.:A Desert Lifestyle Special:.
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Ginny’s Mexicana Pizza
Yields 4-6 servings
This pizza is a complete meal in itself! Serve it with a salad to get some extra veggies.
by Ginny Cisneros
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 slices bacon, diced
1 can refried beans
1 lb. ground beef (93% fat free)
1 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 can salt-free diced tomatoes, pureed in food processor, or use 1 ½ cups salt-free tomato sauce
½ c. water
4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 pizza crust
4 strips cheddar cheese
Sliced black olives for garnish
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Coat a deep dish pie plate with oil. Then, with your fingers oiled, spread the pizza crust to cover the pie dish completely. Make sure the sides are well covered too. Prick the center of the pizza with a fork. Bake pizza crust for 20 minutes or until you see the sides of the pizza browning. Set aside.
While the pizza is in the oven, sauté bacon pieces in a large skillet until crisp. Add the entire can of refried beans. Mix well and let simmer on very low heat.
In another large skillet, sauté the ground beef (add a little oil if needed). When the beef is browned, stir in taco seasoning and tomato puree. Simmer on low heat for 20-25 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when the sauce has a rich color. Turn off heat and let cool.
By now the pizza crust is ready to come out. Let it cool at room temperature.
Now, the grand finale! The first layer is the pizza crust. Spread beans evenly over the crust and top with 2 cups of cheese. Next, spread the meat mixture evenly and top with remaining cheese. Garnish with 4 strips of cheddar cheese and dot with sliced black olives.
Note: This pizza is thoroughly cooked, no need to bake it! You only need to warm it or eat it at room temperature. When you are ready to serve, drop a dollop of sour cream on top.
Ginny’s Sloppy Josés
Yields 8-10 servings
by Ginny Cisneros
Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef (93% fat free)
½ tsp. salt
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 small potatoes, peeled and diced in small cubes
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 pkg. hamburger buns
This recipe brings back many memories of the days when I stretched one pound of hamburger meat to create dishes that would be nourishing for my family and fit my food budget. Back then, ground beef was only 29 cents a pound! That might not sound like much, but neither was the income of a sergeant. Once I got the basic sloppy joe recipe down, it was time to get creative. I learned that by adding potatoes to the meat I could make tacos, burritos, stews and sloppy josés. This recipe has just a few ingredients and is wonderfully easy to make.
Brown hamburger meat and diced potatoes in a deep skillet with the hot oil. Add salt and seasoning, combing all ingredients well. Add tomatoes. Simmer at low heat for 30 minutes until all ingredients are cooked and flavors combined. The consistency should be thick and not runny. Scoop and serve on hamburger buns.
Note: If you are feeding hungry teenagers and husbands, by all means serve oven baked fries with your Sloppy Josés. Simply cut potatoes into wedges, toss in a bag with 2 tbsp. oil, place on a tray in 350ºF oven until golden. Salt and season the fries as soon as you bring them out of the oven.
Looking for a versatile recipe? This is the one for you. Check out Ginny’s three variations below for more quick and delicious meal ideas.
Burritos
The recipe stays the same. Simply double the potatoes. You will need flour tortillas and all of your favorite burrito toppings.
Stew
If stew is your choice, double the potatoes, add 3 diced carrots, 1 diced celery stalk and, towards the end, add 1 can drained green beans. Serve with rice or noodles. Delicious!
Tacos
As for tacos, eliminate the tomatoes in the recipe, add 1 more diced potato and set out small dishes with diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, diced green onions and sour cream. You will need corn tortilla shells.
