My favorite Taco Bell food--homemade!

Getting my new recipe for September over with already! Actually, there's 2 recipes here. And I am planning on making homemade baked potato soup tomorrow for another new recipe. Stay tuned for that one. :-)

First, let me say that I haven't eaten Taco Bell in probably 10 years. But my favorite food there that I used to eat was the Mexican Pizza. Yummmm. I decided to give it a try myself, hoping I don't feel as 'gross' after I eat it, like I did with Taco Bell. And the results: it was very good! Here's the recipe I used:

1 1/3 pounds ground turkey
1 package taco seasoning
1/3 cup water
6 (10-inch) flour tortillas
cooking spray
3 tablespoons chopped green onions
8 oz. refried beans
1 1/2 cups diced tomato (about 1 medium tomato)
3/4 cup taco sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar, but you could also probably use the Mexican cheese as well)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and cook the ground turkey until brown. Drain.
Return to the heat and add the taco seasoning and water. Continue to cook for several minutes, stirring often.

Spray both sides of each tortilla with cooking spray and place directly on the middle oven rack. Bake for 6 minutes, turning halfway through, until golden brown and crispy. Watch carefully so they do not burn. Remove from the oven and place on a baking sheet.

Then turn oven to 400 degrees.

Microwave the refried beans 30-60 seconds, or until spreadable.

Lay 3 tortillas out on baking sheets (I could fit 1-2 per sheet). Top each tortilla with 1/3 of the beans, 1/3 of the ground turkey mixture, and 1/4 cup cheese.

Top with another tortilla and press down lightly. Top the second tortilla with 1/4 cup taco sauce, 1/2 cup diced tomatos, 1/4 cup cheese and 1 tbsp. green onions.

Bake for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut into wedges. Can serve with sour cream or salsa if desired.

Here's the top of the pizza.



And here is my attempt to take a picture of the middle. Just trust me, it'd good.



We were having some company over for this, so to add another dish, I decided to give some Mexican Rice a try. I debated just going out a buying boxed Mexican Rice, but decided to give it a try on my own. And I'm glad I did! It was super easy and very good. Here's that recipe:

3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup uncookd long-grain rice
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until puffed and golden. While rice is cooking, sprinkle with salt and cumin.

Stir in onions and cook until tender. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.