Well, it was FINALLY a joyous day for football! My dang Chicago Bears won their first game against the Raiders! And I was one happy, happy girl!! I was starting to wonder if you could actually “lose them all”….

And I had a super fun blast in the kitchen concocting a new pizza recipe having in mind to use some of my homemade taco sauce that I made with all those tomatoes from my garden!

I hadn’t made a taco pizza in AGES, and it sounded like the perfect Game Day Grub to munch on with my ice cold beer watching the games! After all, October = “Pizza Month” +  “Taco Tuesday” = “Taco Pizza”, right?! 😉 Something like that, anyways! 😉 😀

So I got out my own easy, go-to pizza dough recipe that we love, and decided to change it up.

And change it up I did!!!

Instead of the chardonnay, I used beer, and added a nice amount of spices and herbs to really give it a Mexican flare!

In addition to all of that, I also used a little corn meal in place of the flour to give it a bit of an authentic taste!

So if you’re hungry for a taco pizza, let’s rock! 😀

 

 

After mixing and kneading the dough, (see recipe below), it gets placed into an oiled bowl, turned to coat, and rise until doubled or more.

 

 

I always like to prepare my trusty old, dinged up, beloved pizza pan with a nice spray of butter-flavored no-stick spray, and a light sprinkling of corn meal. Not once have they ever stuck and the crust is nice and crispy golden on the bottom!

 

*These are the ingredients that I got ready for our pizza!

 

 

I like to proof (rise) my dough in my oven with just the light on. It makes for the perfect warm and cozy, draft-free place that doughs love!

Once risen, divide dough in half to make two 12 – 14″ pizzas. Press dough out onto the pan leaving a nice outside rim, then top with whatever you like on your taco pizza! We had spicy refried beans, homemade taco meat, roasted sweet red cubanelles, homemade taco sauce…

 

 

….. and lastly, I topped it with one 8 oz. bag of Sargento’s 4 Cheese Mexican blend cheese (Off the Block/Traditional Cut), a pinch of garlic salt and a dash of paprika …..

 

 

….and popped this masterpiece into the oven for 23 minutes!

 

 

I cannot even TELL you how good this smelled baking!! WOWza!! 😀 Made our tummies rumble!!

 

 

It then gets a gorgeous finishing touch of finely shredded lettuce, chopped garden tomatoes, black olives, a light sprinkling of regular salt and coarse ground black pepper….

 

 

…and guacamole and sour cream for the hubs, and for me just sour cream! I wanted to run outside and snip some green onions, too, but it was still REALLY BAD outside with the awful Nor’easter ripping through, and just too dangerous with limbs falling. So I had to skip that favorite ingredient. 🙁

 

 

But you, of course, can add whatever ingredients you enjoy! I would’ve added a few pickled jalapeño rings to mine, but totally spaced it.

You can also add some sriracha or your favorite hot sauce! Just set out whatever looks like fun and let the crowd choose for themselves.

 

 

This pizza really came out PHENOMENAL, though! 😀

I was so very pleased!! The crust was awesome! Nicely flavored, lightly crispy on the outside, and very tender inside! And the toppings went beautifully! It was just right! 😉

And the extra bonus? The dough, taco sauce, and 1 pound of taco meat makes enough for TWO medium pizzas!!

PERFECT for Sunday Football Game Day Grub for you and all of your hungry friends! 😀

Hope you all enjoy! 😀

 

 

Links to rest of pizza recipes:

* Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Taco Sauce
** Best Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix

 

Yield: enough dough for 2 pizzas

Spicy Taco Pizza Dough

Print

Ingredients

• 1 (1/4 ounce) packet active dry yeast, or 2¼ tsp. dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water, [i]divided[/i]
• ¼ cup beer, room temp (any kind)
• 1 tablespoon real honey
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 3 - 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, (*added gradually)
• 1/2 cup fine stone ground cornmeal such as Indian Head
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chipotle pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 cup finely grated asiago cheese
• 1 tsp. dried oregano

Instructions

In small mixing bowl, sprinkle yeast over a ¼ of a cup of the warm water, stir to dissolve, stir in honey. Set aside to "proof" for 10 minutes in oven with light on until it's foamy.

Whisk in remaining warm water, oil, and beer.

Pour into mixer bowl, beat in 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup cornmeal until smooth, continue beating for about 2 minutes longer. Add garlic powder, garlic salt, chili powder, cumin, chipotle powder, cayenne, onion powder and paprika. Mix in.

Add 2 cups more flour, plus the asiago and oregano. Beat in well.

Add last 1/4 cup of flour (if needed) to make a stiff dough. You may not need quite all of it. I just leave some that I know isn't needed in the bottom of the mixer.

Turn out onto lightly floured board, knead well until smooth and elastic, 5-8 minutes, forming a ball. I like to knead this by hand, but you can certainly use a dough hook in your mixer if need be to get it started, then knead by hand for the last 1 - 2 minutes. (It's easy, don't worry!)

Place in oiled bowl, turning ball of dough all around until all sides are oiled and inside of bowl is oiled. (About a tablespoon of olive oil or a bit less.)

Cover, let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1½ - 2 hours. (*I always let mine rise in my oven with the light on. It makes for a nice, warm, draft-free place to rise doughs. My dough took two hours to fully rise.)

Punch down, divide dough in half. Flatten into two disks.

Press onto 2 lightly oiled and lightly sprinkled with cornmeal metal pizza pans making ½" high borders on each.

*If only wanting to make 1 pizza, oil second ball or disk of dough, wrap with plastic wrap, place in ziploc freezer bag, and freeze until needed.(*Thaw in fridge for 8 hours or overnight to use.)

Top pizza(s) with whatever sauce, ingredients, and cheese you'd like, pop into preheated 400º oven for 20 minutes, reduce heat to 375º and bake another 5 minutes for a crispy crust. *Or 375 degrees for 23-25 minutes for a softer, more dense crust.

Let pizza(s) rest at least 5 minutes before slicing.

Makes enough dough for two (thin crust) 12"-14" pizzas. (*My old pan measures 13").