Mexican Pizza!

I had family over for dinner this week, and I usually play it safe when it comes to making food for a bigger group, but I decided to cook outside the box and decided on Mexican pizza! This dish is YUM! I have to say it was a little time consuming because of toasting all the tortillas before assembling, but all in all not too bad! The crunchy texture of the tortilla and creaminess of the refried beans is perfect! Hope y'all enjoy this as much as my family and I did!

Ingredients
- 8 uncooked flour tortillas (I used azteca taco salad shells)
- 2 cups of refried beans
- 2 cups of mexican blend shredded cheese
- 1 cup finely diced red and green bell pepper mixed
- 1 cup finely diced tomato
- 1/2 cup sliced olives and jalapeños
- 1-2/3 cup tomato sauce
- 1 can of rotel (Yes, I loveee rotel!)
- 1-1/2 TBSP fajita seasoning
- 1 TSP ground cumin
- 1/2 TSP ground black pepper
- 1/2 TSP salt

Directions
- Pre-heat oven to 350. Spray tortillas with non stick spray, poke a few holes in the tortilla to prevent puffing. Bake in oven until a deep golden color, and crisp to the touch, about 7-10 minutes. (Oven times vary so keep a close eye on, to prevent burning). Cool completely
- Warm refried beans on low, stirring every few minutes.
- For the Mexican pizza sauce, combine rotel, sauce, ground cumin, black pepper and salt in a pot and warm on medium heat.
- Microwave two tablespoons of water in a mug for 30 seconds, add Fajita seasoning and stir until completely dissolved. Add to pizza sauce. Taste for seasoning, add more salt/pepper if necessary.
- Remove beans from heat.
- Place one cooked tortilla on baking tray, gently spread 1/3-1/2 cup refried beans on the tortilla, and place another cooked tortilla on top.
- On the top tortilla pour 1/3 cup sauce and spread to the edges, then top with 1/2 cup cheese
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the diced bell pepper and 1/4 cup diced tomato along with some chopped jalapeños and olives.
- Assemble rest of the pizzas. (Get an assembly line going in the kitchen, it goes by a lot quicker!)
- Place assembled pizzas back in the oven, until the cheese is nice and bubbly and starts to brown!
- Serve immediately while they're nice and hot! Use a pizza cutter to cut into fourths.

Serving size- Makes 4 Mexican pizzas

Serving suggestions
- Serve with some of my Zesty Guacamole, and a dollop of sour cream!
- If there is extra pizza sauce, leave it on the table for whoever wants extra!

Substitutions
- If you like your food more spicy, try the rotel with habanero for a really good kick!
- Also black refried beans taste amazing with this too!

Heart Healthy Pancakes with Blackberry Reduction

I love breakfast and all the yummy food associated with it.  Last week, I got a wild hair and decided I wanted pancakes but I wanted to make them as healthy as possible while still keeping them tasty. I've tried using several different types of flour to make pancakes healthy but this has been the best variation that I have tried.  The blackberry reduction is sweet and pairs perfectly with the pancakes.  Try it at home and let me know what you think.

Ingredients for pancakes:

1 cup HeartSmart Bisquick

2-3 TBSP flax seed meal

2/3 cup skim milk 

Ingredients for blackberry reduction:

1 small container of blackberries (6 oz container)

2 TBSP sugar

1 tsp corn starch

Directions for pancakes:

1. Heat up a griddle on low to medium heat and put a little butter on it.

2. Mix flour, milk, & flax meal.

3. Using a ladle, place some batter in the middle of the griddle and spread out batter in a circular manner.

4. Once the pancake is done, the batter will start to bubble around the edges; when this happens, flip the cake and cook on the other side.

5.  Repeat until all of the batter is used up.

Directions for reduction:

1.  Heat a small pot over medium heat.

2.  Put all of the blackberries in the pot until they start to release the juices.

3.  Add the sugar and mix.

4.  In a separate bowl, mix the corn starch with some water until it is smooth without any lumps.

5.  Add corn starch mixture to the berries.

6.  Cook until desired consistency. 

7.  Place on top of the pancakes and enjoy! 

Black Bean Soup

School has been so crazy the past week and I really need something quick, easy and yum! This is the perfect solution, I make a batch of this soup and take it with me when I'm on the go. The beans are full of protein, so it keeps me really full and it's got loads of great veggies too! I eat this with tortilla chips, or some toasted flatbread and it's so good! If you don't like smoked paprika, switch it for cayenne pepper and if you don't like it too spicy use regular rotel!

Ingredients

- 2- 16oz black bean cans

- 1 rotel can (with habanero)

- 1/3 cup cilantro

- 1 cup tomato sauce

- 1 cup petite diced tomato

- 2/3 cup water/vegetable stock

- 2/3 cup finely diced red bell pepper

- 1/2 cup finely diced celery

- 1/2 cup finely diced carrot

- 2 TBSP vegetable oil

- 3/4 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp black pepper

- 1/2 tsp ground cumin

- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika (optional)

Directions

- Blend black beans (reserve 1 cup beans, set aside), rotel, tomato sauce and cilantro. Set aside

- In a large pot heat vegetable oil and sauté vegetables until tender about 5-7 minutes.

- Add blended mixture and 1 cup reserved whole black beans to vegetables and mix until well incorporated on medium-high heat.

- Add salt, pepper, cumin and smoked paprika to soup along with water/stock. Mix.

- Bring soup to a boil and let simmer for 5 minutes.

- Garnish with cilantro, sour cream and a little cheddar cheese

- Enjoy!

Serving size

- Serves 4 people

Tostada Florentine

All week long, I was contemplating on what to make for lunch today since I knew we were going to have a nice, heavy meal as we were headed to a super bowl party.  I knew I wanted something light yet filling just enough to hold me over till kickoff time.  After thinking about it for a bit, I had just the right dish.  This recipe is one that my mom actually came up with and was inspired by an old favorite spot around town.  I hope you enjoy it as much we do in our house!

Ingredients:

1 pack of Azteca Salad Shells (found at the local grocery store in the refrigerated isle by the cheeses)

Spinach Artichoke Dip (click here for recipe)

Handful of mozzarella cheese

Diced tomatoes

Jalapeños

Directions:

1. In a pizza tray, bake shells for 7 minutes at 350 degrees.

2. Pull out shell, flip over and bake for another 2 minutes.

3. Once the shell is golden brown pull it out of the oven and let it cool completely (about 2 minutes)

4. Once the shell has cooled, spread spinach & artichoke dip on top.

5. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and jalapeños top.

6. Bake at 350 until the cheese has melted completely (this will be just a couple of minutes so just keep an eye on it).  

7. Pull it out of the oven again and let cool for a couple more minutes so that the shell can be crunchy and hard again.

8. Enjoy while it's hot.