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.

Mexican-style Chicken roll-ups with Mexican Corn

I had a rather long day today and this was a nice, quick, easy meal for two.  The Chicken recipe is from Cooking Light '87 page 52 and the Mexican Corn is a family recipe given to me by Aunt Carolyn (it's sooooo good!):

Chicken recipe:

Ingredients

8 boneless chicken breast halves (2 pounds), skinned
4 canned whole green chiles, halved and seeded
3 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, cut into 8 strips
2/3 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup skim milk
Vegetable cooking spray
4 cups shredded lettuce
1/2 cup commercial picante sauce
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt


Trim excess far from chicken.
Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheers of waxed paper, flatten to 1/4 inch thickness, using a meat mallet or rolling pin.
Place a green chile half and one strip of cheese in center of each chicken breast half; roll up lengthwise, tucking edges under.
Secure with wooden picks.
Combine breadcrumbs, chili powder, cumin, salt, and garlic powder.
Dip chicken rolls in milk; dredge in breadcrumb mixture, coating well.
Place chicken in a 12- x 8- x 2-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until chicken is done.Place each chicken roll on 1/2 cup shredded lettuce, top each with 1 tablespoon picante sauce and 1 1/2 teaspoons yogurt.
Serve immediately. Yield 8 servings

Mexican Corn recipe:

Ingredients
8 oz - package cream cheese
1/4 lb butter softened
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (4 oz) diced green chilies
3 (16 oz) cans white shoepeg corn
 
Instructions
1)Stir softened cream cheese and butter together.
2)Add remaining ingredients and mix.
3)Pour into a 2 Qt casserole and bake at 350 for 30 mins.

As far as serving size goes, I quartered the first recipe and halved the corn recipe.  Here are the substitutions...I used some canned, chopped green chiles instead of whole, seeded chiles and  salsa instead of picante. Also, I hate yogurt on my food...I like it alone, but leave it off my dinner!  I used light sour cream instead.  I knew the corn was awesome but the chicken was just terrific!  I highly recommend this one!

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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).
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