Mexican Pizza

I had a lot of corn tortillas in the freezer.  I think they were from the tortilla soup.  And I do like Taco Bell's Mexican Pizza.  Figured I'd give a shot at something similar.

You'll notice I'm not calling this a non-American dish.  I seriously doubt there is any Latin cuisine that makes anything vaguely resembling the Taco Bell creation.  The odd thing about American food is how it assimilates ingredients from other cultures until you have no idea where it came from.

There are many copycat recipes online.  Mine doesn't have enchilada sauce or packaged taco seasoning in it because I didn't want to go back to the store and just made my own taco seasoning mix.  By all means, use them if that's what you normally put in tacos or tostadas.  I'm labeling this an appetizer because you can serve the wedges that way.  Or, give each person a whole one.  With a side salad, this is a full meal.

*8 8" corn tortillas (or I used 12 of the 6")
1 15 oz can refried beans
1 lb ground beef (I had 1/2 lb leftover ground chicken and felt like it was enough)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
2 C shredded Mexican blend cheese
oil for frying
toppings of choice like diced tomatoes, cilantro, green or red onions, avocado, sour cream, sliced jalapeños, shredded lettuce, etc.

1.  Heat 1/8" oil in a 10" skillet.  Fry tortillas for 20 seconds on each side, until just starting to brown, then place on a baking sheet.  Add oil to the pan as necessary.

2.  While they're frying, heat refried beans until easy to use.  Cook ground beef in another skillet with the seasonings until done.  Drain off any excess fat.  There's plenty of oil already in this dish.

3.  Once you have the first four tortillas cooked, you can start assembling.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Spoon one quarter of the beans onto each tortilla, then sprinkle with 1/4 of the meat.  Once top 4 tortillas have been fried, top with 1/2 C cheese on each one.  Bake until cheese is melted and pizzas are heated through, about 15 minutes.  Use that time to prepare your toppings.

4.  It's easier to cut the pizzas in wedges if you garnish them after cutting.  Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter.

Difficulty rating  π