Mini Mexican Pizzas-Week 5

Mini Mexican Pizzas

Ingredients:

3-4 Large whole wheat tortillas, or enough to cut out 12 small circles

1 cup Lean ground turkey, cooked or lean ground beef or 1 cup Morning Star Meatless Crumbles)

1/2 cup Salsa of choice

2 tsp Dry taco seasoning

1/2 cup Low fat refried beans

1/2 cup Low fat shredded Mexican blend or 2% cheddar cheese

**Optional Toppings: sliced black olives, shredded lettuce, low fat sour cream, chopped tomatoes, green onions etc.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 12 count muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

Start by laying each tortilla out individually on a flat surface, and use an empty can, glass cup, or cookie cutter to cut 3-4 medium circles out of each wrap. Press each wrap circle into muffin tin using your fingers. (Note: it doesn’t have to cover the entire side of the tin, it should just fit snuggly!) Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the ground meat, salsa, taco seasoning, and refried beans. Stir until well combined. Scoop 1/8th cup of meat mixture into each mini cupcake. Top with shredded cheese and olives if desired.

Bake mini Mexican pizzas in pre-heated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Wait for mini Mexican pizzas to cool, and remove from muffin tin using a fork or knife. Pizzas should pop out with ease! Serve with a side of salsa, low fat sour cream, chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce and cilantro as a garnish.This recipe is great as an appetizer. You could also use larger cupcake pans and make them bigger. Make it a meal and add a side salad.

Enjoy

Week #3 Picture of our Strawberry Shortcake

This week the kids were introduced to a microplane zester. They learned how to grate any type of citrus fruit by rotating the fruit and only grating the peel to remove the zest. They also learned what the zest adds to a recipe (the natural oils in the zest, flavors our recipe of choice). The kids also used a strawberry plucker to remove the stem out of the berries. They were taught that using an egg slicer to slice strawberries allows them to cut uniform slices while having fun.

Fresh Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

Strawberry Shortcakes

For the Biscuits:

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
4 ounces (1/2 of a 8 oz. package) cream cheese, cut in cubes
1/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon milk for brushing the tops
For the Strawberries:

1 1/2 lbs. of fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/3 cup sugar
For the Whipped Cream:

1 cup whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and orange zest in a large bowl.
Add in the cream cheese and mash it with a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Stir in 1/3 cup of milk and form a dough.
Flour hands and divide the dough into 8 balls.
Place the dough balls 3 inches apart on a greased baking sheet or silpat.

With a glass flatten the dough balls to 1/2 inch thickness and brush the tops with milk and sprinkle a bit of sugar on top.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Take out the biscuits and allow them to cool down to room temperature.

In the meantime prepare the strawberries.

Once you have cleaned and sliced them, take 1/3 of the strawberries and mash them with a potato masher.

Add in the rest of the strawberries and pour in the sugar.
Set aside for at least 20 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the whipped cream by combining together the whipping cream, vanilla, and sugar.
Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
When chilled, beat the mixture until stiff peaks form.

Assemble the shortcakes by cutting the biscuits in half.
Place a tablespoon of the strawberry mixture on the bottom half of the biscuit and top with whipped cream.
Cover with the top half of the biscuit, and top it with whipped cream and a few more strawberries.
Serve immediately or put the cakes in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Week #2 Picture of our Fresh Tortilla

The kids had so much fun learning how to make fresh tortillas! They learned the difference between all purpose flour and bread flour. They were taught how to knead the dough and roll out a tortilla. Each kiddo made a Quesadilla with their fresh tortilla.

Fresh Homemade Flour Tortillas Recipe

Flour Tortillas made with Butter NOT Lard or Shortening. We made Homemade Quesadillas with our fresh tortillas.

Ingredients

• 1½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup bread flour
• 2½ tsp baking powder
• 1¼ tsp fine sea salt
• ½ cup salted butter (at room temp)
• 1 cup hot water

Instructions

1. Sift together the all purpose flour, bread flour, baking powder and sea salt into a large bowl. Add the butter to the bowl and using your hands mix the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Slowly pour the hot water into the crumble mixture and stir together until the mixture become moist and sticks to itself, forming a ball shape. Knead the dough for 3-5 minutes or until the dough can hold its shape better and is less sticky.
2. Cover bowl with tea towel and let rest for 1 hour.
3. After dough has rested, break the dough into 14-16 smaller balls. Cover the balls and let rest an additional 30 minutes.
4. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Using a well floured rolling pin, take a ball of dough and roll out to a thin round circle, or whatever shape you can manage. Try to roll the tortilla as thin as you can. Carefully place tortilla on hot skillet. Cook for 30-40 seconds or until bubbly and golden. Flip and cook the other side until nice and golden. Repeat with remaining dough balls.
5. Wrap the cooked tortilla in a clean tea towel until ready to eat.
6. Eat right away or once completely cool you can reheat by wrapping tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 20-30 seconds or wrap in foil and warm in the oven.