Mexican Pizza

So yea, I'm a Taco Bell addict. I was cruzin all recipes to find some recipes to try and ran across this one and thought I'd give it a shot. I figured it would probably be a lot better for us than fast food. I was really surprised how good it tasted and how similar it was to Taco Bell's.

This makes 2 10" inch pizzas with generous amounts of meat. It's very filling. I could only eat half of mine.

Mexican Pizza

1 pound lean ground beef
1 package taco seasoning mix
2/3 cup water
2 (16 ounce) cans refried beans (I used jalepeno flavored and only used 1 can)
4 (10 inch) flour tortillas
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (I used the Mexican blend and just sort of eyeballed it according to how much I wanted)
2 tablespoons sour cream (I didn't measure)
Taco Sauce

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Brown hamburger and drain if needed. Add beans, water, and taco seasoning. Mix till beans are heated and set aside.

Spray tortillas with cooking spray and place on cookie sheet. Bake until crispy. (You may have to flip the tortillas to get them crispy on both sides).

Spread meat/bean mixture on tortilla. Top with a little bit of cheese. Cover with other tortilla. Spread with taco sauce and cover with more cheese. Bake until cheese is melted.

Cut into quarters and top with sour cream and any other favorite toppings (tomatoes, green onion, jalepenos, etc.)


**This was very yummy but the only thing I might change in the future is only use a 1/2 packet of taco seasoning. It was a bit salty for my tastes but my husband loved it.

Crack Dessert

A friend of mine had this dessert at a candle party that she hosted and let me tell you...I instantly became addicted. Hence the name "crack dessert". This is truly a women's dessert especially when your least favorite aunt is in town (if you get what I mean). It's got the salt, the sweet, the crunchy. It really is the perfect dessert. This is a really good dessert to take to potlucks because it does make a lot.

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert aka "Crack Dessert"

1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
1 cup powdered sugar plus an additional 3 tbsp powdered sugar for pretzel mixture
1 8oz package cream cheese
3/4 cup melted margarine
1 8oz tub of cool whip
1 16oz package frozen strawberries
1 6oz package strawberry jello
2 cups boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix together pretzels, butter, and 3 tbsp powdered sugar. Press into bottom of 9x13 pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Let cool completely. (This is very important in order for the dessert to set properly).

Beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Fold in cool whip. Spread over pretzel mixture. Refrigerate till set. Approx 30 minutes.

In medium bowl, stir together jell-o with boiling water. Add frozen strawberries. Stir till berries are thaw. Let mixture begin to solidify (similar to the consistency of egg whites). You can speed this process up by putting it in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Then pour over the cream cheese mixture.

Refrigerate mixture till completely chilled. Approx. 1 hour.

A Craving for the Past

A friend of mine from high school used to have her mom make this salad for us whenever we'd go on a trip or when we'd have a sleep over. I haven't had it since her wedding several years ago and it recently popped into my head. I had a general idea what was in it but wanted to make sure I got that taste like hers used to have. So I did a quick search on all recipes to see if I could find something to point me in the right direction. This is the recipe I found as my guide. This works well as a stand alone lunch or a side for dinner. Here is my adaptation.

Spaghetti Salad

Thin spaghetti noodles (measure according to how much you want to make)
1 medium tomato
1/2 green bell pepper
1/4 yellow onion
12-15 slices of small pepperoni (cut into strips)
Couple handfuls of shredded cheese (I used pre-shredded Mexican cheese but grated parm. would work well too)
Your favorite Italian Dressing
Italian seasoning
Salt and Pepper

Cook noodles until desired softness. Drain and rinse in cold water.

In large bowl mix noodles, chopped bell pepper, tomato, onion, pepperoni, and cheese.

Add dressing and seasoning to taste.



I'm really bad at measuring the correct amount of pasta. So of course I had tons of leftovers. You may need to add a little more dressing just to moisten the salad a bit more since the pasta does eventually absorb it all. It's still as good as leftovers as when I first made it.

Breakfast this Morning

For my first foodie post, I'll post what I cooked for breakfast this morning. This is the first time I've made a quiche. I had looked up recipes on www.allrecipes.com just to get an idea of the "basic" ingredients of a quiche. I had some leftover ham in the fridge that I wanted to use. You can pretty much add whatever you want to a quiche. So this is my adaptation.

Ham and Cheese Quiche

4 eggs
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp flour
1 9" pie crust (mine was store bought)
1/2 cup chopped ham (approx. i just eyeballed it)
1/4 of a green bell pepper
1/4 of a yellow onion
couple handfuls of shredded cheese ( i used pre-shredded Mexican cheese I had on hand)
dried parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper (i eyeballed all these)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, flour, and seasonings. Mix well.

Add chopped ham, bell pepper, onion, and cheese.

Pour mixture into pie crust.

Bake until lightly brown on top and middle is firm. Approx 40 minutes.

Blogging for the 1st time

I'm officially addicted to The Nest's "What's Cooking?" forum and all the girls that have food blogs. So I decided to jump on the bandwagon and start my own. I love to cook and am trying to step out of my comfort zone and start trying new things. I think my husband will appreciate that too. I'm excited to start using all my new gadgets and appliances we got for our wedding. So lets start cooking!!

**PSA-- Since I'm a noob at blogging, please take pitty on my picture taking abilities. Practice does make perfect though. So I'll just have to make sure I post a lot. :)