Taco Pizza

As many of you know, Hubby and I have a little routine of pizza & a movie every Friday night. We go to the gym, work out like crazy people (I do Zumba!), then come home, have pizza and snuggle up to a great film. It is a fantastic tradition, and unless I get some crazy aversion to pizza later in life, I hope we never stop.

One thing I am challenged with, though, is how to keep the pizza regimen fresh. You know, not pepperoni every week. Last week I was inspired by a recipe I spied in my AllYou magazine, and made a few tweaks to suit me. I have had taco pizza before- at a delicious pizzeria in Cannon Beach- and I have made something close to it before, but this looked fantastic. And it was! Using refried beans and salsa for the "sauce" was pure genius and the fresh veggies and cilantro on top gave it that slam-bang finish.

If you don't have a favorite homemade crust, check out the link to my easy whole wheat thin crust- it's my staple! It only takes about 15 min. to make and has a great wheat flavor (and since it's a thin crust, it's quite a bit lower on calories than most!).

Taco Pizza
(printable version)

makes 1 pizza (mine is a 15")

adapted from AllYou magazine

(no measurements- fix it to your liking!)

1 recipe pizza crust

refried beans

salsa

shredded cheese

corn (frozen or canned)

olives, sliced

1 lb. hamburger meat

1 recipe taco seasoning

iceberg lettuce, chopped

tomatoes, chopped

fresh cilantro, chopped

Make crust. Preheat oven to 500 (or whatever your crust recommends). Spread refried beans over crust. Top with salsa, spreading evenly. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Brown hamburger, add taco seasoning and a little water. Simmer about 15 min. (You will only need about a 1/4 lb of the meat, so  you can freeze the rest for tacos!). Top cheese with meat, olives, and corn.

Bake 12-14 min or until crust is browned.
After baking, sprinkle pizza with lettuce, tomatoes and cilantro. Slice and serve!