Monday, November 28, 2011

FIESTADA- School Lunch Series

I think I did it!!  My first attempt to recreate one of my childhood favorites, along with Carrie David who posted that they were her favorite school lunch!


I do believe the hamburger, and I use the word loosely, that was on it was so fine, so of course mine wasn't quite as fine.  I remember there being only a little meat and cheese.  I decided against using a pre-made crust when I saw the price at the store I was at.  I always make my own dough but, instead got a box of the Jiffy kind for convenience.  This whole recipe was convenience items so, no turning your nose up at my choices for ingredients.  I felt it was my mission to achieve the right taste, regardless of the ingredients and I want everyone who wants to recreate these to be able to do so quickly,  and with ingredients available to them! 

So, this being said, my crust consistency isn't perfect as far as the original Fiestada but the flavor is so near perfect, I wanted to DIE with my first bite.  It was awesome!  I could have browned off my hamburger and then zip zapped it in my processor to make it a more fine consistency but opted out of that to save on dishes.  Hey I feel lazy today, leave me alone! Although I did not even try to obtain the original shape, I don't think in the grand scheme of things you will mind after you taste these delicioso little Mexican pizza's!   

So Carrie, here is what you will need to get your Fiestada going!

                                                                  Fiestada


1 box Jiffy Pizza Crust Mix (prepared according to package direction)
1/8 - 1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1 cup ground hamburger (flavored)
1 packet taco seasoning mix
1 1/4 cup mild cheddar cheese
a pinch of salt

Sprinkle seasoning packet on hamburger, brown and drain.  Prepare 2 small pizza crusts from dough that you made earlier.  I flip over a large cookie sheet, spray with nonstick spray and put my crusts on top.  Bake at 450 degrees for 3 minutes and remove from oven.  Prepare sauce by putting 1/2 cup of sauce into a bowl, add in cumin and salt and combine.  Split between both pizza's and spread to cover.  Sprinkle top with hamburger and cheese.  

 
Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes or until crust is done and cheese is melted!  


You know you can't resist making these.  If you went to Ord Elementary, or Ord Jr Sr High, you are required to try them!!  The taste is so close to perfect, I couldn't believe it!  Go ahead, obsess over the shape of yours, I obsess over enough, so I will leave that to you! 

Make sure to let me know how yours turn out!  Leave a picture on the Facebook wall even!

Your "caliente" chefwannabe
Chris

37 comments:

  1. I think the Fiestadas we had were on tortillas instead of pizza crust. I'm not sure. Your's look great by the way. I'm starving!

    Kris

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    1. Hi Jen! Thanks for stopping by! I think I will retry with the tortillas and see the difference. Good reason to make these for dinner this week, don't you think?!

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  2. Well, I considered that, but, I know that ours were nota torillas, and they might not have been pizza crust. The closest I could come up with was a premade crust which were so expensive I just made a Jiffy box. I rolled it REALLY thin and it was really crunch and almost tortilla like in taste and texture. Was fab........that is all I know!

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  3. I asked Sam and he said it's pizza crust! Well done, Chef!! I don't know what I'm thinking about with the tortillas.
    Kris

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  4. this was my fav when I was little.

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  5. this was my fav when I was little!

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  6. I have been thinking about these recently and did I search for the recipe. Gonna try these this weekend. Can't wait to see how they turn out! Thanks so much!

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  7. Try using canned enchilada sauce an add a little chilli powder. It will make almost identical.

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  8. Try using canned enchilada sauce an add a little chilli powder. It will make almost identical.

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  9. Awesome post I so loved this as a kid and will be making this week.
    I think I might mix the pizza crust and a bit or corn meal hot rise to see if that makes the crust more authentic.

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  10. Use half taco sauce and half pizza sauce. Might as well have been back in high school it tasted so close. My kids who still get to eat fiestada in school say it's exactly the same tasting :)

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  11. You can actually buy the "real" ones by the case from Schwan's Food Service. They did tweak the recipe a bit adding 51% whole grain to the crust and reducing the sodium and grease to Make Mrs. Obama happy but it tastes just the same. http://www.schwansfoodservice.com/product/?id=01t40000004NenA&fid=

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    1. I had one at my daughters school last week and I can assure you that they are not the same as they were in the 80's, not even close.

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  12. I miss them too! Let me know what you thought!!! Thanks for stopping by!

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  13. You are so welcome! Thanks for stopping by!!

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  14. Just made these tonight. I was a skeptic, as I have tried some copy cat recipes in the past and been left with disappointment. Not the case tonight. These were perfect! The recipe sounds way to simple to be right. I did add a tablespoon of cornmeal to the dough before baking, but other than that... WOW! Thank You.

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    1. Hello Crystal! I am so glad you loved the recipe! I know it seems to good to be true but for me it IS true!! HA! Thanks for taking time to leave a comment, and for reading! ~Chris

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  15. Omg �� if this tastes the same to me, I’m gonna be in trouble because I won’t stop making them, I’ve waited so long to find this recipe! I’ve been craving these for years!!! Can’t wait to make them tomorrow night!! I’ll let you know how it goes���� Thanks so much for sharing��

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  16. Making this now. I added a little more cumin to the sauce. Excited to see how they turn out!

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    1. Well?!?! How were they?! Hope you loved them!!! Thanks for stopping by, hope to hear from you again soon! ~Chris

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  17. My son turns 26 tomorrow and this is what he wanted for his birthday. He said: "Mom, can you make those Mexican pizzas like we had in middle school?" I told him I would try! So tomorrow I'm giving these a try. I hope it is what he has in his head! Thanks for posting.

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    1. Happy Birthday to your son! Mine turned 28 last week! I hope he enjoys them as much as we do! I don't know if they are PERFECT but they are close to it for us! Let me know what he thinks! Thanks for stopping by!!! ~Chris

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  18. We had a wonderful time reminiscing over these pizzas! My son-in-law said they made his with tortillas but my son said it was always pizza crust. But both of them really enjoyed their middle school pizza! We all enjoyed it....BUT my son said I put too much meat on it...LOL. We had a blast from the past! Thank you Chris.

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  19. Oh! P.S. Thanks for the birthday wishes!! I have a 33 year old daughter too. These boys.... gotta love em'!! :) They bring a whole new perspective to life!

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  20. The original ones, at least the ones I remember from the 80's and early 90's, had an enchilada sauce like others have posted. And the meat, believe it or not, was actually ground pork. Remember it was light gray and chewier than beef.

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    1. You are right about the ground pork. I used to work at the Schwans Pizza Factory and they made most school pizzas. They also make Red Baron and Little Tonys but I remember it was definitely ground pork. Im not 100% on the sauce because I never worked with the sauce. I mainly out meat and cheese on the oizzaa.

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  21. Yes definitely right on the ground pork. I used to work there as well at the shwans pizza factory and I did mostly cheese and meat as well.

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  22. I never knew that you can make fake meat out of like soy etc now that I get to thinking I'm wandering if that's what our meat was on theese and that's why they dont taste taste the same but close I'm gonna try to make some fake er meat like use impossible meat and make them

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  23. The trick to make the meat like that, is to boil it. I know, it sounds weird, but that's how they do it.

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    1. I have actually heard of people doing this.....I didn't think they were of this planet though! I may just give this one a go!

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