Taco Pizza with Spicy Sour Cream

I know I have been cooking up a lot of  “Mexcian” cuisine lately, but I did warn you that my vacation in Cabo inspired me to capture some of the regions fantastic fresh flavors.  Avocado, lime, corn, cilantro, black beans, tomato and an array of hot sauces tantalized my palate. Therefore I decided to work these flavors into family friendly meals.

Consequently, a couple of weeks ago I was sitting in my sons orthodontist’s office and was leafing through a Family Circle magazine when Jake pointed out a taco pizza recipe that he had to have. He has spent the last two years with a lot of metal in his mouth and was leaving this appointment with it all removed – just clean, straight, white teeth.  I felt very comfortable treating him to this great dish for dinner.

Of course, I left the magazine behind and researched a few different recipes on the web and eventually created this version of a cool, yet crunchy and spicy slice of pizza.  All of the wonderful flavors of a taco, combined with a spicy tomato sauce, a mix of melty Mexican cheeses and a chewy crust created a multi layered and satisfying dinner. 

Taco Pizza with Spicy Sour Cream

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 recipe of homemade pizza dough, store bought or purchased from your local pizza restaurant (I buy a medium crust from Oggi’s in San Diego)

1 package of ground turkey or lean ground beef

1 package of low sodium taco seasoning

1 can tomato sauce

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

2 bags of 8 oz. of shredded Mexican Four Cheese Mix

2 plum tomatoes chopped

¼ cup purchased fresh salsa

½ can black beans, rinsed (you can put more on to taste)

½ head of iceberg lettuce, sliced thinly

¼ cup of fresh cilantro

Spicy Sour Cream:

½ cup sour cream

2 teaspoons of Tapatio hot sauce

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Brown ground turkey.  Stir in ½ the packet of taco seasoning and ¼ cup of water.  Cook until water has evaporated and meat is “saucy”.  Set aside.

3. Combine tomato sauce, last ½ packet of taco seasoning, chili powder and cumin.  Mix and warm in a medium saucepan.

4. Stretch out your pizza dough into a rectangle.  Spread with sauce to taste.  Next cover with cheese, then meat and beans.  Bake on a low rack in oven for 15- 20 minutes.  Remove and top with tomatoes, salsa, iceberg lettuce and cilantro.   Mix sour cream and hot sauce in a small bowl and drizzle over top of pizza.