Beans and Rice Tostadas

Crispy baked corn tortillas topped with beans and rice, cheese, and other toppings.

(Please don't mind that the corn tortillas are broken...sometimes it happens to the last ones left at the end of the pack and I wasn't going to throw them away.)

I love all things taco related. So when there were only 2 corn tortilla  and some Cinnamon Spice Fish Tacos remnants left at the end of the week, I made tostadas for lunch. Tostadas don't have to be just for lunch.  They are quite filling and you can top them with just about anything making them great for any meal.  But for these tostadas, I didn't want to waste any of my leftovers so they are topped with beans and rice, cheese, cabbage, cilantro, and avocado sauce.

I love all things taco related. [Tweet this]

These are delicious enough to make beans and rice just specifically for tostadas (not just to use up leftovers) and you could add any other toppings you prefer (lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, just about anything you have on hand).  Beans and rice make these tostadas an inexpensive and vegetarian meal (omit the cheese and sour cream and this would be vegan too).

An inexpensive and #vegetarian meal. [Tweet this]

Beans and Rice Tostadas

Cook time:  15 minutes
Servings: 1 (2 tostadas)

Ingredients:

2 corn tortillas
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup beans and rice *see note below
1/4 cup shredded cheese
Cabbage slaw (optional)
Cilantro (optional)
Avocado Lime Dressing or Avocado Sour Cream  (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit

Lightly brush the tortillas with oil (or if you have spray oil spritz them). Lay them on a baking sheet and bake at 400 F for about 10 minutes until lightly browned and crispy.  I just used my toaster oven...no need to heat up the big oven for only 2 tostadas (I love my toaster oven)

Don't heat up the oven for only 2 tostadas (I love my #toasteroven). [Tweet this]

Spread about 1/2 cup of beans and rice on each crispy tortilla.

*Note:  the beans and rice can be any kind of beans and rice such as my Black Beans and Rice, Red Beans and Rice, Bean and Rice (Taco Salad), or just simply a can of beans cooked with a cup of dry rice + water, a can of tomatoes, and your favorite spices.

Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of cheese (more or less to your liking) on top of the beans and rice.

Then, broil for a couple of minutes until the beans and rice are re-heated and the cheese is melted.

Top with any optional ingredients or any toppings you choose.  Some ideas are lettuce, tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, salsa, and/or guacamole.

Makes 1 serving of 2 tostadas.  You can easily multiply this recipe to feed more.

Enjoy.

Check out all the other recipes mentioned in this post:

Black Beans and Rice	Red Beans and Rice	Salsa (How to Make)
Bean and Rice (Taco Salad)	Cinnamon Spice Fish Tacos	Guacamole (Quick & Easy)

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Quick & Easy Guacamole

A four ingredient guacamole with a wonderful flavor that's ready in no time.  So simple anyone can make it.

There are many uses for avocados but when I have them I always want to make guacamole.  It's creamy, savory, and delicious.  It makes a great snack or addition to meals like tacos, salads, even sandwiches.  I'm a guacamole addict.  Are you?

I'm a guacamole addict. Are you? [Tweet this]

One of the many awesome things about Hawaii is that avocados grow on trees.  Buying avocados can be a little pricey but I have a friend with an avocado tree in her yard.  It's a big old tree that produces lots of avocados and she shares them with me.  At one point, I had about eight avocados on my kitchen counter waiting to become perfectly ripe. I love Hawaii.

Money doesn't grow on trees, but avocados do. [Tweet this]

Now I have to mention this mortar and pestle.  I love it.  My husband brought it home one day (I think from Costco, but I don't remember for sure) because he knew I always wanted a good one.  That's my kind of romance.  I don't want diamonds.  The way to my heart is with cooking paraphernalia.  Anyway, it's eight inches in diameter and heavy (I have to use two hands to lift it).  It doesn't get moved often but has a place of honor on my prep table right beside my Kitchenaid.  It's great for grinding hard spices and for this recipe, pounding garlic.  The way to the best guacamole is with pounded garlic.  You can mince all you like but when you pound/mash it all the oils are released and it becomes very fragrant and delicious.  This is the way to make ready to serve guacamole.  You don't have to wait for the flavors to meld when you pound and mash everything together.  Now I love guacamole with lots of flavors in it like my Great Guacamole but, I love it quick and simple too.

The best guacamole is with pounded garlic. [Tweet this]

Quick & Easy Guacamole

Ingredients:

2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 avocados
2 limes
Hot sauce (like Habanero Hot Sauce)

Peel and mince (or just chop into small pieces) the garlic.  Then place it in a mortar and pestle and pound/mash it until it's very fragrant and kind of mushy (you can also use the edge of a  knife or even a garlic press for similar results, but nothing beats taking out some aggression by pounding it in a mortar and pestle).

Then add the avocado and juice from 2 limes.  Mash and stir the avocado until it's creamy and mixed well.

Add as much hot sauce as you like and stir to combine.  You can add salt if you like, but I rarely do since I eat it with tortilla chips that are usually salty enough.

It's ready to serve right away.  Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container for up to a week (if it lasts that long).  You can also freeze it in a zipper bag just make sure all of the air is squeezed out (I've had frozen mashed avocado with lime juice in my freezer for up to 1 month--it may stay good for longer but did I mention I'm an addict).

Enjoy.

Recipes mentioned in this post:

Habanero Hot Sauce

Great Guacamole

Don't know what to do with all this guacamole?  Try:

Chicken and Black Bean Salsa Nachos

Guacamole Black Bean Tuna Salad

Tequila Lime Chicken Taco Salad

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How to Make Mexican Chorizo

A tutorial that shows you how to turn ground pork into chorizo with some fairly common spices.

When I lived in Houston, TX there were a ton of small, family owned Mexican grocery stores.  Chorizo was so easy to find as well as dried chilies, and pre-marinated fajita meat.  Now that I live in Hawaii, Mexican groceries are harder to find but I have Chinatown with new flavors and foods to explore.  While I love experimenting with new food sometimes I like to revisit old comforting food and recipes.  So when I wanted to make a dish that needed chorizo I set out to figure out how to turn ground pork (easily found in Chinatown) into chorizo. I found this recipe and was happy to note I had all the spices I needed.

Turn ground pork into chorizo [Tweet this]

What better recipe to repost for Cinco de Mayo.  I hope this inspires you to try making your own chorizo.

Mexican Chorizo

Ingredients:
(recipe from Honest Cooking:  Authentic Homemade Mexican Chorizo)

1 pound ground pork
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp ground cloves
2 bay leaves, crushed
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp dried minced garlic
1 tsp sea salt (coarse salt)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Place the ground pork in a large bowl while you combine the spices.  You can use 2 Tbsp Ancho chile powder in place of the paprika and cayenne, but I did not have Ancho chile powder.

Sprinkle the spice mix on top of the ground pork and pour in the vinegar.  Then get your hands in there and mix until all the spices are evenly incorporated.  I keep latex gloves in my kitchen for activities like this so I don't make too much of a mess with porky paws (they're also are handy when cutting up hot peppers).

#Kitchentip use gloves to avoid porky paws [Tweet this]

Now you have chorizo.  Refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to meld or wrap and freeze.  I separated half out to freeze and used half in my Black Beans and Rice.

If freezing separate into whatever size portion you like (this is 1/2 pound), wrap in plastic wrap and put in a zipper bag.  Just thaw and use when ready.  I plan to use my frozen 1/2 pound in Taco Salad.

Enjoy.

Repost of origial from 9/16/13 added new cover pic, 'check out' pics/links, click to tweet, minor editing. 

For recipes using chorizo check out:

Chorizo and Black Bean Taco Salad

Black Beans and Rice                -

For more Cinco de Mayo recipes check out:

The Best Queso Dip        -

Great Guacamole        -

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Chicken Burrito Bowls

Black Bean Soup

Chicken Enchiladas

Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos

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Chicken Enchiladas

Corn tortillas rolled with chicken and cheese then smothered and baked in a chili sauce.

What to do with a collection of hot sauce packets from Taco Bell?  Make Enchilada Sauce.

I don't remember exactly how many packets of hot sauce I had somewhere around 30 or more.  It was a little tedious opening each one and squeezing out the sauce; but then I started stacking 5 together and cutting the tops off with scissors and squeezing the sauce out of all 5 at once.  That sped up the process and I ended up with 3/4 of a cup of sauce. This I turned into Enchilada Sauce.

Hot Sauce Enchilada Sauce

Ingredients:

3/4 cup hot chili sauce (I used leftover TacoBell fire sauce)
1/4 cup lard or butter
1/4 cup flour
1 14.5 oz. can chicken broth (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup dried chili flakes (optional)

Melt lard, or butter, in  large sauce pan over medium heat.  Stir in the flour and cook for a few minutes until the raw flour taste is gone and there are no clumps.

Pour in the chicken broth and stir until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Add the chili sauce and chili flakes (if using).  Let cook a little longer then taste for seasoning.  Add salt and pepper if needed and more chili flakes if you like it spicier.

Now on to the Enchiladas.

Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

Enchilada sauce
12 corn tortillas
1 cup cooked shredded chicken (leftover rotisserie is great)
Shredded cheese (Mexican blend is fine, whatever you like, I used Monterey Jack...that's what I had)
Jalapeno slices (optional)

First I prepare my tortillas by grilling them on each side to make them more pliable (like in my Tequila Lime Shrimp Tacos).

Preheat oven to 350F

Spread a thin layer of Enchilada Sauce on the bottom of an 11 by 13 baking pan or casserole pan.

Dip a tortilla in the sauce (or I used a brush to coat both sides in sauce...it's messy either way) and lay it flat in the baking dish.

Spread some chicken and cheese in the center then gently roll the tortilla placing the seam side down.  Slide the rolled tortilla to one side of the pan and continue with the rest of the tortillas.

Dip or coat the tortilla on both sides with the sauce, fill with chicken and cheese, roll, and lay each roll side by side then stack them until you have no more tortillas left.

Pour any extra Enchilada Sauce, evenly, over the rolled tortillas.  Spread cheese on top and add jalapeno slices if you are using them.

Bake in 350F oven for about 30 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Let cool for about 15 minutes before serving.

Makes 4-6 servings (2-3 enchiladas per person).

Enjoy.

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