Tortilla Pizza

I'm going on vacation this next week.

Thank the Lord.

That has nothing to do with tortilla pizzas, but it's wonderful nonetheless.

Anywho. Here's the thing about me (in case you haven't figured it out yet): I'm mildly obsessed with cheese. Ugh. There will never be enough cheese in my life.

One time, when I was pregnant with my son, I woke up at 4 in the morning craving pizza. Tortilla pizza to be specific.

I won't tell you that I made two one.
And ate them it.
At 4 A.M.

Nope. Not tellin.

Now don't misunderstand. This isn't your mom's "we're-too-poor-to-buy-real-pizza-so-I'm-tricking-you-with-flat-crunchy-tortillas" pizza. No. This is the real deal.

(For one pizza) I take two tortillas and spread a liberal amount of cream cheese (on one tortilla.)

And feta. And Parmesan. And garlic and basil. And any other delicious thing you would want smooshed in between the crust on your pizza.

This is like a stuffed crust pizza...only the whole thing is stuffed. I told you...real deal.

Take the second tortilla and sandwich it on the top. Press it tightly so it stays together when baked. Top with sauce.

See, this is why I love this pizza so much. It's fast. I had homemade tortillas on hand. I always have cheese. I had left over spaghetti sauce. And I also tore up some ham and chopped a few onions. It's like instant gratification. Obviously the perfect pregnancy pizza. (Or not pregnancy pizza. Whatever.)

Tortilla pizza

Ingredients: for one pizza
2 Tortillas
Cream cheese
Basil
Garlic
Parmesan
Pizza sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Cheddar cheese
Toppings to preference (i.e. ham, onions, etc.)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

On a cookie sheet or pizza stone lay out tortilla and spread desired amount of cream cheese on it. Add basil, garlic, and parmesan (amount to preference). Top with second tortilla and press to seal. Add sauce, desired toppings, and cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

On the flip side: it's tortillas. So it's healthy. So (pregnant or not) waking up at 4 a.m. to make this might not be so bad... Food for thought.

Scrambled Egg and Sweet Potato Breakfast Burritos

I've never been much of a breakfast person.

When I was a kid my dad was mildly obsessed with buffets. If we ever went out to eat it had to be a buffet. Most often: Big Boy. And on that note, side story:

We always, ALWAYS vacationed. More specifically we almost always went to or through Tennessee. And on those trips we ALWAYS ate at Shoney's. 

And I don't mean we patronized one Shoney's during our trip to satisfy a sense of nostalgia. 

No. 

We ate EVERY SINGLE MEAL at Shoney's. Why? 

Reason #1: My dad.

Reason #2: Buffet. 

By the end of the trip my mom and sister and I would have rather eaten gum off the ground than eat at another Shoney's. 

Okay, back to breakfast.

So as a kid, whenever we went out to breakfast I would always order two things and two things only: bacon and hash browns. (Honestly what more could you want?) The hash browns would be completely doused in ketchup, and the bacon would be picked apart until every last ounce of squishy bacon fat was completely removed. My dad was always all, "QUIT PICKING YOUR BACON!" It drove him nuts.

I've learned to enjoy breakfast a little more. ESPECIALLY if cheese and cilantro are involved. And quite honestly, I usually eat these for lunch. 

Make a batch of homemade tortillas, fill them with roasted sweet potatoes, scrambled egg, and tons of feta and cilantro. 

I'm of the opinion that cheese and sweet potatoes (ok and cilantro) can be combined with just about everything and it will be delicious. 

I'm just sayin.

Scrambled Egg and Sweet Potato Breakfast Burritos

Ingredients:

3-4 large eggs

2 tbsp milk

salt and pepper, to taste

1 tbsp butter

1 large sweet potato, roasted

feta 

cilantro

tortillas

Directions:

Combine the eggs and milk in a bowl and mix with a fork until combined. Add salt and pepper. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add eggs and scramble until desired doneness. 

Warm the tortillas. Add a serving of sweet potato and scrambled egg. Garnish (heavily) with feta and cilantro. Makes 4-5 breakfast burritos. 

Add bacon to it. You know you want to.

Homemade Tortillas

This is one of those recipes that is super easy and impressive, even though I know you probably aren't going to quit spending $2.00 for the convenience of having pre-made tortillas. 

HOWEVER, I was craving tortillas one day and just so happened to be completely out of them. So this was a much better option than driving all the way to town for $2.00 store-bought tortillas.

These taste EVEN BETTER than the store bought stuff anyway.  So, if you are having a mexican theme dinner and you're feeling just a little extra ambitious, make these! 

Honestly, when I made these I did NOT have a mexican theme dinner planned. But they keep wonderfully in the fridge and very soon I will post a few different recipes using these delicious homemade tortillas. 

The process is actually really easy. You just start with some flour and butter. According to the recipe I used it is really important when cutting in the butter that the butter pieces are nearly eliminated in the flour or it will cause inconsistencies when cooking the tortillas. I just used a fork and pressed the butter until I felt it was small enough. They turned out inconsistency-less. ;)

Add a mixture of salt and water to the flour to create a dough. 

Separate the dough into 12 separate balls and let rest for about a half hour. Each dough ball becomes one 7-9 inch tortilla, so if you want smaller or larger tortillas separate accordingly. 

Roll the tortillas out on a floured surface and bake on an ungreased skillet over medium heat. This part is super quick. They literally spend only about 30 seconds on each side. 

So, the weekend is coming up. Make a batch of homemade tortillas and have yourself a party! 

(Or just have dinner. Either way...eat tortillas.)

Homemade Tortillas

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups of flour

5 tbsp of shortening

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup very warm water

Directions:

Combine the flour and shortening in a bowl and work the shortening in with a fork (or pastry blender) until completely blended. It is important that this is done until there are no visible particles of shortening remaining, or the tortillas will not have a consistent texture once cooked.

Dissolve the salt in the water and pour about 2/3 cup over the flour mixture. Work it in with a fork. Add the rest in (plus a little more if necessary) until all the dry ingredients are dampened and the mixture forms into dough. Bring the dough onto a floured work surface and knead until smooth. It should have a medium-stiff consistency.

Divide the dough into 12 separate balls. Cover on a plate and let rest for around 30 minutes.

Heat an ungreased skillet over medium-high heat. Roll a ball of dough on a floured surface into a 7 inch diameter. Lay the tortilla on the skillet and let bake 30-45 seconds until brown spots on the underside. Flip and bake another 30-45 seconds and then remove from heat and wrap in a cloth napkin in a tortilla warmer. Don't over bake the tortilla or it will become crispy. Repeat with each ball of dough.

Recipe from: The Urban Spork

Guacamole please. Mmmm.