Dream Worthy Taco Pizza

Guys. This pizza is great. I've made it a few times and it has topped Joel's dinner favorites list. I HIGHLY recommend!! This is my version of the Taco Pizza that I first tried at The OP.



INGREDIENTS
1 recipe of your favorite pizza dough at room temperature (mine is this one by Bobby Flay)
1/2-3/4 lb ground beef (depends how meaty you want it!)
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can refried beans
2 cups  shredded cheese (I use a blend of mozzarella and mexican blend or cheddar)
2 tomatoes, diced 
1/2 head of iceberg lettuce, rinsed and thinly sliced (or you can buy shredded lettuce)
A few giant handfuls of Taco doritos (crushed)
Taco Sauce and Sour Cream for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS: 
Preheat oven to 475

Brown beef, drain and rinse. Pour taco seasoning and 1/3-1/2 cup water into the pan. Mix well, set taco meat aside. 

Stretch dough out using your favorite method on pizza pan or stone. I swear by my 16 inch Calphalon pizza pan I got at target -- perfect crust EVERY TIME! Spread 1/2 can refried beans over dough like sauce. Spread meat mixture over beans, then sprinkle cheese on top. 

Bake 10-12 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and dough is medium brown (bake this slightly longer than your normal pizza time - we need the crust to be kind of crispy to hold all of these glorious toppings!).

Pull pizza out of of the oven once it is browned to your liking. Generously sprinkle with diced tomatoes and lettuce. Crush 2-3 handfuls of taco doritos (OR MORE) over the top of the pizza. Drizzle with taco sauce of your choice. Serve with extra taco sauce and sour cream. Cut and eat immediately. ENJOY!

Burger Cravings

Big huge juicy beef burgers are my thing. I'm the girl that ordered a huge burger at my bachelorette party two days before the wedding. One that orders a burger when all the other girls order salads. The girl that once cried when they brought me a veggie burger when it was supposed to be a turkey burger (it had been a REALLY long program and the turkey burger was the one redeeming quality of the hotel). 

I've found a veggie burger that I reallllly like. Not like as a back up burger -- as the burger I've starting craving on a semi-regular basis. I know, I KNOW. Dangerous words from a carnivore like me. 

It's worth sharing. I know.  A blog post on a veggie burger from ME. Alas. I digress. 

It all started when Joel and I had our friends over for a grill out. They are vegetarians, so we wanted to honor them with the food we had (we were still in the -- do they eat fish? part of the friendship -- answer, yes they do). I went on a search for a great black bean burger. Of course I had to make it myself. I started reading -- these were the links that tickled my fancy the most. Being Anna, I couldn't just follow a recipe - I combined a few. 

Serious Eats - Best Black Bean Burger
Oh She Glows - Our Perfect Veggie Burger
Skinny Taste - Spicy Black Bean Burgers with Chipotle


Disclaimer -  this recipe has quite a bit of prep and ingredients, but I definitely think it's worth it. Spices and mix ins are totally flexible if you're not a fan of one or two - these are just what I like. 

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THE BOGGS BURGER (SPICY BLACK BEAN VEGGIE BURGERS)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup oats, pulsed in a good blender or food processor (doesn't have to be ground down to flour, but chopped work better than whole oats)
• 1.5 cups bread crumbs (I use whatever I have on hand - usually comes out to about 3 slices)
• 1 cup grated carrots (I use the largest holes on my grater)
• 1 can black beans, rinsed, drained and mashed (I mashed with my potato masher for a chunkier mash or you can use a fork for more pasty mash -- up to you)
• 1/2 cup almonds, chopped KIND of finely. but still enough to be crunchy in the burger patty! (I've also used cashews successfully)
• 1 chopped bell pepper (I used a mix of red/yellow that I had leftover, doesn't matter what kind!)
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 2-4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped finely (I used 4 of them and the burgers are not overwhelmingly hot) 
• 1 tsp minced garlic 
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp coriander
• 1 tbsp oregano
• Salt and black pepper, to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp onion salt and 1 tsp black pepper)

Accompaniments: 

• Chipotle mayo (Use a 3 to 1 ration of mayo to adobo sauce, leftover from can of chipotle in adobo peppers used in the recipe)
• Sliced avocado
• Additional items I like: cheese (favorites are pepperjack or provolone), Sliced tomatoes, lettuce, pickles
• hamburger buns

Prep ingredients. Mash up the black beans, pulse the bread crumbs and oats, chop the almonds / peppers / onions, shred the carrots 

In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, oats, carrots, almonds, bell pepper, chipotle pepper, onion,garlic and black beans. Mix together thoroughly with a spoon or your hands. 

In a small bowl, combine dry spices and mix together. Add spices to the big bowl along with soy sauce and olive oil. Stir together. Stop. TASTE THE MIX - do you like how it tastes? No? Add more spice / soy sauce / garlic to taste. I loved that one of the recipes I read said that if you don't like the mix- you won't like the burger! Once you like how it tastes, add the egg and mix thoroughly with your hands or a spoon. The mix will be pretty gooey (similar to how a beef burger mix feels). 

Grab a big cookie sheet and put wax paper down to cover the whole cookie sheet. Form the mix into patties and evenly space patties on the wax paper. This recipe made 8 generous patties for me. Once you are happy with how the patties look, put the entire cookie sheet into the freezer (if your freezer is smaller than your cookie sheet, you might need to use 2 smaller pans like cake pans or pie tins for this part). Freeze for at least one hour, or until patties are firm. Once frozen, cut squares of wax paper around each burger, then place the individual burgers together in a large ziplock back. Store in the freezer.** 

Once ready to cook - peel off the wax paper. 

Grill - brush the top of the patty with oil and place frozen patty directly on a medium heat grill - oil side down, about 4-6 minutes. Brush the top of the burger with oil, then flip and cook for an additional 4-6 minutes. I'd suggest adding a slice of cheese in the last 2 or so minutes of cooking! 

Skillet - place frozen patty in a highly sprayed or oiled skillet at medium heat, cook about 4-5 minutes per side. Sometimes I have to get a lid from another pot to put over the top of the burger (it gets a little smoky). I'd suggest adding a slice of cheese in the last 2 or so minutes of cooking!  

Oven- I'm sure you can bake these in the oven. The other recipes said a 375 degree oven

**If you are wanting to make these right away and NOT freeze them, I'd suggest putting in an additional 1/4 cup pulsed oats to hold them together a little better. 

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ENJOY. I really hope you do. These have made me into a veggie burger fan. My new summer favorite thing is to keep these in the freezer for an easy and super yummy lunch. 10 or 12 minutes later, and I have an awesome burger to eat. Just as good without a bun if you're avoiding gluten - pile toppings on and knife & fork the heck out of it! I would post a picture of the veggie burger I ate for lunch-- but I ate it too quickly. oops. 

The accidentally fabulous night

Leave work. Windows down, sunglasses on, jamming to the radio. 

Trader Joe's stop: sparkling pink lemonade, random produce, wine for sangria

Dinner of leftover quinoa with avocado and chicken.

Leave for new connection group.

Google map fail. I was going to try out a new connection group tonight. After driving around trying to find the "1st street/70th ave" exit for 30 minutes, I finally found the house where the Connection Group was supposed to meet. At that point -- I was going to be 30 minutes late. So, I drove away figuring that NEXT week I'll try it and be able to drive right to it. 

Got home. Decided to make homemade granola. See recipe below adapted from this recipe that my friend Hayden posted on my wall when I moved into my new place. During my aisle wandering at Trader Joe's, I started craving granola that doesn't cost $5 for a tiny box. BONUS: my apartment smells amazing!!

While the granola was baking, I made myself a margarita using my brand new margarita set that I decided that I couldn't live without from Pier 1.  Want to join me? Check out the recipes I used below.

GRANOLA - "best home smell ever" (thanks Hayden)

• 4 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup flax seed
• 1 cup shredded sweet coconut
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/8-1/4 cup honey (depends how sweet you want to make it!), I used about 1/8 cup. 
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup dried bing cherries (original recipe suggested raisins. use any dried fruit! get creative.)

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, flax seed, coconut, and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, honey, oil, spices and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. After 45 min, increase temperature to 275 - continue baking for 30 minutes still stirring every 15 minutes. Turn off oven, prop open oven door. I left it like that for about 15-20 more minutes so it would get nice and crunchy.

Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add dried fruit and mix until evenly distributed.  

MARGARITA 
1 oz tequila

1 oz Gran Gala orange liqueur
1 oz sweet and sour mix (or just 1 oz fresh lime juice instead of this for a more tart version)
juice of 1/4 of a lime

Pour Tequila, orange liqueur, and sweet and sour over ice. Add lime juice. Optional: rim glass with lime juice and salt or sugar (I used sugar!). Can be made frozen --blend in blender w/ 3 cups of ice. ENJOY!

 

Quinoa Cooking...TAKE ONE!

What better to rouse a sleeping blogger than a midnight snack? I agree, NOTHING! I just had this delicious concoction for the second time today because I couldn't imagine going to sleep without another bite. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Spicy Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad with BACON

• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 2 cups chicken stock (or water/veg stock)
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste!)
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1/4 cup cooked bacon, crumbled (or more if you want! "real" bacon bits work for this too) 
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled (optional, depending on allergies)
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 425˚. Peel and dice sweet potato into 1/2" cubes. Toss sweet potato with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10-20 minutes until sweet potatoes and tender and just beginning to brown. While the sweet potatoes are in the oven, rinse quinoa and place in a pot with the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 12-15 minutes (or until the liquid is absorbed). Once the sweet potato is roasted and quinoa is done, put the quinoa, red pepper, bacon, and sweet potatoes in a medium sized bowl. Whisk together lime juice, olive oil, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Toss everything together and stir in the dressing. Garnish with feta cheese when served. Can be eaten hot or cold! Adjust Cayenne pepper to taste (I used a tad more than some people might prefer to give the recipe a kick).

This recipe was a marriage of a few different recipes I was inspired by: http://www.fourgreensteps.com/community/recipes/salads/sweet-potato-and-quinoa-salad and http://vegetarian.about.com/od/soupssalads/r/spicyquinoa.htm, along with my great imagination. In other words, I added BACON.

I had it for lunch. Then again for a midnight snack. Great hot or cold. YUM. My first experience cooking with quinoa was a complete success!! Anybody have any recent favorite recipes?? I'm inspired as of late and am ready to dig in. In other new news...I have a job interview on Tuesday. I'm REALLY excited and hopeful. woo.

CHOCOHOLICS, UNITE!

I made chocolate cupcakes. I'm sharing the chocolate love with the recipe:

1 box Devil's Food cake mix
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup warm water (I USED COFFEE yummmmm)
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl on medium to medium high for 3 minutes. Batter will be thick. Divide into cupcake tins, should make 24 good sized cupcakes. Bake in the 350 degree oven for 20-24 min (toothpick test!)

While the cupcakes are baking--make the frosting:

1 8 oz package cream cheese at room temperature

1/4 C butter (1/2 stick) at room temperature

3 1/2-4 C powdered sugar
1/2 C cocoa powder

1-2 teaspoons milk/creamer/liquor/coffee (options are endless, I used hazelnut creamer) 

Blend cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Add in cocoa powder until blended. You may need to add a little bit of milk or creamer (I had hazelnut creamer...it worked fine), depending on the consistency you want. My frosting was nice a creamy/fluffy texture. You also can add a little bit more cream cheese, if you want it to have more zip to it (or cool whip. also a fun addition). If you're going to add the milk/creamer/additional liquid to the frosting, I would go ahead and use 4 cups of powdered sugar. Have fun with the recipe! Especially when it comes to frosting--you find the best combos through experimenting. Once the cupcakes are cool, frost generously with frosting! 

Then EAT! They are REALLY good (I had two).

TREATS: GFDFSF Banana Streusel Muffins

I made some ridiculously amazing pumpkin muffins last week and had a hankering to make another quickbread--but alas, 1/3 of the muffin consumption in our house (aka my mom) has allergies to all things gluten, dairy and soy. I decided to just use a recipe that I've loved previously and doctor it to be allergy conscious. 

Banana muffins that are allergy friendly and completely edible even if you DON'T have allergies!! Yum. Enjoy friends.  

2 cups gluten free flour mix

1 teaspoon xanthum gum

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup vegetable oil (or butter if dairy is not a concern or applesauce for flair)

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 1/3 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 4-5 medium bananas)

Optional streusel topping:

4 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons brown or white sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter (depending on allergies)

If using vegetable oil in the topping to make this dairy free, you may want to also add 1 tablespoon of water so there's a little more binding in the streusel. Not a must, but it will make the topping stick to the muffins better.

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease either a 9x5 loaf pan or set out muffin tins with liners for about 18-20 muffins. 

Mix together all dry ingredients in a separate bowl. 

Using stand mixer or hand mixer, beat eggs, vanilla, sugar and oil until well blended. Add banana to liquid and blend. Slowly combine dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. **ONLY STIR UNTIL JUST COMBINED** Over mixing at this stage can make quick breads dry or chewy. 

Pour batter into loaf pan or muffin tins. The original recipe claims that this makes 12 muffins, I came out with 18.

If making the streusel, use a small bowl and combine all ingredients. Spoon mixture evenly over muffins or loaf then bake . 9x5 loaf should take an hour to an hour and 10 minutes, give or take a few minutes (depending on your oven) OR until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the loaf. Muffins should be done in 20-30 minutes (toothpick test or gently test them with your finger to see if they spring back at all). 

I despise over-cooked breads, so watch carefully---no dry breads/muffins for us!

The Cake of Dreams...

My wonderful brother and his wife got me a subscription to Bon Appetit Magazine for part of my Christmas gift. I ADORE reading it cover to cover. The December issue arrived in all its glory with the shining beacon of CHOCOLATE on the cover called the Spiced Chocolate Torte Wrapped in Chocolate Ribbons.

This is what dreams are made of:

• 3 lbs of butter
• excessive quantities of dark chocolate
• sugar
• spice
• hours in the kitchen 

Making the ribbons with chocolate dough-this part was a bit frustrating. I'm definitely going to make chocolate dough for another dessert just so I can conquer it FULLY!

 I had to ask the fam to take a few steps backwards to allow me some space :)

I added some spiral curl "flair" to my cake -- not bad!!

TA DA!

Right before eating the cake for Christmas Dinner at my Grandpa Charlie and Mary's house

The ladies...

and GENTS!

Rockin the Christmas apron...

Milk required (or red wine)- The cake was delicious. REALLY sweet. I'd prob cut down the sugar in the cake itself if I were ever to try to make it again. The buttercream with RUM and CHOCOLATE in it was absolutely killer.

My beautiful sister and me showing off Christmas outfits for the OTHER side of the family celebration

COUSIN PIC! Bummer to have Michael and Lindsay gone.

Love this little boy. My cousin Liane's son, Lincoln.

Best gift ever!! We've already played at least 10 games...

Posing next to the gift my mom got my dad (a chronological map of events in the Bible)

We've been out to dinner a few times, played lots of games, had a girls' shopping day, prayed together, laughed together, cried because of one another. My family: flawed, fiesty, fun, and on fire for Jesus. I am blessed. So thankful that they encourage me to seek God first, have big dreams, and never settle.

Hips, say thank you to David Lebovitz

Want wow factor for your next girls night or family gathering?? Dying to put on a few extra pounds to "fill out" that perfect dress? Want your friends to drool and clap like newborns?? MAKE THIS CAKE! It's called Banana Cake with Mocha Frosting. Yes.

Holy Cow. You had me at banana chocolate--then add the mocha ganache frosting and candied salted peanuts?? Life changing. I initially saw the recipe in David Lebovitz's new cookbook "Ready for Dessert"- I took a picture of the title of the cookbook and the name of the recipe for this specific cake because the picture and description were mouth watering.

Many dreams of banana chocolate gooey deliciousness later, my work lovelies suggested a last hurrah baking, wine and cheese extravaganza at my friend Jen's house the weekend before I moved. 

The four of us (no picture was taken the night of) kept getting more and more excited as the cake came together. The smells from the kitchen did not disappoint. Meet the ladies:

L to R: Jen, me, Emma, and Dawn

The recipe is long and the picture looks complicated--it's NOT a difficult recipe! The banana cake is similar to banana bread and the frosting is just melted chocolate and butter! Looks professional. Tastes AMAZING. Lots of layers of flavor. Dude. Click on this link to the LEGAL copy of the recipe and get baking!! Your mouth will thank you. You can work out later to make up for it.

Photos of the cake taken by the lovely Dawn Mitchell!