Chicken Tostada with Spanish Rice

Truth is, I grew up in the midwest and had no idea what a Tostada was until the day ... I was 27 or 28... my best friend's husband (yes, he cooks) handed one to me. Hmmm... What the heck is THIS????

Basically it is anything you can find that you might stuff in a taco but piled on a fried tortilla. You know, an upside down taco salad!

He had given me a fried tortilla with refried beans, taco meat, lettuce, tomatos, cheese... and a squeeze of lime on top. It was amazing. The crunchy of the tostada, the hot of the beans and meat, the cold of the lettuce and tomatos and the zing of the lime. MMMMMMM

Easily reproduced at home in less than an hour, tostadas are a great meal. Mind you, they are messy finger food.

Tonight we had tostadas with spanish rice, chicken, lettuce and cheese... I would have liked some tomatos... but alas, none to be found. Still, a family favorite.

I hear you! Out with the details, Anne....

First, the chicken. If I had any shredded chicken left in the freezer it would have been even easier! No chicken in the freezer already prepared, so I started there. 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts and some broth in a sauce pot. After 20 minutes, I shredded the meat in the pan and added taco mix.

Second, the rice. Fry onion and rice until golden, add garlic, tomato sauce and water. Bring to a boil, then simmer 15-20 minutes.

Now the difficult part... the tostadas. While they are available for purchase in most grocery stores, you can also make your own. Approximately 1/2 inch of oil in a pan, when hot, add a tortilla until crispy. Remove from oil and blot off grease with paper towels.

Chop the veggies. And Assemble.

Keep in mind the versatility of this meal...

• pico de gallo or salsa
• ground beef, shredded pork or chicken
• steak or chicken fajita meat
• all vegetarian
• refried beans
• avocado or guacamole
• fish
• sour cream
• jalapeno peppers
• onions
• cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, queso fresco, jack)

Recipes:

Spanish Rice (from Mia Alvarado)

2 cups white rice
2 Tbsp vegetable oil or butter
1 Lg white onion minced
3 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp chicken bouillon
4 cups water
1 15oz can tomato sauce

Fry onions and rice in oil or butter until rice is the color of a penny. When rice is browned, add garlic and sauté for a minute then add tomato sauce. Add water and bouillon and bring to a fast rolling boil. Lower heat to lowest setting and cover. Let cook twenty minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Taco Seasoning Mix

Each Package is enough mix for 1# of ground meat or 2# Chicken
1 t Instant Minced Onion
1 t Salt
1/2 t Chili Powder
1/2 t Cornstarch
1/2 t Instant Minced Garlic
1/8 t Dried Oregano
1/2 t Ground Cumin

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and blend well. Makes 1 package of mix. Using the above recipe as a guide you can increase the amounts to make any number of packages


Pico de Gallo

6 medium Tomatoes diced
1 medium Onion diced
1/4 cup fresh Cilantro chopped.
2 to 4 Fresh jalapeño seeded and minced
garlic powder just a pinch
Salt to taste

Put all ingredients in a bowl add 1/2 cup of cold water, mix well. Let set a few minutes.

Refried Beans

This post linked to Tasty Tuesday and Tempt my Tummy Tuesday .
This post also linked to I am Blissfully Domestic.