How to make your own Mexican Pizzas

Side Note: The original date of this post is somewhere during the year of 2010. I relocated it to this blog after I deleted another website of mine. Since the post about Barquitos Pizza did so well on here, I figured it was a good idea to add it to this blog. Anyway...

Who needs Taco Bell’s lame version and sorry excuse for a Mexican Pizza, when you can do it yourself! It involves several ingredients & steps, but it’s easy to make and doesn’t take that long to prepare. For motivation, take a look below, at a finished product… Hungry yet? Okay, let's get started.

Freshly made pizza, ready for consumption...

The Cooking Method for this Mexican Bliss:

You will need 2 large skillets, 1 small pot, 1 large pot, and 1 baking sheet, microwavable bowl, storage containers, pizza cutter, cutting board, etc., along with the following:

1 – 2 lb. package of 80/20 Ground Chuck (recommended) or 2.25lbs. of 73/27 Ground Beef.

1 – 16 oz. can of Refried Beans

2 – 14.5 oz. cans of Chili-ready tomatoes

1 – can of sliced black olives or 6 oz. of medium-pitted black olives that you slice yourself.

1 – 16 oz. jar of Taco Bell Thick ‘n Chunky Mild Sauce

1 – 1.25 oz. Taco Seasoning Mix (I get the Taco Bell brand)

1 – white or yellow onion (your choice)

2 to 4 fresh tomatoes, along with a fresh bag of green onions (scallions)

1 – 16 oz. bag of Kraft’s Mexican Style Four Cheese (Asadero, Queso, Quesadilla, Monterey Jack)

2 packages (14.1 oz.) flour tortillas (10 per package)

The oil of your choice (canola, vegetable, peanut, etc.)

Cooking Method:

Begin frying your ground beef/chuck in a large skillet.

While your beef if cooking, dice a handful of green onions and about half of your medium-sized white/yellow onion.

Cook the onions & scallions in with the beef, after the beef starts to brown. Finish cooking until meat is fully done.

Take a large pot and add your cooked beef and onions into it.

Now, add 1 can of Chili tomatoes and about half of the salsa into the large pot, along with the taco seasoning.

Let simmer for about 10 minutes.

Take another large skillet, add about 2 tablespoons of oil and pre-heat over medium heat.

Once the oil is hot, cook a tortilla (2 minutes each side); you want it crispy, but try to not burn them; you’ll need 2 tortillas per pizza.

After you have the desired number of tortillas cooked and set aside, add the other can of tomatoes and the remaining amount of salsa and 2 handfuls of chopped green onions to a small pot; warm over low-medium heat.

Heat refried beans in a microwave-safe bowl.

Take (from the small pot) 2-4 tablespoons of tomato/salsa mix and add ’em into the beans.

Chop the rest of your remaining onions, scallions, fresh tomatoes (slice the black olives if you didn’t buy pre-sliced) and store in separate bowls or containers.

Take a large baking sheet; place one pre-cooked tortilla on bottom of pan.

Spread the beans on the top side of the first tortilla, from here, add your desired amount of meat on top of the beans; now, cover with the other tortilla; then, spread some (until it evenly covers) of the chili tomato/salsa mix over the second tortilla; now, add the Mexican cheese (enough to cover); then, add your desired amount of sliced black olives, fresh tomatoes, green onions/scallions, diced onions.

Bake for 10 minutes @ 350 degrees or until cheese is melted.

Let cool for about 5 minutes; cut in fours with a pizza cutter.

It should look something like this:

2 Mexican Pizzas, right out of the oven... Yummy!

…You can use the leftovers for more Mexican Pizzas or add a little lettuce and make some soft Tacos! 

Image Credits: My own photos.

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Silly Names & Extravagant Titles for Simple Jobs

Side Note: This is an old blog post that was originally published on another domain of mine that I later deleted. The original date of this post was somewhere around the year 2011. I decided to relocate it to this blog because of the name "Random Twaddle." Well, that is exactly what the content below demonstrates...

Food Assembly Specialist

  I’m writing this blog post today, out of sheer amusement. I’ve recently been thinking about how much value people often put on names & titles, when they really don’t mean anything.

  I don’t want to hear about your silly labels and extravagant job descriptions, well, except on this entry. Any other time, I would rather you simply tell me about such things without all the hoopla and ballyhoo.

…The same thing applies for when you are debating about a subject, let's say under the science genre, and you are more concerned about PhDs, what university you went to, and what fantastical achievements and awards have been presented, etc., while barely even acknowledging the heart of the matter/debate or points being made.  It is like, well, no matter if I’m wrong, I went to Harvard and have a master's degree in “The Art of Poppycock,” so move aside you pathetic Pollock-fish-frying loser from Long John Silver’s! LOL!

At any rate, this little post is for entertainment purposes only while I'm just randomly making stuff up. You are free to add as many additional silly names & extravagant titles for simple jobs, within the comment field. Just make up a scenario or a simple job prior to each humorous title.

I’ll post a few below, to get things started:

A janitor at a local Elementary School once called his job a “Certified Sanitation Technician.”

A garbage man hanging off the back of a big garbage truck once shouted out that he is a “Human Wasteland Warrior!” Uh, that’s nice… Just take my waste to your wasteland and move along, please!

The drive-through manager at a hectic McDonald’s swears up and down that her job title is “Culinary Merchant Guru.”

Speaking of McDonald’s, one of the burger flippers (not that they manually flip 'em anymore) at that very same restaurant, says he is a “Bovine Fryin’ Fool.” Well, at least that job title was a little more honest, that is, if the patties are really made of 100% beef. Ha!

A sales clerk at a pet shop that cleans the aquariums, checks the water’s pH level, adds chemicals and acid/base solutions if needed, gives his self the silly name of “The Aquatic Chemist.” Wow! I thought there was more to chemistry than that!

A poor, confused lady that works at a less-than-steady gas station, calls her job “Petroleum Overseer of Distribution.”

A very attractive woman that worked at a retail clothing store once claimed to be the “Enticement of all Fabric.” Well, I don’t know if she meant that as her job description or not, but she sure enticed me…

The french fry guy at a big-city Burger King proudly stated that he, and only he, was “The Starch Manipulator.” Uh, uh, whatever dude… I don’t think anybody is going to fight you over such a silly title; LOL!

A couple young guys that mow yards and perform other yard-related jobs for money, call their outdoor career “Eco-non-friendly Landscaping Associates.” I hate to break it to ’em, but they really need to drop that first hyphenated compound word, as it can’t be good for business…

There was once a redneck farmer with 3 teeth and a dirty straw hat that would come to town on occasions, bragging about how he was an “Agricultural Scientist.” Uh, I know that such a title does exist, but something tells me that this guy was lying… Ha!

A local bum that should have been castrated, has 12 kids with 9 different women while never holding down a job and barely pays any child support, called his self “The Fornication Specialist of Animalistic Poverty.” Well, I think you could scramble some of those words around and it would still come out right…

See how easy and fun this is? I expect a lot more silly, creative job descriptions within the comment field in due time or at least within the next century. I could add more, but I must stop here or else I’ll be typing all morning about this inane subject. Either way, we live in a world full of Wanna-Be Gurus and misinformation (especially online), as all we can do, at times, is to just sit back and laugh… LOL!

Image Credit: My own photo. One night after I cooked some burgers, hotdogs and fries, I went back through the kitchen and my dad made his tray all fancy with the ingredients at hand. I decided to use that photo for this post and caption it with "Food Assembly Specialist." It just seemed so fitting for this subject.

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Health Benefits of Laughing - Laugh Out Loud - LOL!

Side Note: This is an old blog post that was originally published on another domain of mine that I later deleted. The original date of this post was somewhere around the year 2011 or thereabouts. Yeah, it was about 13 or 14 years ago, but this is an evergreen topic evidently, as it is still relevant, even in today's world. Anyway, back to the subject at hand...

In today’s cyberworld that is full of cell phone texting, instant messaging (IM), and so on, abbreviations & slang is definitely “in.” For example, the famous ‘LOL’ (laugh/laughing out loud) and ‘LMAO’ (laughing my a*s off) are quite commonly seen all over forums, blogs, texts, in comment fields, et cetera. But are you really? If you’re actually displaying mirth and joy at the other end of the conversation, having explosive laughs, or even merely chuckling in a mild fashion, it is all good for your health.

I’m sure most people realize that being happy is an obvious forward step towards an overall state of well-being, but I’m going to show some evidence – from the scientific side of things……

Laughter reduces the level of epinephrine, cortisol and adrenaline, which are all stress hormones in the body. These silly bursts of expressions also raise your levels of healthy hormones, neurotransmitters, and endorphins. Studies have linked laughing to an increased immune system (antibodies, t-cells, etc.), which helps combat disease and sickness.

Due to the relaxing effects and positive hormonal impact within the body by performing the “LOL,” it can improve memory and overall cognitive ability, lower blood pressure, and protect against heart disease. Also, while being relaxed from your bouts of “laughing out loud,” the blood vessels often dilate and this increases blood circulation, which is always a good thing.

There is also something about the way you feel, after you’ve had a lot of humorous moments within a short time span… Have you ever noticed that calm, warm feeling, like your body has expelled pent-up stress or frustrations, immediately after you fell out of your chair from laughing so hard at some of the morons online? Ha-ha! Okay, you don’t have to fall out of your chair, nor do you have to laugh at moronic beings, but it can happen when you visit too many random, online forums & blogs throughout cyberspace. LOL! Excuse me, I got sidetracked… Anyway, this particular release from laughing seems to affect the body in both physical and mental ways.

Some studies have favored the notion that laughter may help increase the pain resistance level in the body, but more research needs to be done. Personally, I don’t think any research needs to be done. It is pretty obvious, like I said before, that being happy (even if it’s just in spurts) is always going to have health benefits.

Laughing is an attribute geared towards the betterment of mental health, as it can help rid yourself of depression or from feeling down and/or enhance your current state of joviality. And, for the temporarily detached individuals out there, a good laugh can bring back your feelings of being a part of something worth living for, something worthy of being an onlooker, if you will.

When arguing with others, finding something humorous amid the turmoil, can often end up being a common viewpoint between the two (or more) at verbal war. This, in return, can change the tempo and often ends the whole conflict, as the parties agree on the reason of laughter. This peacekeeping method of invoking laughs, however, may not apply to Religious & Political debates, because some of those characters wouldn’t know the jest of a joke if it slapped ’em in the face. LOL!

On a physical health note: The act of laughing out loud is good for your heart, lungs, and abdominal muscles; this especially applies to those hard-to-stop, laughable break outs from insane, ludicrous realizations of asininities.

With all that being said: If it’s at all possible, try to find some humor in your life. There are plenty of foolish, absurd things and imbecilic, doltish beings out there to laugh at, trust me. And also, try to not always take life so seriously; being uptight with restrictive thoughts, may shorten your life in the long run. If your life permits, do as the convivial, trite phrase states: “Eat, drink, and be merry!” I just realized; this is the most happy-happy, joy-joy page I’ve ever written. Okay, I’m rushing to go vomit in a toilet now… LOL! Just kidding…

Image Credit: perpendicularity.org/blog/ [link is no longer active]

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