1/2 c. chopped green pepper 1 can(14 1/2ozs) Mexican
1 small can diced green chilies diced tomatoes(undrained)
1/2 c. chopped onion 6 flour tortillas
2/3 c. water 1 can (16ozs)refried beans
3 c. shredded Mexican
Cheese blend
In a large skillet, cook the ground beef,green pepper,diced chilies,and onion over medium heat.(drain) Add water and taco seasoning; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2 mins. Stir in the Mexican tomatos. Simmer, uncovered for 10 mins.
Place two tortilla in a greased 13in x 9in baking dish. Spread with half of the refried beans and beef mixture; sprinkle with 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Repeat layers. Top with the remaining tortillas and cheese. Cover and bake at 350o for 25 to 30 minutes or until heated all the way through and cheese is melted.
With a small variation you can also make a Pizza version of this dish.
Omit the refried beans, taco seaoning, water, tomatos, and chilis. Change the cheese back to shredded mozzarella. Use a couple of jars of spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce.
Ok, I'll start over!
The key is that you can use the wheat flour tortillas as layers. Everything else would be pizza ingredients but with more sauce than you might use for pizza. Pretty much any pizza topping can be layered in the, from ground beef to ham and even crushed pineapple. For classic pizza go with some pepperoni of course, but if you like mushrooms or artichokes (???) go for it.
I also take a knife to the tortillas to square them up and use the trim to fill around the sides and corners. Ricotta or drained cottage cheese works well when you've chosen to use pineapple in there.
Both this pizza variation and the taco original make a great "oh crap, I have to take something in for the work potluck" ideas. I shop the dollar store or cheapo food store and find disposable aluminum pans with plastic lids.
I can get it in to work pretty warm by putting it into a double brown paper bag with lots of newspaper layers around it. A better idea though is to bake it, let it cool, then refrigerate it. Next day it can easily be cut into 2" to 2 1/2" squares (cubes?) and then transferred into microwave-safe paperboard "pans" you can also find cheap. I line these with waxed paper for extra protection of both the food and the "pan." Plastic wrap on top and I'm all set. If you have a glass or ceramic dish that you can both bake and microwave in you're really sitting pretty.
I leave a basic pepperoni, green pepper, and tomato pizzagna divided and frozen when I expect one of my boys to drop in for the weekend. They and their buddies can make a whole pan disappear before I know it. I keep some raison and rhubarb bread handy too, hoping they'll get some fiber. No complaints so far.
