Mexican Pizzas

I'm always looking for new ways to put food we already like together. When I stumbled upon a recipe for a mexican pizza I had flashbacks to the Taco Bell drive through and I knew what I had to attempt!

First I sauteed some yellow onion in extra virgin olive oil and added a little cumin. Then I added a can of rinsed black beans. Then some minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Then some diced cubanelle pepper.

Then I transfered the mix into my food processor and processed away. Mine isn't too strong so it was still pretty thick. Very similar in consistency to refried beans, perfect for mexican pizzas! The onion and pepper really gave the bean mixture some depth.

Then I spread the beans on top of a taco sized tortilla and baked until warm. Then top with some shredded (freshly shredded! buying block cheese is much cheaper and has less additives) cheese, whichever flavor you like.

Broil to brown the edges of the tortillas and melt the cheese.

Top with shredded lettuce, diced tomato, and sour cream. I forgot to take a picture of the finished product because I was in such a hurry to eat them! So imagine the lettuce and tomato on top.

They were seriously delicious. I also made a version with some chicken strips for some friends of mine, if you're weary of vegetarian dinners.

It was nice to have something a little out of the ordinary.

Happy Eating!

Buying a Cow

Well hello long lost blog...

How have you been?

My fingers have been avoiding the keyboard lately. Do you ever feel that way?

I do apologize.

In the world of food right now the biggest thing going on is that I'm hoping and planning on buying a giant hunk of cow! Local food is becoming more and more important to me and Florida has a lot of farms not far from the cities. I've also become increasingly more aware of the way animals are treated, animals that we eat. I believe the old phrase, you are what you eat. So I'd rather not be made of animals that are fed foods their bodies we not designed to digest, pumped full of medicines to help them survive the terrible living conditions they are subjected too. This isn't about judgement or politics... it's just one woman thinking more carefully about what I put into my body.

As much as I love love love saving money it may not be the best idea to cut costs on food alone. American's spend very little of their income on food. I am willing to spend a higher percentage of my income on food and I'm sort of hoping that will help me spend less on medicare and maybe even give me a few extra quality years with my family.

Have any of you bought local organic meat before? What was your experience? What suggestions do you have?

Happy Eating!

Shrimp and Grits

Shrimp are delicious. Grits are delicious. Put them together... double delicious!

Ingredients:

1lb Shrimp

1 can Diced Tomatoes

1 cup Cheddar Cheese

1 cup Grits

1 cup Milk

Green Onions (garnish)

Cayenne Pepper, Salt, Pepper

I cooked the shrimp with the tomatoes and pepper. I cooked the grits according to the directions. Then I added the milk and cheese.

Simple.

I liked it.

Hope you like it too. Tell me how you changed it!

Happy Eating.