Tostada Flatbread Pizza

This week I have the kitchen to myself to cook whatever I please. My husband is away for work and I get to eat all the foods that he isn't a fan of. This is great in many ways because I get to cook with ingredients I don't normally get to use. Although I'm really sad he is away, I am having a blast in the kitchen. 

Tonight's menu: Tostada Flatbread Pizza.

Who doesn't like the ring of pizza--then pair that with Mexican spices and it's a winner for all! This recipe is very simple and very quick. Because I was cooking for one, I have a bunch of leftovers, but the portions could have easily fed four people. 

Let me know what you think! Other variations include adding crumbled chorizo sausage, avocado, and diced tomatoes.

Enjoy!

Time 15 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 can refried beans

4 Slices of Flatbread (will be located near pita bread)

1 cup shredded cheese (I used a "Tex-Mex" blend")

Mexican Salad Dressing (You can use Ranch but I found a Lite Chipotle Ranch)

¼ Cup Chopped Cilantro 

Shredded Lettuce

1 Jalapeno (seeds removed)

1 Packet Taco Seasoning  (or see recipe below)

Oil Cooking Spray

Ingredients for Taco Seasoning

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp onion powder

½ tsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper

½ tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350◦F. In a bowl mix together Taco Seasoning and refried beans. Place flatbreads on a greased (cooking oil spray) baking sheet.  Spread the refried beans evenly over the top of the flatbread. Sprinkle each "pizza" with cheese. Place in oven for 10 minutes. 

Separately, chop up cilantro and set aside. Finely chop jalapeno. 

Remove "pizzas" from oven and place individual flatbread on plate, top with lettuce. Sprinkle jalapenos and cilantro on top. Drizzle with salad dressing. Serve!

Moroccan Kefta Meatballs with Honey and Mint

This past Friday, we got home from a 6-day vacation to Nassau, Bahamas. It was stunning. We stayed at a very small, boutique hotel that was on the west side of the island away from almost everything. One thing I missed while on vacation was cooking my own dinners. Sure, the Caribbean food was tasty but I actually got sick of eating out. 

When I got home, all I wanted to do was cook. The first day home, I made a wonderful egg souffle (I'll share recipes soon!) and then today was a full cooking day. Cookies and a fresh batch of iced-tea and pizza. For dinner, I took out an old cook book I haven't used in a while and yelled to my husband, "You want Moroccan tonight?" To which he replied, "Yea, okay...is that gonna take a while?"

And the answer is no. This is a one-pan dish. If you chop things ahead of time and even shape the meatballs before work, this could be really, really fast. I modified a recipe from Ghillie Basan's Moroccan Food & Cooking Cookbook. I highly recommend you purchase this book if you want more recipes. 

This turned out to be one of my favorite meatball dinners I think I've ever made. A touch of sweetness from the honey and a lot of flavor from the herbs. Enjoy!

Time 30 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Ib lean ground beef
1/2 onion finely chopped
1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp finely chopped mint
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tab butter
16 oz can of diced tomatoes
3 tsp honey
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cayenne pepper
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/3 cup of flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
salt and pepper

In a bowl, knead the beef with the onion, breadcrumbs, egg, cinnamon, mint, and salt and pepper. Take a small amount of mixture and shape it into a small ball about the size of a walnut. Repeat and form the rest of the mixture into meatballs. Makes about 16 meatballs. 

Heat the olive oil and butter on low in a large frying pan. Add meatballs and raise heat to medium-low. Fry the meatballs until nicely browned, turning them occasionally. I found that little bits of meat and onion stuck to the pan. This is okay and will add flavor to the sauce. 

Add tomatoes, honey, garam masala, cayenne pepper, garlic and most of the parsley. Bring sauce to a simmer, cook for about 6-8 minutes until sauce has reduced a bit and roll meatballs in sauce. Also, use wooden spoon to loosen bits of onion or beef that stuck to pan earlier. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Sprinkle with remaining parsley. Serve with side of cous cous and naan.