Taco Pie

I’ve heard people talk about taco pie for a long time. Lots of people in my MOPS group make them – but I’ve never tried one myself. Tonight was the night. It felt like fall outside, which is the perfect excuse for me to whip up some comfort food. Doesn’t get much better for me than a pie with meat and cheese. I read up on my favorite recipe site until I had a basic idea of what the standard recipe was, then I went to work creating a custom version for myself. Many of the recipes called for a base of crescent dough, but I didn’t really want to stop at the store for that, so I made my own quick dough. I’m sure a pie with pre-made dough would be just fine though.

Tonya’s Taco Pie

*One batch of your favorite pizza dough (or package of pre-made crescent/pizza dough)
1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey)
1/4 C taco seasoning (1 package)
16 oz can refried beans
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes w/green peppers & onions
1/4 C salsa
1/4 C sour cream
2 C shredded cheese (I used regular cheddar cause it’s what I had on hand…mexican blend would be delicious too)
Chopped lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, sour cream, salsa (all the normal taco toppings)

Preheat the oven to 375°. Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray and press the dough onto bottom and up the sides of the pan. Pre-bake dough for 10-15 minutes until mostly cooked. While dough is cooking, heat skillet and brown meat, add taco seasoning and water, boil off liquid and set aside. In small bowl, mix 1/4 C  sour cream into the refried beans. Drain off liquid from can of diced tomatoes and mix with salsa in another bowl.

Remove crust from oven and layer in the following order the remaining ingredients: 1/2 the beans, spread thin; taco meat; tomatoes and salsa; remaining beans then cheese. Bake in oven until cheese is bubbly and mixture is heated thru (about 15-20 minutes). Slice and serve topped with sour cream, lettuce, tomato, avocado &/or salsa. We also used tortilla chips to scoop up all that gorgeous filling.

I pre-baked my dough just a bit too much and it came out good, but a little crispier than I would have liked. Aside from that, this was fabulous. Made with turkey meat, it’s not exactly low-cal, but much better for you than mine tonight, which I made primarily to use up the beef I had already defrosted in the fridge. Either way, it tastes like a scrumptious taco – but without all the fuss of having to put your meat, beans and cheese in the shell individually.

*My Quick Dough Recipe:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)