From King Ranch Chicken to Black Bean Tostadas

Last week, I made King Ranch Chicken. I got the recipe from another blog: Kelly's Korner Recipes . The only thing I did different was I put a layer of torn corn tortillas (about 5) on the bottom. Then, I spread half of the chicken mixture on that. I repeated those two layers and topped it with all of the cheese. I still had a lot of tortilla shells remaining. I told you about the magazine All You in a previous post. One of the recipes I clipped was for Black Bean Tostadas. It came out of the September 2009 issue. I made this last night with the plan to make homemade guacamole to go with it. The avocado was rotten so we had nachos with the tostadas instead. They were good and easy!

Black Bean Tostadas

Prep: 5 min. Cook: 10 min.

Serves: 6

Cost per serving: $0.44

6 6-in. corn tortillas

3 TBSP canola oil

Salt & pepper

1/2 large onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 15-oz. cans black beans, drained and rinsed

Assorted optional toppings such as shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, chopped cilantro, salsa, sour cream and sliced jalapenos

1. Preheat oven to 425. Brush both sids of tortillas with 2 TBSP oil and sprinkle with 2 tsp. salt. Lay tortillas on a cookie sheet and bake until crispy, about 10 minutes, turning over halfway through.

2. While tortillas are baking, warm remaining 1 TBSP oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Reduce heat to low and add beans and 2 TBSP of water. Mash mixture with a potato masher or the back of a fork and cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Divide bean mixture among tortillas. Layer with desired toppings and serve.

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