortillas.
Evenly spread meat over beans and then top with 1/4 cup cheese. Top cheese with 2-3 Tablespoons salsa.
Place another tortilla on top, and spread another 2-3 Tablespoons of salsa over the top. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese over the salsa and arrange olives, tomatoes, and green onions over the cheese. Sprinkle another 1/4 cup cheese over the top of each pizza.
Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly. Top with a sour cream and cilantro.

I substituted Ground Turkey for the Ground Beef and Greek Yogurt for the Sour Cream.  Also, I DID deep fry the tortillas.  I think my tortillas were larger as well.  I finished it off with some Maduros on the side and a non-alcoholic Pina Colada

Nutrition Facts

Copycat Taco Bell Mexican Pizza

Amount Per Serving

Calories 405Calories from Fat 324

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 36g55%

Saturated Fat 18g90%

Cholesterol 150mg50%

Sodium 2963mg123%

Potassium 995mg28%

Total Carbohydrates 56g19%

Dietary Fiber 9g36%

Sugars 12g

Protein 56g112%

Vitamin A32.3%

Vitamin C8.3%

Calcium72.3%

Iron39.1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Hamburger Stroganoff

Several things.  One, Blogger has been down for over a day so the oven fried chicken recipe from Wednesday night should be back online this weekend.  Now I know that this is like the third stroganoff recipe, but this is one of my go to recipes which is not healthy in and of itself, but with some substitutions, can be made that way.  Here's the recipe from Betty Crocker's New Dinner for Two circa 1968, page 46:

1/2 Cup minced onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 Cup butter
1 lb ground beef
2 Tbl flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced or 1 (8 oz) can sliced mushrooms
1 can (10 1/2 oz) cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 Cup sour cream
parsley

Saute onion and garlic in butter over medium heat.  Stir in meat and brown.  Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and mushrooms.  Cook 5 minutes.  Stir in soup.  Simmer, uncovered 10 minutes.  Stir in sour cream.  Heat through.  Garnish with parsley.  Serve over egg noodles. 4-6 servings

Substitutions:  First the recipe was halved.  All the substitutions made were to make it healthier rather than for taste preferences.  I used ground turkey instead of ground beef.  I used low fat cream of mushroom soup and sour cream as opposed to the full fat versions.  You would never have been able to tell the difference!  YUMMY :D.
*****

Porcupine Balls

OK, so this is one of my favorite recipes...usually Mom makes it.  After this, you'll see why.  This is from  Betty Crocker's New Dinner for Two cookbook circa 1964 page 96:

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground beef
1/4 C uncooked rice
1/4 C milk or water
2 Tbl chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/8 tsp garlic salt
dash of pepper
1 Tbl shortening or drippings
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 C water
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
Mix beef, rice, milk, onion and seasonings.  Form into 4 medium balls.  Fry in melted shortening, turning frequently, until light brown (but not crusty) on all sides.  Add tomato sauce, water and worcestershire sauce. Mix well.  Cover.  Simmer 45 minutes over low heat.  Add a small amount of additional water if liquid cooks down too much.  makes 2 servings

This would be a good time to discuss following directions.  I forgot to add the milk when making the balls so they fell to pieces when I tried to turn them.  I added a bit more rice, and more water and turned my porcupine balls into porcupine roadkill.  On the plus side, still tasted awesome!

*****

Taco Night

I forgot to post this last night.  We wanted something quick and easy and since we were going to eat in front of the TV ( a no-no btw).  Taco night it is! This recipe is from Betty Crocker's Dinner for Two cookbook circa 1985:

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground beef
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
2 Tbl instant minced onion
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp chili powder
dash pepper
4 or 5 taco shells
1/2 to 3/4 shredded lettuce
1/2 C shredded cheddar
1/2 C chopped tomato
taco sauce (optional)

Preparation:
in an 8-inch skillet, cook and stir meat until brown.  Drain off fat.  Stir in tomato sauce, onion, garlic salt, chili powder and pepper.  Siimmer uncovered 15 minutes.

While meat mixture simmers, heat taco shells as directed on package.  Fill taco shells with meat mixture.  Top each with lettuce, tomato, and cheese.  Serve with taco sauce.  Makes 4-5 tacos.

We used flour tortillas but frankly I prefer hard shells.  There were no substitutions, but you can, of course, use ground turkey instead of beef if you choose.  This was served with refried beans sprinkled with cheese and taco sauce.  Very yummy and quick!  The best part is with the recipe just for two, I don't have to worry about eating too many ( I have room for 15 tacos if I'm not paying attention).
*****