Taco Pizza

I love Iowa! I know that sounds kinda random, but it's true. Rob has lots of family in the "heartland" and we love to visit. Part of the lure is definitely all the great people we get to visit, but I am also in love with the landscape, the pace of life, the friendliness of the locals, and the small-town feel. I love being in the country and the view of farms as far as the eye can see. My dream is to move to Iowa when Rob retires. We would love to live on a sustainable farm (not because we're "green", trust me when I say we're practically purple we're so not green). The lure of a sustainable farm is to eat what we grow and to offer the excess bounty to our neighbors. The one thing we miss while visiting is the lack of small "farm-stands". Many of the farms are very large and grow corn, soy, etc. One [of the many] things I'm thankful for here in Central Pennsylvania is the abundance of orchards and farmstands.
One of the things we love to do while visiting Iowa is to enjoy delicious food with our family. At least one night we order pizza from the local gas station/deli. We have fallen in love with their taco pizza. I have found that is it almost impossible to find taco pizza "iowa style" here in PA. So, I have started to just make it when we're craving taco pizza. This version is the perfect blend of creamy, salty, crunchy, fresh, and very filling!
I hope you enjoy....

Taco Pizza
1 pizza dough, thawed
cornmeal
1 lb ground beef, browned with spice blend (cumin, smoked paprika, pepper, salt)
2 cups shredded cheddar
medium jar of salsa
shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, "crunched" Doritos, taco sauce

1. Roll out dough onto pizza stone [coated with small amount of cornmeal].
2. Spread salsa, beef, and shredded cheddar on dough.
3. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or until browned and dough is cooked through.
4. Top with desired "fresh" ingredients...we use lettuce, tomato, and cool-ranch
Doritos...but, feel free to be creative!