Recipe Makeover: Mexican Pizza

(I'm on vacation right now, so I wrote this post and a few others last week and scheduled them for this week.  So although I'm posting, I'm actually not around!)

I used to love cornbread.  I'd buy the Jiffy mixes a lot, but as I started being more frugal and crafty, I started making my own cornbread mixes.  Not surprisingly, I used to make a lot of recipes from the Jiffy recipe booklet I sent for long ago. 

One of my very favorite cornbread recipe is one I kind of created myself by combining two other recipes.  I called it Mexican Corn Pizza, and I made it all the time because it was so simple and so good. 

Since the original recipe called for a cornbread mix to make the crust, I thought long and hard about trying to recreate a cornbread mix with almond flour.  But that would have been a lot of almond flour, and I'm pretty cheap when it comes right down to it.  So instead, I decided to kind of convert Linda's recipe for cheddar biscuits (which I love and make all the time!) to suit my needs.  Basically I just made a batch and a half of the biscuit recipe, removed the cheese and most of the garlic powder, and added in the seasonings I put in my original cornbread recipe.

And it came out remarkably good!  It tastes almost exactly like the original, except Chad said it doesn't have the same texture (that's because I replace ground beef for pinto beans, lol).  Making  a 1.5 batch of Linda's biscuits required some fiddly measuring; I plan on working on that sometime, to maybe see if I can round those out to whole measurements to make it a lot easier to make.  But it'll just have to do for now!

Delicious served with sour cream and beans :)

Low Carb Mexican Pizza

1 pound beef
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp oregano
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup salsa
4 oz grated cheddar cheese

Crust:
6 eggs
6 tbsp melted butter
1/4 + 1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp dried parsley
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp + 2 tsp coconut flour
1/4 + 1/8 tsp baking powder


 Heat the over to 400 degrees.

In a skillet, cook the beef until browned through. Drain any fat.  Mix in the seasonings and the salsa.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, lightly whisk the six eggs.  Mix in the butter and the seasonings.  Add the coconut flour and the baking powder and mix until well combined.  Spread mixture on the bottom of a well greased 9x13 baking dish.  Bake the crust for 12-15 minutes, or until firm to the touch.

Remove the crust from the oven, and spread the meat mixture evenly on top.  Sprinkle the cheese on top and return to the oven for another 15 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and melty.  Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

I lined the pan with foil thinking this would help it from sticking.  I wouldn't suggest it, though.  It just makes it harder to remove!  The spatula kept tearing the foil.  Next time I'll just grease my dish well and use a small metal spatula to pry the pieces up.  It did become much easier to remove after cooled in the fridge, though.  I bet this recipe would freeze very well. 

Nutrition info:

For 1/8 of the recipe:
Calories: 395
Fat: 29g
Protein: 22g
Carbs: 11g
Fiber: 4g

For 1/6 of the recipe:
Calories: 527
Fat: 39g
Protein: 29g
Carbs: 14
Fiber:  5g