Eat Like a Rabbit

I will start by wishing Thomas Dudley, a friend from high school, a Good Morning! as he told me he reads his Eat Like a Rabbit RSS feed with his breakfast before leaving each morning to teach science to some Mississippi high school students. (He mentioned that he had noticed a significant drop in new posts in the last four months. My apologies to all.)

Thomas had us over for a great light dinner (which is all I can handle these days) when Paul and I went home to visit his parents over Labor Day Weekend. He also is a father-to-be, and Janice has been very lucky to have his creative kitchen ideas to rely on throughout her pregnancy. (I'm not complaining about Paul, by no means! I've been grateful for him picking up the slack, too.)

Sometimes, the photos of a meal go up on flickr before I get around to posting the story behind it. Our dear friend, Brent, had the kids by himself over the weekend while Lisa, his wife, was away with her family. Brent saw our picture of the Mexican Pizza, guessed how to make it, and made one for the kids. He said Kyle liked it, and he loved it. Apparently, Elena wasn't so sure about it. Therefore, I can actually post the opinions of this dish beyond our household. The first photo was from our dinner and the second is from Brent and the kids' dinner. Notice that Brent had mushrooms and bell pepper on the top of his pizza. The options are endless!

Recipe for Mexican Pizza

• 2 Burrito-sized Flour Tortillas
• 1/8 onion, sliced
• 1/4 small bell pepper, sliced
• 1/4 cup sliced black olives
• 1/3 can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
• 1/3 can Refried Beans
• 1/2 cup (more or less) cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place one flour tortilla in the center of a jelly roll pan (I like a pan with edges so juices don't run). Spread refried beans over the tortilla. Lay the onions, bell peppers, and black olives around over the beans and top with one layer of cheese (optional). Place second tortilla over the toppings (like a quesadilla), and top with the tomatoes and additional cheese. Bake in oven 7 minutes or until edges are brown and cheese is bubbling.

We love burritos. I try to have them at least once a week as it takes the stress off of the creative side. Sometimes, we are even lucky enough to get them for lunch if we are on the road. Moreover, it is our most common meal just before leaving or just after arriving at the Orlando International Airport. All of this makes me wonder if a trip to Taco Bell once a week would be a better option than buying the supplies and making them at home. It's time to make an evaluation.

This salsa went over so well at the group dinner, that I decided to take the same recipe and make it again in the form of enchiladas. Paul was confused because I used flour tortillas--which made it look more like burritos--instead of corn tortillas. However, it was quite the success because a few people came up specifically to shake my hands when it was done. As was common on those nights, there was a line for the food when I arrived, which gave me no time to take pictures. The above picture was a plate of leftovers we made for someone who was late. On the night of the enchiladas and Spanish rice, there wasn't a bite of anything left except the chips and salsa.