Taco Pizza

Today I decided to try my hand at another kind of pizza, taco pizza!  Giving Matt and I's affinity to Mexican food, this seemed like a perfect way to get my pizza fix in too.  I did cheat a bit and use a store-bought pizza dough for this, but I was busy this week and didn't have time to make my own!
First I browned the meat with a packet of taco seasoning.  After that,  I rolled out the dough (with my homemade rolling pin... an empty wine bottle) and spread it onto a cookie sheet.  I topped the dough with  salsa (as the sauce), the ground beef, one pepper and some fresh mozzarella.  I only used the fresh mozzarella because I needed to use it before it went bad, but you can use any cheese!

Before going in the oven

 I popped the pizza in the oven and and waited for it to come out bubbly and delicious (which it was!)  After it came out, I topped it with fresh tomatoes and fresh cilantro.  The cilantro really made it.  I can't stress enough how much better this pizza came out because of it!  I try to use fresh herbs whenever I can because of how much BETTER they make everything!!

Taco Pizza 

Anyway, though the pizza tasted super delicious, next time I would make a thicker crust because it didn't stand up to the sauce and extra liquid from the tomatoes.  It was fine for dinner, but the leftovers I had for lunch the next day I had to eat with a fork.  Oh well, it was still super yummy!

Taco Pizza

Ingredients:
1 pound pizza dough (homemade or store-bought)
1 pound ground beef
1  medium bell pepper, diced (whatever color you would like!)
1 packet taco seasoning (or your favorite taco seasonings)
1 medium tomato, diced
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese (or whatever you have on hand)
1 cup salsa
fresh cilantro, chopped, to taste

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425.
Add a tablespoon of oil to a skillet.
Once hot, add the ground beef and taco seasoning.
While the beef is browning, spread flour onto a clean countertop and roll out the pizza dough with a rolling pin (or wine bottle!).  Spread to desired thickness.
Move dough to greased cooking sheet.  Add salsa, then layer with cheese, ground beef, and peppers.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
After you take out the pizza, top with tomatoes and cilantro.
Enjoy!!

Zucchini Glop

Today I decided to make an old stand by in my family, "zucchini glop."  I'm not really sure where the "glop" part came from, but probably it's because that's what it looks like.  In my house, we usually just shorten the name to "glop."  My Mom usually serves this as a side dishm but you can easily make it a main course by serving it with crusty bread to dip in the sauce or with rice or couscous.
Also, this only gets better the next day.  I like to make this the day before I plan to serve it so the flavors really develop.

Zucchini Glop

Zucchini Glop

Ingredients:
1 pound Italian sausage (I used hot) or 1 pound ground beef, cut into rounds
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
12 ounce jar tomato sauce
2 medium zucchini, chopped
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation:
In a medium saucepan, brown the sausage over medium heat.
After it is browned, add all of the vegetables and the sauce.
Cook for about 15 minutes, covered, or until the zucchini is kind of see-through in the middle.
Remove from heat and add the cheese.
Enjoy!