Have you heard that the Taco Bell Mexican Pizza is back? Yeah, we heard that rumor, as well, but our local restaurants don’t have it and don’t know when they will. Something about “the warehouse is out.” Not sure I understand that, because surely they have every ingredient in their store to make these pizzas.
Oh well, who can understand supply chain these days? Not me.
We have been craving the Mexican Pizzas for a while, and after trips to two or three different Taco Bells, we gave up and I decided to Google for a recipe. I found this one and just tweaked it a little because I wanted to “shelf cook” and not have to go to the store.
This was an easy recipe to make and the results were incredibly close to the original that I remembered fondly from the first time I ever ate a Mexican Pizza from Taco Bell. As a matter of fact, I brought back an ingredient that they actually had stopped using at some point, which was a mistake in my book. Remember the chopped green onions? Yep.
I used what I had on hand, so I made my own refried beans from instant pintos. Also, I didn’t have any ground beef, so I used some freeze-dried shredded beef.
Ingredients:
1 cup freeze-dried shredded beef, refreshed
2-3 tablespoons taco seasoning
1 cup instant pintos
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons bacon grease
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used Monterrey Jack and mild cheddar)
4 4-inch flour tortillas
chopped tomatoes
chopped green onions
Instructions;
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Refresh shredded beef in a skillet and add in taco seasoning, stirring to combine. Add a little water, if needed. If using ground beef, cook completely.
To make your own refried beans, cook instant pintos according to package. Drain, reserving just a little water. Mash beans then add garlic salt, salt, and bacon grease. Stir and simmer a few minutes for flavors to combine.
Place a silicone baking mat on a baking sheet.
Place one tortilla on sheet and spread with beans, then meat. Repeat for other tortilla.
Cover with 2nd tortilla. Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven.
Spread salsa on top of tortillas, then top with cheese and other toppings.
Bake another 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Cool slightly before cutting.
2 SERVINGS.
