Holy Guacamole Mexican Pizza

In my non-professional, broke as a joke, grad student opinion - this is by far, the best Mexican pizza I've had. I could also be saying this because I just walked two laps around the park being dragged by my dauschand the first lap, and me dragging her the second lap. So besides fatigue and dulled senses from being on such a budget, I do think this is a pizza to be proud of. I am trying my best to work on my photography skills since I do think pictures say a thousand words and they can really capture the tastiness of it all if shot correctly.

I modified this recipe from a recent pinterest pin, taken from this wonderful blog: HoneyWhatsCooking
And the reason it is modified and I can call it my own recipe, is because I didn't have the ingredients called for and had to improvise. And if I don't say so myself, it came out pretty good and may have hers beat.

Ingredients (for 2 pizzas for 2 people, add salad for some greens!):
4 whole wheat tortillas ($1)
shredded fancy mexican cheese ($1)
1/2 package of frozen corn ($.50)
3 small tomatoes ($1)
taco seasoning ($.10)
taco bell fire roasted salsa (free)
Total $3.60

Recipe:
1. Hubby insisted it wasn't a mexican pizza with just one tortilla. I can't really see how this isn't a quesadilla though, perhaps because it is baked not squished in our quesadilla maker? So start with one tortilla each on a plate.
2. Top each with diced tomatoes and warmed up corn (two minutes in microwave). Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon taco seasoning on each pizza. I have a container of it from leftover pouches from taco kits I bought before since it automatically comes with the tacos sometimes.
3. Generously - although not too much - add cheese to each. Enough so the two tortillas stick together. Like 1/4 cup each.
4. Top with other tortilla and sprinkle some more cheese, mostly so it's pretty.
5. Top again with salsa. About 2 packets each, or 2 tablespoons each.
6. Optional: Do you have sour cream? Then add some, do you have real salsa, chunky preferred? Add this too (I'd put it inside). Do you have chives or scallions? Onions to grill and caramelize? Heaven forbid you have guacamole or an avocado. Now that is the ultimate topping in my book. And there you have it, a better mexican pizza than my already pretty amazing one.

Cherry Tomatoes

I grew up hating tomatoes and still hate ketchup, but recently I've become obsessed with finding dishes to use cherry tomatoes. Here are some previous creations and ideas for the cherry tomato lover in you.

Balsamic Marinated seen with potato salad and garlic green beans

Caprese (mini mozzarella balls, balsamic drizzle, and dried basil) seen with tuna corn salad

Sunburst orange tomatoes with shredded cheese seen with salmon croquettes and salad

Artichoke Tomato Mozzarella Pizza

Avocado Tomato Pizza

See Matt, I do eat tomatoes now.

I think the recipes here are pretty self-explanatory.

Some cooking tips:

• Pizza is an extremely cheap and easy meal to make. Buy the 50 cents pizza dough packets at Walmart (they are kinda hard to find and may require digging) that you just add water.
• There are a bazillion ways to make pizza. I use whatever is in the fridge, in these two cases avocado and artichoke were the lucky victims.
• Balsamic makes everything taste so much better. Just soak tomatoes in about 3 tablespoons vinegar for a few hours or overnight, serve chilled or bake for 20 minutes on 375 degrees.
• You'd be amazed what I've learned can come from tuna and salmon cans: croquettes, burgers, rangoons, melts, tunacakes, pizza topping, salad topping, and so on. At about $1 a can for albacore, it's worth the splurge.  For making croquettes (my favorite of the bunch), just think meatloaf. Add whatever you have in the fridge (like soy sauce, an egg, any other sauces, ranch, bbq, spices, etc.), mix up in a bowl, form logs/cakes/burgers, roll in breadcrumbs, and lightly fry in a skillet.