Foodie Friday! - Taco Pizza

Taco Pizza!

From Life as a Lofthouse

I made this last night for dinner and it was delicious!! All three of us scarfed it down like we hadn't eaten in two weeks. It was super easy, and super fast. Oh, and super yummy! We ate it so fast, I didn't have a chance to take my own pictures of it, so I got this one from Life as a Lofthouse (where I found the recipe!).

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1 (10 ounce) can refrigerated Pillsbury pizza dough
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used colby and monterey jack cheese)
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup sliced black olives
4 green onions, chopped

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brown ground beef in a large skillet, over medium-high heat. Drain grease. Add taco seasoning to the ground beef according to package directions.

Unroll pizza dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (I used a 10x15 inch cookie sheet). Let dough sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Press dough over the bottom and up along all 4 sides the of cookie sheet. Bake pizza dough for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from oven.

Place refried beans into a microwavable-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir well and then spread beans evenly over the top of the warm pizza crust. Top with the cooked ground beef mixture, sprinkle with cheese and then add the tomatoes, black olives and green onion.

Return to oven and bake another 5-7 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Store any leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

I'm telling you....if you ever need a quick meal - try this one out! You won't regret it!

No excuses!

Whoa! I've been M.I.A. for a long time now - almost a month and a half! Things have been a little crazy around here. I thought when we moved to this small(er) town we would be less busy. That certainly has not been the case. Hopefully one of these days things will slow down a bit.

Meanwhile, to help me out a little bit, I decided to give 5 Dinners-in-1 Hour a shot! What can it hurt, right? I have been pretty good at sitting down every Sunday and making a menu for the week, but this way - all the work will be done for me! I'm super excited about it!

How it works:

Michelle (the creator of 5 Meals) has created a plan to cook all 5 dinners for the week in just ONE hour. This is perfect for any family on the go! All the menu plans have family friendly meals that feed 4-6 people and no, they are not all casseroles.

The meals are fresh, not frozen. They keep in your refrigerator until ready to heat and eat!

You could spend one hour on a Saturday or Sunday preparing 5 meals for your busy week!!





Not only does the fact that you can make 5 dinners in one hour sound incredible, but nothing is better than coming home from work and having your dinner already prepared before you run off to that kiddo's sporting event or music lesson. It saves money on eating out and causes so much less stress in trying to find time to feed your family on a busy work/school night! This is such music to this mom's ears I tell you!!!

PLUS - right now you can get 20% off! Subscribe here and use the coupon code "NEW12" to get 20% off subscriptions. Could it get any better?!

You can find all the rest of the details right here on Michelle's blog.

Menu Monday - just a day late!

Here is this week's menu for my family. I have found it saves time, money, and headaches if you plan your meals ahead of time. I make time on Sunday's to sit down and plan dinner for the upcoming week, then send my husband off to the grocery store. This is what we're having this week:

Dinners:

• Monday - White Chicken Chili - this is so good, and it makes enough to have leftovers!
• Tuesday - Homemade Chicken Taquitos - I got this recipe from a friend of mine. Can't wait to try it!
• Wednesday - Crockpot Italian Pork Chop Dinner
• Thursday - Baked Chicken Spaghetti
• Friday - Creamy Chicken and Rice - a classic that's always good!
• Saturday - Cinco de Mayo!! We have company coming in from out of town, so we'll be going out to eat!
• Sunday - Spaghetti Pie

I know, I know there are two recipes that are spaghetti-type dishes, but I have a ton of spaghetti noodles, so I might as well start using them! Also, four of these recipes I have never made before - I'll let you know how they turn out!

I found this adorable menu planner/grocery list from Kamley Lane.

One of these days I'll give freezer cooking a try! Until then, this plan seems to work just fine for us! We've saved time and money by not going through a drive-thru somewhere or making daily trips to the grocery store.

If you still are not convinced that menu planning will cut down your budget, then I challenge you to give it a try for one week! You won't regret it!! What are you having for dinner this week??

P.S. I don't know what I'd do without my crockpot! Three of these recipes use the crockpot - I love that thing!

Lynsey