Mexican pizza

Actually, I'm not sure if that's what this four-layered goodness is supposed to be called, but that's what I'm going to call it. Last week my sister handed me a stack of recipes she ripped out of magazines in previous months and said, "Pick five of these to make next week."

This was number one on the list. I made it for her family, then made the same exact thing (but with soy cheese and a different kind of beer) at my home 2 hours later.

I'm PRETTY sure I remembered the recipe correctly from earlier in the evening.
Here it is!

Ingredients:
2 cans black beans
1 med onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced (ribs and seeds removed for less heat)
1 oz. pkg frozen corn
4-6 green onions
1 12 oz. beer (I think whatever will do. I went with a PBR leftover from our last party)
1/2 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper
4 10-inch tortillas (I went with whole wheat)
1 Tbsp. oil (recipe asked for canola, but I used olive)
2 1/2 c. shredded cheese of choice (I went with 2 different kinds of Veggie Shreds)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, jalapeno, cumin and some salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes until onions are softened.

2. Add rinsed and drained black beans and beer. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil, then lower to med and cook for 8-10 minutes until liquid is reduced and there is almost none left.



3. Remove from heat, add frozen corn and most of diced green onion (set aside some for garnish at the end)




4. Get ready to layer in a 9" springform pan. Using the bottom of the pan as a guide, trim tortillas.

5. Place one tortilla in bottom of pan. Put 1/4 of bean mixture 1/2 c. of cheese. Repeat 3 times.




6. On top of fourth tortilla, place rest of bean mixture and 1 c. of cheese.




7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until cheese is melted and everything is heated through. Top with remaining green onions for garnish.

8. Remove ring from springform pan. Cut wedge slices.

(Ignore the bowl of goodness -- that's just leftover salad
bar toppings with some salad dressing as a side dish)

I ate sour cream with some of mine. My squeeze chose without. You could probably top with all kinds of stuff like salsa, guacamole, black olives or whatever you like!

Amazing food... at a sports bar?

Here are some excerpts from a blog i just posted about my afternoon in Downtown Berkley, when I discovered really good food at a sports bar! it's true:

I decided to go to the sports bar 24 Seconds. Originally, I had planned to go to my favorite pizza joint, Amici's (More about them later. There's so much I want to write about them, I haven't had the time to give them the focus they deserve), but they weren't open yet. So, I took Carrie's word for it that a sports bar would have plenty of vegetarian options.

When I walked inside, my ears immediately were assaulted by cranked up speakers blasting various sporting events. A bowl game here, a basketball game there. I don't think I ever truly adjusted to it, and still don't understand why it had to be THAT loud. But the other, sports-loving patrons seemed to be find with it, not to mention the 20 or so TVs that were plastered throughout the place.

BUT, Carrie was right -- lots of food to choose from. I ended up going with a side of the cucumber, onion, dill salad and a giant grilled vegetable salad for lunch. It had greens, pine nuts, Gorgonzola cheese, tons of grilled veggies including asparagus, mushrooms and tomatoes, and had a great citrus balsamic vinaigrette with it, and was served over toasted ciabatta bread points.

Who knew -- at a sports bar! I'd go back again for sure. Just maybe not during bowl game season...



Check out the full blog HERE.