I love tostadas. I ordered them from Taco Bell often until they (gasp) discontinued them from the menu. Now I have to make my own at home. And, you know what? Mine are even better than those from Taco Bell!
If you have never made a tostada at home, here are a couple of recipes that will get you started:
Tasty Tostadas
For this recipe, you will need flour tortillas, 1 pound of ground beef, shredded lettuce, one medium tomato, shredded cheddar cheese, 1 can of refried beans, taco seasoning, and salsa.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Dice your tomato and shred your lettuce (if needed). Spray both sides of all tortillas with cooking spray and place on a baking sheet. Bake these until they are crispy – about 10 minutes. Cook your ground beef until brown, and then add taco seasoning. This usually requires you to add 3/4 cup of water to the ground beef first, but check the directions on the back to make sure. Heat your refried beans in the microwavable for a couple a minutes then spread a decent helping onto the flour tortilla. Top that with ground beef, salsa, lettuce, cheese, and diced tomato.
I like to microwave my tostadas for about 30 seconds until the cheese is melted. I also like to add black olives and sour cream.
Black Bean and Rice Tostada
For this recipe, you will need flour tortillas, white rice, one 15-ounce can of black beans, one 11-ounce can of corn, shredded lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese, taco seasoning, and taco sauce.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Just like with the first recipe, spray both sides of all tortillas with cooking spray and place on a baking sheet. Bake these until they are crispy – about 10 minutes. While you are waiting on those, cook one cup of white rice in a saucepan. When that is done, open and drain the black beans and corn add them both to the rice. Add the taco seasoning and stir well. Allow this to warm for about 5 minutes. Top the crispy tortillas with the bean mixture, lettuce, taco sauce, and shredded cheddar cheese.