Tostadas

These were SO delicious--so delicious, in fact, that we made them three times in one week.  They just can't be any easier and cheaper and tastier!  Plus, these would be very easy to personalize based on your taste: add cilantro, black olives, avocado, grilled chicken instead of ground beef, refried black beans instead of regular refried beans etc.  We recommend these highly! 

Below, I said to use 4-6 tortillas.  That's because the first time we made them, I went heavy on the ground beef for each tortilla, so we only ended up needing 4 tortillas.  However, since each tortilla already has a serving of beans, there's plenty of protein and fiber per tortilla, so you can lighten up on the ground beef and stretch it to accomodate 6 tortillas if you need to.

The best part of these tostadas, which are just a form of tacos, is how crispy the bottom of the tortilla gets.  To get the crispiness, make sure you put the baking sheets/pizza stone in a cold oven, and then heat up the oven and the pan together.  I got two tortillas per baking sheet, and three tortillas on our pizza stone.

I hadn't tried these before I read Plain Chicken's post on Open Face Tacos- thanks for the awesome recipe!

Tostadas

1 lb ground beef (I used ground venison)
1 Tbsp grill seasoning, or 1 (1 oz) packet of taco seasoning
4-6 flour tortillas
1 cup salsa
1 can refried beans
2 Tbsp sour cream, plus more for garnish (I substituted Greek yogurt)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Suggested toppings for garnish:
Lettuce
Tomato
Jalapenos

Place cold pizza stone or baking sheets in cold oven, and preheat oven to 425. 

In a skillet, brown ground beef until no longer pink.  Drain fat from skillet, and then add grill seasoning and cup of salsa.  Stir and let simmer over low heat for 5-10 minutes. 

In a microwave-safe bowl, heat refried beans on High for 2 minutes.  Stir in sour cream, and set aside.

To assemble the tostadas, spread refried bean mixture on each tortilla.  Top with ground beef and shredded cheese. 

Place assembled tostadas on the now-hot pans, and return the hot pans to the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.   Top with lettuce, tomato, and sour cream.