Tex-Mex Pizza...Like You've Never Seen Before

Good evening everyone!  As a notorious fiend of Mexican and Tex-Mex, my love for cooking and eating these recipes are often overshadowed by how long most of these recipes take.  The cooking time takes longer than I usually have patience for and I usually stuff the food in my mouth when the food is done.  But tonight, I'm whipping up a dish that satisfies that Tex-Mex craving, without taking too long to make.

The Recipe:  Individual Tex-Mex Chicken Pizzas
Original Recipe Found In:  America's Test Kitchen Simple Weeknight Favorites

What You'll Need:
(Serves 4)

1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1/3 Cup chopped fresh Cilantro
2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
1 (15 Ounce) can Refried Beans
1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
4 (8-inch) Flour Tortillas
8 Teaspoons Vegetable Oil
2 Cups shredded Rotisserie Chicken
4 Ounces shredded Pepper Jack Cheese

To start, preheat an oven to 475 degrees.  While the oven preheats, whisk the sour cream, one tablespoon of lime juice, and 1/4 cup of cilantro in a small bowl.  Mix all these ingredients until well combined.  Place this bowl in the refrigerator until the pizzas are ready to serve. In another bowl, mix the refried beans, chili powder, and the remaining one tablespoon lime juice.  Set this bowl aside.

Next, place four tortillas on a clean plate.  Brush one side of the tortillas with one teaspoon of vegetable oil.  Place the tortillas, oil side down, on two rimmed baking sheets.  Brush the other side of the tortillas with another teaspoon of oil.  Place the baking sheets in the oven and cook until the tortillas are golden brown on both sides, two and a 1/2 minutes on each side, five minutes total.

Once the tortillas are cooked, take them out of the oven and place on oven pads.  Spread a 1/4 cup of the bean mixture on each tortilla and spread until there is a 1/2 inch border around the tortilla.  Then top with a 1/2 cup chicken and a 1/4 cup cheese.  Place the baking sheets back in the oven and cook until all the ingredients are heated through and the cheese is melted, six to eight minutes.  Slice the pizzas into quarters and liberally drizzle the sour cream mixture on top.  Serve and enjoy!

The End Result:

All the ingredients work so well together in these individual "pizzas".  Starting from the ground up:  The tortillas become a cracker-thin crust and are crunchy, yet satisfying when bit into.  The refried beans serve as a good base, keeping all the ingredients stuck to the tortillas and they have a hint of heat, due to the chili powder.  The cheese definitely kicks the heat up, but not enough to melt any faces.  The sour cream mixture is the perfect element to cool this pizza down, if it does get a bit too hot.  With simple ingredients and differing flavor components, this recipe is ready to devour anytime of the week!

Thanks for joining us tonight.  We will return next week with new recipes to share.  Until then,

~Cheers!