Yo quiero Taco Bell

In honor of the passing of Gidget, the iconic chihuahua which uttered the phrase, "Yo quiero Taco Bell," I would like to take a moment and describe my childhood fondness for Taco Bell. Back in the day, there were warring factions between fans of Taco Bell and fans of Del Taco. I wouldn't say blood was spilt over this... well, maybe salsa... but we did have to make separate food runs when hunger pangs struck, which was often. 

By the way, for those who didn't know... in the futuristic action movie Demolition Man, Taco Bell is the only fast food company to survive the Franchise Wars. As a result, the only restaurants left have all become Taco Bells. 

The international version dubbed over Taco Bell and replaced it with Pizza Hut, but you get the picture. It's a campy enjoyable movie that has a lot of silly memorable quotes.

My all-time favorite item on the Taco Bell menu would have to be the Mexican Pizza. I haven't eaten it in a bazillion years, but I am tempted to make one soon. Yeah, I said make one and not buy one. Here is a recipe I purloined from the far reaches of the internet.

Taco Bell Mexican Pizza

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb ground beef
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon diced minced onions
  
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder (Spanish is best)
  
• 2 tablespoons water
  
• 8 flour tortillas (6 "inch")
  
• 1 cup cooking oil
  
• 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
  
• 1/3 cup diced tomatoes
  
• 2/3 cup mild picante sauce
  
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  
• 1 cup shredded Pepper jack cheese
  
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
  
• 1/4 cup sliced black olives
  

Directions

• Get a skillet pan and place it over medium heat. Heat the ground beef and cook it until completely brown. Drain all excess oil.
  
• Keep the beef in the pan. Add the chili powder, onions, salt, paprika, and water.
  
• Stir and simmer for about 10 minutes.
  
• While it's simmering, get a small frying pan and pour a little of cooking oil into the pan. Put it on medium heat. Place a tortilla into the pan, frying it for 30 to 45 seconds. Flip it over and fry that side for 30 to 45 seconds. Pop any bubbles that forms on the tortillas. You'll want to make sure that it always stays flat. Remove from the pan when it's golden brown and drain on paper towels. Repeat this step for each tortilla.
  
• Cook and heat the refried beans in a separate pot. At this point also, you can go and preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
  
• Grab one tortilla shell and spread a generous amount of beans on it. Scoop up some meat and then place another tortilla shell on top of the meat.
  
• Pour about 2 tablespoons of salsa on top of the second tortilla. Spread cheese, onions, and tomato on the salsa.
  
• Place the completed Mexican pizza in the oven for about 8 to 12 minutes.

 Tips

• You can eliminate any topping you wish to your taste. Instead of the salsa, you can make a jumbo meat/bean pizza and place the desired toppings on top as usual.
  
• Use flour tortillas instead of corn because corn tortillas tend to become a little chewer.
  
• If you don't want greasy tortilla shells, spray a little PAM or any other non-stick spray instead of using cooking oil.
  

Prego!

Punchlines

My eggs are...

...square and not oval as is more traditional. I was born that way.