Easy Mexican Pizza....

Back when I was in high school, our school was not far from our local Taco Bell. Seniors had the awesome privilege of being able to get off-campus lunch while the rest of us had to suck it up and deal with whatever the school cafeteria was serving (which of course, if it was Chicken Nugget day, we all did not mind not being able to leave campus for anything!). 

When I became a senior, I was over Chicken Nugget day and ready to express my upper-classman superiority by heading to Taco Bell every chance I got. It felt good walking back to school with a bag full of brown napkins, a million packets of fiery sauce and a good ol' Mexican Pizza. Yes, I was one of those people who got the exact same thing every time at a restaurant. I hated tomatoes but that Mexican Pizza was so good in all of it's processed mass produced glory.

I hardly ever go to Taco Bell anymore, but every now and again I think about those Mexican Pizzas...haven't had one since college, and I decided to make my own version. Super easy and using Ragu Double Cheddar sauce with a packet of taco seasoning, how can you go wrong with delicious, easy and quick!?

You will need:

Flour Tortillas (2 per pizza)

Refried Beans

2 boneless skinless chicken breast

or

2 pounds of ground beef

2 packets of taco seasoning

Lettuce

1 jar of Ragu Double Cheddar Sauce

2 tomatoes

Shredded Cheese

I made both chicken and beef versions for my family, but you can use either or.  Cook the chicken or beef as you normally would in a pan. (Once ground beef is done, drain grease and then add taco seasoning, mix well and set aside in bowl. Once chicken is halfway done--juices run clear-- remove from heat and begin to 'shred' by using two forks...one to hold chicken in place, the other to shred. Place shredded chicken in bowl and season with taco seasoning packet. Mix well.)

Place your flour tortillas in the oven at 250 degrees until lightly toasted. Prepare refried beans on top of the stove per directions. Chop your lettuce and tomatoes. I place everything in its own bowl for easy assembly.

In separate bowl, empty your jar of Ragu Double Cheddar sauce and add in taco seasoning. I use 1/2  a packet of seasoning since I like a lighter queso flavor. Mix well.

Spread beans on tortilla evenly, top with meat then sprinkle with cheese. Add the top tortilla. Spread the cheese sauce and then top with lettuce and tomato.

And there you have it. That is it. This would make a perfect build your own Mexican Pizza night for the kids and family. Everyone can assemble their own and you can add bowls with corn, black beans, red peppers, etc so that each pizza can be customized.