Sunday Night Tostadas

This, was an act of desperation, a moment that arose out of a deep desire to avoid leaving my house to get food on a night in mid-April, when it decided to rain and then proceeded to snow.  By the way, “COME ON SPRING, ENOUGH ALREADY!”  An opening of the cupboards revealed a variety of ingredients, but none of them really seemed to go together, black beans, coconut milk, rice?  Then I spied in the deep recesses of the top shelf, a leftover bag of tostada shells, and also spied the mandatory can of chili that my son requires I keep on hands at all times.  That kid, I could spend hours lovingly making my mother’s chili, which is delightful, but he would just prefer to open this can, no beans mind you, warm it up, and go to town.  Children, the great destroyers of culinary dreams!  As with so many throw together meals, it was amazing, and we have now delightfully eaten this two Sunday nights in a row, it is now officially in our circulation and I don’t think it is going anywhere soon. 

I find that one small can of chili is enough for 5 tostadas, you don’t want too much chili or the bottoms get soggy, and as this meal is meant to be eaten in front of the TV, you want it to kind of hold together a little (bring the paper towels just in case).  I have also toyed around with the idea of topping this with a fried or poached egg.  I’ll let you know if that happens.

These are delightful as they are, but as with many things, they are even better with toppings, so go to town with salsa, sour cream, tomatoes, cilantro, guacamole (I couldn’t be bothered, so I just chunked up the avocado that was giving up the ghost on my counter) or pickled jalapenos, etc.  I just wouldn’t spend too much time chopping; these lose their mystique if they require too much work or cleanup.  

• 1 can chili of your choice, or leftover chili if it is super thick chili
• 1 cup Cheese of your choice
• 1 cup diced or sliced onion
• 5 tostada shells
• Black Olives, sliced (optional)
• Garlic Salt
• Toppings:  green onions, olives, tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream, etc.  

Preheat the oven to 400° and get out a baking sheet or pizza pan that is big enough to fit the amount of tostadas that your are making. 

Place your tostada shells on the pan, lightly sprinkle some cheese on them, and top them with the chili and onions.  If you are using black olives, sprinkle them on now, and top with the remaining cheese.  Sprinkle these lightly with Garlic Salt and pop them in the oven for about 12 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and golden.  Take them out and give them a couple of minutes to cool down, you will have a burned mouth if you don’t.  

As you can see, I couldn't be bothered to use a real plate.
Enjoy!