Recipe Swap - Mexican Pizzas

Want to see what other Mexican recipes were made during the swap? Here is the link to the Mexican Recipe Swap Roundup

The theme for this week's recipe swap was Mexican food, which happens to be one of my favorite cuisines to make and eat. I was really excited when I got Brianna's recipe for Mexican Pizzas. I'm always looking for new ways to cook with ground beef and I knew these would not only be easy to make, they'd taste great.


What is it about Mexican food that makes it so difficult to photograph? I know I'm not a professional, but I wish there was a way to make the photo look as good as the dish itself tasted. And boy did it taste good. Even SP, who was wary after I told him what was for dinner, thought it was delicious and cleaned his plate.

I only made a few modifications to Brianna's recipe. I used my own recipe for enchilada sauce and built the pizzas more like quesadillas, with the cheese on the inside to hold everything together, although I did sprinkle some cheese on top of the tortillas as well. I made four pizzas so we'd have enough for leftovers but I didn't anticipate how rich and filling they'd be. I was only able to eat half of mine for dinner so next time I'll just make two.

Thanks for a great recipe, Brianna!

Mexican Pizzas
Slightly Adapted from OishiiFood

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 can (14.5 ounces) chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 small canned chipotle chile in adobo, minced, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce from can
3/4 cup water
Vegetable oil
4 corn or flour tortillas
1 lb. ground beef (or turkey)
1 package taco seasoning (or your favorite seasoning blend)
1 14-oz. can refried beans
Toppings: Shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, diced onions, chopped lettuce, sour cream

If you have a broiler, preheat it. If not, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Make sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking occasionally, 1 minute. Add broth, chili powder, chipotle and adobo sauce, and 3/4 cup water; bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat, and simmer until lightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

In a nonstick skillet large enough to hold the tortillas, fry corn or flour tortillas in vegetable oil on both sides until crispy. Drain on paper towels and place two of them on a baking sheet in a single layer.

Brown ground beef in a pan and add water and taco seasoning (or your own blend) according to package directions. While it’s simmering, heat up the refried beans.

Spread a thin layer of beans on top of each tortilla on your baking sheet. Top with some taco meat (you won’t need all of it – save for another use). Sprinkle with lots of shredded cheese and chopped onions.C over with your remaining 2 tortillas and liberally spoon the enchilada sauce on top of the two Mexican pizzas. Sprinkle with more shredded cheese.

Broil for a few minutes until the cheese is melted or bake for 10 minutes. Slice your Mexican pizzas into quarters. Before serving, scatter some chopped tomato and lettuce on top, along with a dollop of sour cream.