Taco Piz

A few weeks ago, we enjoyed a lovely weekend afternoon at a winery that served grilled pizzas. The Taco Pizza caught our eye, and while all the flavors were good, this was the run away star of the afternoon for me. (I played DD).

So tonight, we are recreating Taco Piz for date night. Play with this and make it your own!

Crust: We use naan, an Indian flatbread, but you could also try pita, 100 calorie sandwich buns, lavash, tortilla, etc. You get the idea.

Meat (cook this ahead of time!): Ground beef sauteed with diced onion and some frozen corn. Would be equally good with diced chicken, cilantro, and pepper. Experiment!

Sauce: Tomato sauce with a bit of salsa or hot sauce added in. Would be good with all salsa or those Mexi-stewed tomatoes whirred in the blender to make a sauce. We just mixed a small can of tomato sauce with a few dashes of cumin and garlic and about 1/8 cup of salsa.

Cheese: Cheddar, or a mix of cheddar and jack or pepper jack.

Build your pizza with sauce, meat, and cheese, and place in a hot oven (or on a hot grill) until cheese is melted. We do our oven at the hottest temp with the pizzas on a cookie sheet. It takes about 8-10 minutes. Top with shredded lettuce, chopped tortilla chips, a drizzle of sour cream, and if you want, a sprinkling of salsa fresca or hot sauce. Yummy! It's kind of like an inverted taco salad but so much fun. And let's face it--this is great with the sangria I just blogged about, eh? Cheers!

Guac Tacs

This past week, we had one of my favorite go-to vegetarian dinners: guacamole tacos. My mom spoils us with avocado deliveries from time to time, so we make a lot of guacamole when we have the fruit. I used to work with some wonderful people who made these tacos, and years later, this dish is still a staple in my repertoire. Very simple.

You just need corn tortillas, feta cheese, guacamole, and nuts (optional). With the guacamole as the wild card we don't always have, the rest of these ingredients are basics in our pantry. We make our guacamole with 3 avocados (Fuertes are our favorite), 3 - 4 T. chopped jalapenos, a splash of jalepeno juice, 1 lime's worth of juice, and salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Everyone makes guacamole differently, and it's always delicious, so play with it if you like. A good friend of mine just adds salsa to mashed avocado, and I'll tell you what--it's just like restaurant guacamole. Hard to go wrong with a good avocado.
To assemble, we just put a few tablespoons of guacamole on one half of a tortilla we warm on the burner until it's crispy. Then we top with feta and nuts (only sometimes with the nuts--usually almonds) and serve.

If you're skeptical about a vegetarian main dish, try this with a side of corn mixed with a little butter, salt, pepper, and diced bell pepper. Just as filling as steak or chicken but much lighter--a fun way to welcome spring and summer during these winter months in Southern California.