Tortilla Pizza

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Sometimes, I don't feel like cooking. Other times, I forget to take things out of the freezer, which I'm working on improving. When we're short on time and motivation, and long on hungry people, I often turn to this super quick standby. From freezer to table is about 15 minutes, and once paired with a nice green salad or veggie, it makes for a delicious way to avoid take out. I can't even get delivery in 15 minutes. It's pizza ... on a tortilla ... out of stuff in your pantry.

The Starting Line Up

Tortillas, any size, any variety.
We keep a stack of flour tortillas in the pantry at all times. I buy them in bulk at Costco for far less than the specialty aisle or produce section of the grocery store. You'll need 2 per person for adults (or at least adults in this house ... ) usually. Sometimes, when our tortilla stash is large, we'll use 2 tortillas for each pizza and toss a handful of cheese between the layers ... yum.

Pizza Sauce
Really, any sauce will do. I keep a stock of Save A Lot's Pino's brand pizza sauce in the pantry. It's fabulous stuff, and the whole jar is less than $1. When we run out of SAL brand, I'll use jarred spaghetti sauce. You could use whatever sauce you had on hand ... leftover pasta sauce, alfredo, creamy ranch ... basically it all works.

Toppings

Meats
Most of the people in this house prefer pepperoni on their tortilla pizza. I buy it in the giant bag from Costco when we're running low, then break it down into smaller portions when I get it home. I literally throw a handful or two into a used (yea, we wash 'em ... and I don't have to buy so many) zip top bag and throw all the bags into the door in the freezer. When it's pizza time, I just pull the pepperoni I need out of the bag, put it directly on the pizza still frozen, close the bag, toss it back in the freezer. The pepperoni slices don't usually stick together much in the freezer, so you can just pull what you need as you go. I loooooove that part.

Sometimes, when I'm actually planning to make these, we'll pre-cook some sausage crumbles, bacon, or chicken strips for toppings instead of the pepperoni. If you prefer some other meat on your pizza, you could pre-cook a bit, do the pepperoni procedure with freezer bags, and have it on standby. Other times, we've used whatever meats were leftover in the fridge ... beef roast shredded down into strips, seasoned beef from tacos, extra meatballs (cut in half so they won't roll around), pieces of leftover whole chicken ... basically whatever is in there will work.

Veggies
In the summer, tortilla pizzas are super fun with the plethora of peppers, onions, and tomatoes from the garden. In the winter, I rely on stored onions, canned mushrooms, and frozen bell pepper pieces. Again, it's a pantry meal, so whatever you have will work perfectly.

Cheese
Ah, cheese, how I adore thee. We stock up on chunk (and shredded, because they're often on sale together ... ) cheese when the per ounce prices get low enough. Any kind you're in love with will work (except that disgusting Velveeta type 'cheese food' that doesn't really melt).

The Game Plan

Use about 1 Tbsp of sauce, and spread lightly. It's only a tortilla, so a ton of sauce makes it soggy.

These are the world's smallest onions, I think. We found them growing rogue in the herb garden, so I made a quick dice of them and they became dinner. They look huge in that picture, but the knife they're next to is a paring sized knife, not a sword.


A sprinkling of onions, some canned mushrooms, and 5 or 6 still frozen pepperoni.


Half a handful (a fancy and exact measure, no?) of cheese, really like a large pinch. It's not hard to overload the pizza and then they won't crisp up. Now, into the oven.

The End Result

Yummmm! They get all crunchy crispy, especially around the edges. Give them a minute to set up once they come out of the oven, and cut them on the tray in slices (for kids) or quarters (for grown ups).

The Play By Play

Tortillas
+
Light coating of sauce of your choice
+
A few pieces of still frozen pre-cooked meat
+
Handful of veggies that you happen to have
+
An extra big pinch of shredded cheese, spread around
+
400 degree oven for 10 minutes
=
Yum!

Simply,

Em.