Mexican Chicken Tostada

A Great Quick & Easy Tostada Meal

I say Mexican because there are tostadas from Puerto Rico, Cuba, Columbia and other countries all with their own traditions.

In Spanish, tostada translates to toasted and the word can be used to describe a Mexican dish or the flat tortilla used to make the dish. Sometimes the tostada tortilla is a bowl but they are always made from corn and are toasted or deep fried.

I am more familiar with tacos and burritos and but when my friend Paula brought me some commercially made tostadas made by Charras, a can of refried beans and showed me how put together a simple chicken Mexican tostada, I knew I was going to enjoy this new treat.

I'm guessing Paula bought these products at an ethnic supermarket in Philadelphia because I don't remember seeing these brands at our suburban supermarket. She said the 20.5 ounce can of refried beans cost around 50 cents and they were delicious. I'm sure if you make your own they would taste better, but these were real good.

We boiled some boneless chicken thighs and then shredded the meat for our chicken tostadas. After that is up to you what you want to serve on your tostada.

Along with the refried beans, I pulled some lettuce, salsa, sour cream and shredded cheese out of the refrigerator for my family to choose from. Paula said she would have liked to have made some guacamole but I didn't have any avocados.

I don't think there are any hard and fast rules for the order you put your ingredients onto the tortilla tostada, but Paula said to start with the refried beans so the other ingredients have something to stick to. You probably want to finish with the cheese or sour cream but it's really up to you.

And don't be surprised if your tostada breaks while you are eating them. The tortilla is fragile and breaks easily but this is real finger food so it doesn't matter if they break. Just pick up a piece of tostada and push some of the fallen ingredients back onto it and enjoy.

I think my wife and I each had four of them while the kids each had two. These are great for those nights when you don't feel like cooking and have leftovers in the refrigerator.

Leftover pork, beef or fish make excellent toppings for a Mexican tostada. I now have a pack of them around if the kids need a snack or I just don't feel like preparing a big meal on a hot night.