Mexican Pizzas

I love Taco Bell.  Most times that we end up eating out, it is usually Taco Bell.  I don't even know what it is that sucks us into eating there, they almost always mess up our food or our order.  But yet we continue to go back...gluttons for punishment, I guess.  I found this Mexican Pizza recipe on Allrecipes, and since that is normally what I order there, I decided I should take a chance and make them at home.  Plus they only have 370 calories, which is almost 200 calories less than the Taco Bell version and 12 grams less fat.

Mexican Pizza
slightly adapted from Allrecipes
Ingredients
1/2 pound ground turkey or beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
4 (10 inch) corn tortilla, recommend tostada shells
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup shredded Mexican Cheese
2 green onions, chopped
2 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup sour cream, for topping (optional)
1 tablespoon Taco Bell Sauce (optional)

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 2 pie plates with non-stick cooking spray. 
2) Place beef, onion and garlic in a skillet over medium heat. Cook until beef is evenly browned. Drain off grease. Season the meat with cumin, cilantro, salt and pepper. 
3) Lay one tortilla in each pie plate, and cover with a layer of refried beans. Spread half of the seasoned ground beef over each one, and then cover with a second tortilla. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. 
4) Remove the plates from the oven, and let cool slightly. Spread half of the salsa over each top tortilla. Cover each pizza with half of the cheese. Place half of the tomatoes,  and half of the green onions on top of each pizza. 
5) Return the pizzas to the oven, and bake for 5 to 10 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven, and let cool slightly before slicing each one into 4 pieces.

We thought the flavor was great on these little pizzas, but they were a little challenging to eat.  While the tortillas did get a little bit crunchy, they were still hard to cut through.  My husband suggested using tostada shells instead, since they are already crunchy, and I thought that was a fantastic idea.  These definitely aren't an exact replica of the Taco Bell version, but they are pretty great.  Make sure you pick up some of the Taco Bell Sauce when you're in the refried bean section, that will make them even more close to the original.