Taco Bell Mexican Pizza Copycat Recipe

You know I love Mexican pizza; I've blogged about it a couple of times. Mr. Incredible loves Taco Bell's mexican pizza. While following a Google search that led to this site, I found the recipe for that pizza. Thank you, CopyKat Recipes!

Outback Steakhouse

Well, I didn't realize it had been month since I last posted here. During that time, Mr. Incredible and I celebrated our eighth anniversary, I began homeschooling our girls, and I celebrated my 30th birthday. It has certainly been a busy month!

We always eat out to celebrate our anniversary. This year, we decided we would finally try Outback Steakhouse. Mr. Incredible had been wanting to try that restaurant for years. We ordered the blooming onion appetizer and two entrees. While we were waiting for our appetizer, the wait staff brought us a wooden cutting block with a small loaf of brown bread, a scoop of butter in a cup, and a knife. The bread was pretty good.

The Blooming Onion ($6.50) was a bit dark, probably from the grease that it was fried in being in need of a change, but the taste was good - the slightly spicy breading paired well with a spicy dipping sauce.

Our entrees (Alice Springs Chicken and Cyclone Pasta) were rather boring - nothing really special. We didn't feel that the food we received was worth the ridiculous price we paid for it. At $12 and $13 apiece, our entrees were nearly the cheapest ones on the menu! We did end up taking a little bit home, but we still felt the food was overpriced.

Another minus: there was an open bar in the center of the restaurant. That made us distinctly uncomfortable.

Summary:

• Atmosphere: 6/10
• Taste: 8/10
• Portion size: 8/10
• Price: 6/10

We both agreed we would not eat at Outback Steakhouse again.

Mexican Pizza

photo of Salad Shell package courtesy of Azteca

One of my first posts here at Rants, Raves, and Reviews was my review of Old El Paso's Soft Taco Bake Dinner. At the time, this was the only way I knew to make a Mexican pizza. I have since found a tastier method.

Ingredients

1 box of Azteca Salad Shells (4 shells)
1 lb. ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can refried beans
1 small can sliced olives
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 avacado, cubed
sliced jalapenos
2 c. shredded cheese
taco sauce
lettuce, shredded
tomato, diced
chives, sliced

Azteca Salad Shells (our Wal-Mart sells them in the refrigerated section with the cream cheese) feature a Mexican Pizza recipe printed inside the box. You can follow the directions given or try the variation we favor (directions as follows).

1. Cook 1 lb. of ground beef, drain, and season with a packet of taco seasoning. We prefer Pace's taco seasoning mix.
2. Heat a can of refried beans.
3. While completing steps 3 and 4, heat your oven to 350F and bake 4 shells (flat) on an ungreased baking sheet for 3-4 minutes. Remove from sheet and allow to cool.
4. Place two shells on the baking sheet and spread with beans, taco meat, a small can of sliced olives, sliced mushrooms, cubed avacado, cheese, and jalapenos as desired.
5. Place remaining shells on top and spread with remaining beans and meat mixture. Top with cheese.
6. Bake at 350F for 7-9 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and add taco sauce, lettuce, tomato, and chives as desired. Cut into quarters and serve.

Serves 4

Research for this post led me to Azteca's recipe archives. The Baked Ice Cream recipe really interests me. Take a look for yourself - these sound delicious!

Peanut Butter Everywhere!

clip art courtesy of fotosearch.com

This morning, Pookie Bear, my oldest daughter, decided to try to make peanut butter milk. She thought that she could mix peanut butter and milk like she does chocolate syrup and milk. Abandoning her futile attempts, she left the cup of milk and the open peanut butter jar on the table for Baby Bear, my youngest daughter, to find.

Find them she did! she knocked over the cup of milk and dug her bare hands into the peanut butter jar. I only found out when she came looking for me to ask me to clean her hands. What a mess! The peanut butter was not only on her hands but also on her legs and stomach and on the table and chair where she had been standing.

You know how oily and sticky peanut butter is. I'm happy to report that I found a cleaner that cut right through it: dish soap foam. I have a Pampered Chef suds pump that I fill with a mixture of dish soap and water and keep on the ledge of my kitchen sink. After attempting to remove the peanut butter with paper towels and regular soap, I decided to try to dish soap foam. Magic! It removed the peanut butter with no scrubbing or rubbing.

So if you find yourself in my situation, remember to try dish soap or even just its suds.

Lindt Excellence White Coconut

photo courtesy of Global Chocolates.com

I like to do little things for Mr. Incredible just because I love him. I love milk chocolate; Mr. Incredible likes white chocolate. I think, "Yuck!" At least I did until he let me try a little bit of the bar I bought for him.

When I went shopping at Wal-Mart earlier this week, I saw a bar of white chocolate (Lindt Excellence White Coconut) and decided to buy it for him. It really was a big bar, but it cost about $2 - see, I told you I do little things for Mr. Incredible! It was only when I gave him the bar that I realized that the name, White Coconut, meant more than just that the bar was made from coconut, as I had initially thought. Instead, the coconut was mixed with the white chocolate.

My first bite convinced me that this was one white chocolate bar that I could love. The chocolate was not your ordinary white chocolate. It was sweet, but not too sweet, and creamy without melting in your hand. In a word: perfect! Mr. Incredible better watch out, or I just might steal his chocolate when he's not looking!

While I purchased this candy bar at Wal-Mart it is also available through fine chocolatiers as well as directly through Lindt's website. In fact, you can even choose from 31 different candy flavors to create your own 6-bar Custom Excellence Kit (cost - between $18 and $25 plus S/H). How could you lose?

My opinion:

• Taste: absolutely wonderful!
• Price: slightly expensive
• Rating: A+
  

Zesty Mustard Chicken

I'm participating in the Carnival of the Recipes this week. My friend, Karen (of Thrifty Mommy fame), is hosting the "grilled food" edition. I've already posted the side dishes at my other blogs:
Grilled Seasoned Potatoes (at The Porch Light) and Child-Approved Corn Grilled in Its Shuck (at Little Fun; Little Learning). Now I am posting the entree for this grilled meal. (I think Mr. Incredible is grilling our supper tomorrow.)

Zesty Mustard Chicken

Serves 6

Ingredients

1/2 c. prepared mustard
1/2 c. honey
1 Tbsp. salt-free seasoning blend
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 broiler/fryer chicken (3 lbs), cut in half

NOTE: You can use different cuts of chicken for this recipe: split breasts, quarters, drumsticks, etc.

In a bowl, combine the first four ingredients; mix well. Carefully loosen the skin of the chicken; spoon some of the mustard sauce under the skin.

Coat frill rack with nonstick cooking spray before starting the grill. Place chicken skin side up on frill rack. Grill, covered, over indirect medium heat for 20 minutes. Turn; grill 20-30 minutes longer, or until juices run clear, basting occasionally with remaining mustard sauce. Remove chicken skin; cut into serving size pieces.

This recipe is from Taste of Home's "Prize Winning Recipes "Clip and Keep" Recipe Card Collection."

If you have a favorite grilling recipe, why don't you participate in this week's Carnival of the Recipes? Submission is easy, and entry deadline is noon on Saturday. Happy grilling!

Old El Paso Soft Taco Bake (R) Dinner

My family loves Mexican or Tex-Mex food, and Mr. Incredible (my husband) loves Taco Bell's Mexican pizza. When he saw Old El Paso's Soft Taco Bake (R) Dinner, he was intrigued and asked me to buy a couple of boxes.

I made two boxes for our family of 5. Each box makes one 4-layer (flat) soft taco. First, you cook the meat, then you assemble the layers: tortilla then taco meat. Repeat the layers, ending with the ground beef on top. Top with the cheese sauce in the pouch, and bake for 15 minutes. We topped our soft tacos with lettuce, tomato, olives, and jalapenos.

My opinion:

• Taste - excellent
• Difficulty - very easy
• Cost - reasonable (Each box costs about $2 and is supposed to feed four. Hm.)
• Overall - very good; my only disappointment lies in the fact that I could have made this myself from scratch had I known what it was.

If you are hungry for Tex-Mex food, try Old El Paso's Soft Taco Bake (R) Dinner.

clip art courtesy of fotosearch.com