As a kid growing up in the 90s, there was no better night for TV-watching than Friday night. How could you beat ABC’s TGIF lineup of Family Matters, Boy Meets World, Step By Step and Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper?! Perfect Strangers was included in there somewhere. I always had a soft spot for poor clueless Balki.

Not only was Friday night a prime night for good TV, it was also pizza night! As a kid, my bar for quality pizza was set kinda low and most often, we would have frozen Red Baron. On occasion, though, my mom would make this Mexican pizza. It was sort of like a taco on pizza crust, and it was oh so good – soft pizza crust with seasoned ground beef, refried beans, tomatoes, melty cheese, green onions, sour cream and black olives. Tasty Mexican pizza and 90s sitcoms? What’s not to love?

mexican pizza
serves 6

1 – 16 oz ball of prepared pizza dough (storebought, or your favorite recipe)
1/2# 90% lean ground beef
4 oz can diced green chiles
2 Tbs taco seasoning mix (from a 1.5 oz packet)
6 Tbs water
8 oz refried beans
3 Tbs milk
4 oz shredded Colby cheese
1-2 cups halved grape tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 small can sliced black olives, drained
1/2 cup sour cream
3 Tbs milk
2 Tbs minced cilantro or parsley

Preheat your oven to 550 degrees. In a quarter size sheet pan or a 9×12 inch baking pan, spread the dough by hand into the pan, stretching it to the edges and corners. Set aside while you cook the meat!

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef with the green chiles until the meat is no longer pink. Add the 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning mix and the 6 tablespoons of water, stirring to incorporate. Let the meat bubble for a while, and mash with a potato masher til the beef is in small little pieces. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Heat the beans in a small pot with 3 tablespoons of milk. Spread the pizza dough with the beans, leaving about a 1 inch border of dough. Top the beans with the cooked meat and the shredded cheese. Bake the pizza at 550 for 13-15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.

Scatter the pizza with the tomatoes, green onions and black olives. Mix the sour cream with the 3 tablespoons of milk and drizzle it across the whole pizza. Sprinkle on the cilantro/parsley, and serve!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go have a slice of this pizza while I scour YouTube for old clips of Boy Meets World. Cory and Topanga 4ever!