Classic Recipe 1/52: Taco Braid

So this dish has evolved quite a bit over the years.  Look for an upcoming post of the original recipe that inspired this, I will be sure and make it soon so I can post pics.  To give you an idea of what this dish is, think giant hot pocket filled with taco deliciousness.

Ingredients:
2 boxes jiffy pizza crust mix, 1 can refried beans, 1 lb taco meat, salsa, cheese, onion, pepper, black olives.  Sour cream for topping.

Feel free to change up the ingredients.  maybe you hate black olives, so skip them.  Maybe you like it kinda spicy, add some jalapeno.  Totally your call.

So you want to get your taco meat cooked up.  While that is going, get your pizza crust mix ready (follow the directions on the box-you add some water, cover in a bowl and let it rise).  After it rises and you knead it you want it spread flat on a rectangle baking sheet.  Use flour on your hands, board, and the dough when kneading and spreading to help keep it from sticking.

Okay, now it's time for some layers.  Start with your refried beans.  Spread them down the middle of the dough, leaving maybe an inch or two on each side bare.  Next your taco meat, onion, pepper, salsa, cheese on top.  Did I mention you want the cheese to be shredded?  Did you also notice I didn't specify what kind of cheese?  I normally will not.  So use whatever you want.  I keep a few different kinds of cheese on hand most of the time.  Anywho, at this point your braid should look something like this:

Next you need to fold up the sides.  For some reason I always end up with extra dough towards the ends so I will tear that off and use it to patch holes that inevitably show up towards the middle.  Sprinkle a little cheese over the top and throw it in the oven at 425 for about 20-25 minutes.  It should come out golden brown on top, like so:

The inner deliciousness will look like this:

So now the review part.  Obviously I find this to be delicious or I would not make it every few weeks or so.  :)  It's pretty easy to make and not terribly expensive.  The jiffy pizza crust mix is maybe 50 cents a box.  It's something I keep on hand ALL THE TIME (next blog this week will be about my pantry staples, btw).  Good for homemade pizzas and braids.  If you want a thinner, lighter crust, you can use 2 cans of crescent rolls, rolled out and pinch the edges together.  if you want to go really fancy, you can cup the edges into strips and twist them over the top, making it look like it is braided (this is where the name came from).  Leftover factor on this is not the greatest.  the pizza dough takes on a different texture after it's been reheated.  Not terrible but not as good as the first time around, IMO.