So a few have asked for the recipes to the Mexican Pizza, Taco Seasoning, and Re-fried Beans. So here we go....
I got the Mexican Pizza recipe here. Where it calls for 1/2 lb. of beef I used a full pound; it makes 2 pizzas with a 1/2 lb and I needed 4. In step 2. where it calls to add the onion, and spices I skipped that part and after I drained and rinsed my meat I added homemade taco seasoning instead. We use this one. I have tried several different taco seasoning recipes and this one is our favorite by far.
For the re-fried beans.... I cook them first in my pressure cooker. I almost never remember to pre-soak them so this is the way to go. 1/2 lb of beans, 4 cups of natural chicken stock (homemade if I have it), 2 bay leaves, half of a yellow onion sliced, 3 whole cloves of garlic, a dash of cumin, dash of salt, dash of paprika, dash of chili powder, and 4 tsp of olive oil (this keeps it from foaming). 35 minutes in the pressure cooker. If you don't have a pressure cooker there are usually directions on the bag of pinto beans on how to cook them. You would need to pre-soak them over night or follow the fast soak recipe on the bag and then cook them for about 2 hrs with the ingredients listed above.
After the pressure releases from the pressure cooker I use this recipe (for the most part) to finish them off. I use a little of the broth and milk to cook them in the pot (after I have sauted the onion and garlic). I cut back to 1 tsp of cumin. Rick likes the cumin I don't so you add or subtract however you like it. Also, her recipe is using a full lb of beans and I only do half so I cut this recipe in half (duh, I know).
After I have made my meat and beans the way we like them instead of the way the Mexican Pizza recipe calls for I follow the rest of that recipe the way it is written. I tweeked each persons toppings to their flavor preferences some got tomato and green onion, some just onion and one person no veggies on top.
I served the remaining re-fried beans as a side ( I added a little cheese and organic salsa to it) along with Salsa and Food Should Taste Good Natural Multi-Grain Chips. If I had planned ahead better I might have served this. It is the only way I have gotten my family to eat cauliflower and it works well with Mexican food. We were more than stuffed after our Mexican pizzas though so I don't feel like anything was missing.
It sounds like a lot of steps, but it really was pretty easy. You may need to plan ahead a little. It took me less than an hour start to finish. That includes the cooking time on the beans which I was able to start and go do other things during the cooking time. I wasn't standing over the stove for an hour.
Hope you guys enjoy!!
