In-House Cook

Fritos Taco Pizza

I have not even checked, generally because I have several versions of similar recipes scattered throughout the history of my humble, little blog, to see if I have written about this recipe before, but I happen to love this one extra special. It is absolutely NOT a secret that I LOVE tacos and pizza, and I love my family's "Ancient Family Secret", aka "Stuff on Fritos", so why not combine them to satisfy my craving???? Stop the madness, you say? No, let's START the Madness!!!

There are only a few basic pantry items you will need, and chances are, you have them in your pantry and refrigerator, already!

1 pound lean ground beef

1 large red or yellow onion

3 cloves garlic

2 Fresno chiles, seeded and ribbed and sliced into discs or finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 sprigs fresh oregano, minced

6 sprigs fresh thyme, minced *Note: you can, of course, use dried herbs for this!

1 4-ounce can diced roasted green chilies

1 12-16 ounce can refried beans (Your favorite frijoles; I like the jalapeno version)

2 cups cheese, your favorite

1 bag of your favorite fresh pizza dough

Salt and Pepper

1 teaspoon coriander and cumin seeds, ground

1 bag Fritos (I used the Chile seasoned Fritos)

*My mom likes lettuce atop hers, and I do not. You can decide on any condiments you like, such as sour cream or Mexican crema, greens; just whatever good things you like. I, personally, like to put halved grape or cherry tomatoes, more diced green roasted chiles, Tapatio sauce, cheese, or a garlicky, spicy salsa atop mine with fresh cilantro).

The first time I made this, for expediency sake, I used all dried spices. If this is something you are making because your kids invited their friends over for dinner without really asking, this is a really filling meal, and, you probably have many of the ingredients already on-hand. Using fresh spices is not necessary! You could use granulated garlic and granulated onion, dried oregano, dried chile spices and coriander and cumin seeds (shown above) rather than go raid the garden or have to go to the store!

Well, the hard part is over! After you have prepped the onion, garlic and herbs (if you are going to use all granulated spices, then this is the Really easy part!!!), it is time to assemble! Add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to a high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to ripple, add the ground beef. When much of the beef has begun to caramelize, add the fresh herbs, onion and the garlic. Add a little salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate and let cook for about four minutes, until the onions just begin to turn translucent. Add the can of frijoles and combine completely. Add the Fresno chiles and some of the diced green chiles and stir to incorporate. Reduce the heat to low and allow the simmer, so the flavors can marry. Bet your kitchen smells FANtastic!

In the meantime, it is pizza shaping time. I cheat. I admit it! I have used my awesome pizza stone which my great friend, Miss Maria, who I hope will be featured again soon! gave me a few years ago, but I find it SO MUCH EASIER to use my cast iron skillet to make this pizza. It just fits and cooks Evenly. Cast iron skillet cooking is versatile and it makes everything much simpler. I spray the bottom of the cast iron skillet with non-stick evoo spray. (Whatever spray is fine). Remove the pizza dough, add a slight drizzle of evoo to it and spread it out in the bottom of the cast iron pizza, pressing the sides up a little to form a lip around the circumference of the bottom of the skillet. Next, add half of your cheeses. Atop that, add the beefy frijole mixture. Top with more cheese, more roasted diced green chiles, top with a little cheese, a lot of the Fritos, and sprinkle more cheese atop that.