Taco Pizza

What do I do when my husband calls at 5pm and wants to know if we have extra food?
(His choice of words tells me he's inviting an extra guy or two over!)
Change my menu and make a pizza or two.
We made sausage pepperoni and...

TACO! I love Taco pizza :)
I am sorry if haven't heard of Taco pizza.
While on vacation, we attempted to order Taco pizza at Pizza Hut in Florida, the waiter stared at us like we were from another planet! They might have good weather, but people in the Midwest are far more Culinary-ized. (yeah I know what your thinking, I'm pretty sure that isn't a word too)

Ingredients:

• Approximately 1 1/2 cups or 2/3 can Refried beans mixed with 2-4 T hot taco sauce to make a thick, spreadable paste. (to make the beans easier to spread, warm them )
  
• Approximately 3/4# Hamburger cooked with 1 pkg taco seasoning until no liquid remains
• Shredded cheese

*Make your crust, or use 3/4 of my recipe, and pat out in a deep dish pan. I used an 11 inch by 2 inch pan . Deep Dish is key, it will hold your toppings better.
Spread your refried beans/hot taco sauce mixture directly on the pizza dough. Top with hamburger and taco seasoning. Pat/push down the hamburger and refried beans so they 'mesh' together. Top with cheese.

Bake at 415* for 15-17 minutes or until cheese is just stating to brown.

Cut into slices.
Then top with shredded lettuce.

Sprinkle crushed Doritos over the lettuce.

Sprinkle with cheese, and tomatoes if you have them.
Serve with taco sauce and/or salsa.
Yum!

Beef Stew

1 1/2 # stew meat cubed
3-4 baking potatoes
1# carrots
1 diced onion
3-5 T fresh diced garlic
salt & pepper
1 -2 Bay Leaves
1 cup strong beef broth
1-2 T thickener (flour, cornstarch, mira clear, signatures secrets thickener)
*Put frozen meat and broth in crockpot. Top with remaining ingredients, except thickener. Cook on low for 12 hours. Push stew over to the side, add thickener to broth. Stir to dissolve. Stir into stew.

Pot Roast - in the crockpot

3-4# Beef Chuck Roast - frozen
7-10 Red Potatoes, halved
2# Carrots
(carrot are our favorite part)
1 Onion
1/4 cup Fresh Garlic
1-2 tsp Ground Thyme
Garlic Powder
salt/pepper

*Put frozen roast in the crock pot. Top with potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic and seasonings.

Pour 1- Can Amy's Cream Soup over the top.

Cook on high all day (91/2-11 hours)

Wet Burritos

Ingredients:
1# Hamburger
1 pkg taco seasoning
1-2 cups black beans
(click to learn how to make your own)
1 lg tomato chopped
2 T fresh garlic
green chilies, optional
1 - 2 cups shredded cheese, divided
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 can Amy's Mushroom Cream Soup
salt/pepper/parsley
6-8 tortillas
(we like Sprouted Wheat by Alvarado Street Bakery)

Mix cream soup and sour cream. Spread about 1/3 of the mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 greased baking pan.

Fry hamburger. Drain off grease, rinse in cold water. Add taco seasoning and 1/3 cup water. Add beans, mix well. Then add tomato, garlic and 1 (or so) cups cheese. Add green chilies if using. Heat until cheese is melted and mixture is thick.

Spread meat/bean mixture down one half of a tortilla, but don't go all the way to the edge. Roll up tortilla.

Place seam down in baking pan. Repeat until all of the mixture is used.

Spoon remaining sour cream mixture over tortillas. Top with cheese. Sprinkle with parsley & green chilies.

Bake or refrigerate for later.
To bake immediately, heat oven to 350*, bake for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly.
To bake later, bake at 350* for 45 - 60 minutes or until bubbly.

Hamburger Noodle Bake

It's Foody Friday! Head on over to A Latte Talk for more yummy recipes.

-------------------------------------
I often make this meal. It pleases everyone, is quick & I don't need a recipe. The cream mixture can easily be adjusted by the ingredients I have on hand.
Having frozen cooked hamburger/sausage in the freezer, makes it even quicker to prepare :)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 # hamburger or sausage or a mixture
5 -7 oz pasta, cooked & drained
4 cups pasta sauce (I used my canned pizza sauce from our garden tomatoes)
1 lg tomato, chopped
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cottage cheese
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 - 1 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, separated
1T parsley
2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt/pepper
shredded cheese for top

Fry hamburger (or sausage), add pasta sauce. Simmer until thick.

Mix sour cream, cottage cheese and cream cheese. Add Parmesan cheese and egg yolks. Mix well.

Stir in basil, parsley & garlic powder.

Cook noodles.

Drain and add two egg whites. Mix well.

Spread noodles in the bottom of a greased baking pan.
Spread the cream filling over the top.

Top with meat mixture and shredded cheese.
Refrigerate for later or bake immediately.

Bake uncovered at 350* for 35-45 minutes.
Bake 10 - 15 minutes longer if it was refrigerated.

Serve with a veggie for a complete meal.

Hamburgers

Summer Food, good outside and in...
camping or grilling at home...easy and quick... tasty and loved by all... what do I cook?
Hamburgers

It's another one of my 'no brainer' meals. With a little prep ahead of time, I can feed 5 or 15 with much thought. When I set out ground chuck, (to unthaw), to make burgers, I set out 6-10 pounds. Why? Because with a little extra work I have extra to freeze for a busy day or unexpected company.

Base Recipe for Hamburgers
2# Grass Fed Ground Chuck
1 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 small Onion, diced
Garlic

Add in's, optional:
Shredded Cheese
Blue Cheese
Oregano
Basil
Rosemary
Thyme
Taco Seasoning

Mix raw ground chuck, sea salt, pepper, onion, and garlic. If desired, add an 'add in'. Form hamburger patties. You should get about 4 patties per pound of meat. Grill over a hot grill. Flip only once and Don't Over Cook! A little pink in the center will create a juicy burger.

Get to know your grill. Ok, I know that sound silly, but I know my grill. It has a hot spot in the top left corner and another in the middle top right section. I also know it takes 4 - 5 minutes on each side for my burgers to be grilled to perfection. When you 'know' your grill, you are never guessing how long to cook and your food will turn out excellent every time.

We like our burgers on wheat buns with ketchup, onions, cheese, spinach and mustard. I can smell them now. No, really I can. We grilled some last night and the smell is still lingering :)

Be sure to head over to A Latte Talk for more inside/outside food.