Tostadas

Refried Beans:
1 onion, peeled and halved
3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed
1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and
chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
5 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black
pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin, optional
9 cups water

1. Place the onion, rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker. Pour in the water and stir to combine. Cook on High for 8 hours, adding more water as needed. Note: if more than 1 cup of water has evaporated during cooking, then the temperature is too high.
2. Once the beans have cooked, strain them, and reserve the liquid. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency.

Chicken:  

3 frozen chicken breasts

1 chopped onion, 

1 can of rotel tomatoes mild

Place all in a pot of water and boil until chicken is cooked through and you can shred it easily.  When I take the chicken out, I take some of the tomatoes and onions with it and mix it into the chicken.

Rice: 

2 cups long grain rice

1 TBS taco seasoning 

1 TBS Butter

1 cup tomato sauce

4 cups chicken broth

Combine rice, butter and seasoning into a medium pot or wide deep pan and cook, stirring constantly, for 3-4 minutes (until golden).  Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Tostadas:

Corn Tortillas (white or yellow)

Salt

Oil for frying

Heat oil in a shallow pan (add enough oil to make about 1 inch deep. Fry tortillas until crisp and season with salt as soon as you remove them from pan.

Toppings:

Chopped Lettuce

Chopped Tomatoes

Queso Fresco

Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix (made according to package directions, but substituting balsamic vinegar for the white vinegar)

The best part of these tostadas are the tortillas and adding the dressing to the top J  It’s Italian dressing made with balsamic vinegar and it’s what makes these tostadas super tasty!